CORPORATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES IN INDONESIA AND THE NETHERLANDS

Corporations are a key driver of the national economy, but their activities also have the potential to cause environmental damage that has widespread impacts on communities and ecosystems. Article 116 of Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management stipulates criminal liability for business entities and/or individuals who give orders or act as leaders in environmental crimes. However, in law enforcement practice, the existence of these regulations does not fully guarantee effective and consistent corporate accountability. Problems arise in determining the attribution of criminal acts to corporations, distinguishing corporate liability from the personal liability of managers, and ensuring the implementation of court decisions.

This gap between norms and practices raises normative issues regarding the clarity and consistency of the application of Article 116 in determining who should be held responsible for environmental crimes.

This study aims to analyze the regulation and application of corporate criminal liability in environmental crimes in Indonesia and compare it with the Dutch legal system to identify the direction of legal reform. This study uses normative legal methods with statutory, case, conceptual, and comparative legal approaches. Legal materials are analyzed to examine the construction of corporate criminal liability, the normative issues of Article 116, and the differences in the two countries' approaches.

The research results show that Indonesia already has a legal framework for corporate criminal liability through Law Number 32 of 2009, Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, and Supreme Court Regulation Number 13 of 2016. However, challenges remain in determining the basis for attributing criminal acts to corporations, proving the accountability of management, and implementing court decisions. As a comparison, the Dutch legal system, through Article 51Criminal Code and doctrine Functional Perpetration provides a perspective for assessing the relationship between acts and corporations based on concrete circumstances, including the scope of control and acceptance of the act. This approach can serve as evaluation material for the development of corporate criminal liability in Indonesia.

This study recommends harmonizing regulations in general criminal law and environmental law, strengthening the criteria for corporate and managerial accountability, and strengthening the mechanisms for enforcing court decisions. The comparison with the Netherlands is expected to provide a foundation for legal reform that can bridge the gap between norms and practices and achieve more
consistent, effective, and equitable enforcement of environmental law.