The Corporate criminal misconducts against the environment: the comparative study of Indonesia, Thailand, and South Africa

Abstract

Article 96 Subsection (b), Article 151 and Article 161B of the Act Number 3 of 2020 on the Amendment of the Act Number 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining of Indonesia create a strong foundation for the regulation and punishment of negligence of corporate post-mining obligations against the environment. Accordingly, if a corporation fails to comply with its post-mining obligations against the environment, the corporation will be subjected to a combined imposition of administrative and criminal sanctions. However, it is argued that the imposition of both administrative and criminal sanctions on the corporation and its responsible officers is disproportional and over-deterrent, believing that imposing administrative sanctions only has met the due deter to the negligence of corporate post-mining obligations against the environment. This brings into question whether or not the combined imposition of administrative and criminal sanctions is disproportional and over-deterrent. Thus it will be compared to the provisions of Thailand and South Africa, in regulating and punishing the negligence of corporate post-mining obligations, to acknowledge the measures applied by the compared jurisdictions.

The purpose of this research is to understand the fundamental concept of corporate criminal misconduct against the environment and its development from the global perspective; to understand whether a combined imposition of administrative and criminal sanctions against the negligence of corporate post-mining obligations is necessary; and to acknowledge how the laws of the compared jurisdictions regulate and punish the negligence of corporate post-mining obligations against the environment.