The Dynamics of Corporate Criminal Liability in Riau Province As a Result of Forest and Land Fires
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Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 442 Riau Annual Meeting on Law and Social Sciences (RAMLAS 2019) The Dynamics of Corporate Criminal Liability in Riau Province as a Result of Forest and Land Fires Mukhlis Ridwan* Faculty of Law University of Riau Pekanbaru, Indonesia *[email protected] Abstract—This study aimed to analyze the existence of act outside the articles of association; thus, the director will be corporations as subjects of criminal law, and how the dynamics personally responsible (ultra vires doctrine). of criminal responsibility in Riau against corporations of the crime of burning forests and land fires. The results observations The development of legal politics in Indonesia has finally revealed that corporations historically, juridically, and factually made the existence of corporations as subjects of criminal law recognized its existence as the subjects of criminal law. On the stronger by explicitly and implicitly mentioned in various other side, the impact of forest and land fires was still perceived applicable laws and regulations [2]. Among these laws and by the government, business world, regional government, and regulations are Article 1 section (2) of Law No.5 of 1997 everyone. This confirmed that appropriate preventative efforts concerning Psychotropic, Article 1 section 3 of Law No. 8 of and law enforcement had not been found. This condition leads to 1999 concerning consumer protection, Article 1 section (1) and the fact that forest and land fires become the annual disaster in (3) of Law No. 31 of 1999 and Law No. 20 of 2001 concerning Riau. It should be the main concern for all parties so that the amendment of Law number 31 of 1999 concerning the preventive and repressive efforts could proceed as they should. Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, Law No. 15 of 2003 concerning terrorism, Law No. 21 of 2007 concerning the Keywords: responsibility, corporation, criminal/punishment Eradication of human trafficking, Law No. 25 of 2007 concerning Investment, Law No.24 of 2007 concerning disaster I. INTRODUCTION managements, Law No.11 of 2008 concerning Information and The debate about corporations as subjects of criminal law Electronic Transactions, Law No.44 of 2008 concerning and accountability is over. The subject of law is the bearer of pornography, Law No.35 of 2009 concerning narcotics, Law rights and obligations which consists of human beings and No.32 of 2009 concerning environmental protection and legal entities. Humans as natural legal subjects were not management. initially debated by all branches of law. Meanwhile, there are The fact that corporations as subjects of criminal law differences of opinion related to legal entities. Legal entities, cannot be separated from objective backgrounds, the impact of also known as corporations, are not considered as a legal corporate crime is extremely broad and the loss is high, for subject in branches of corporate criminal law based on example the case of corruption in the forestry sector in Riau societasdelinquere non potest or Universalitas Delinquere non done by T. Azmun Jafar, which involved 17 companies. This potest. case revealed that the amount of state losses is greater than the There has been much literature and research carried out losses incurred caused by individuals. The existence of about criminal responsibility towards corporations and the corporations is increasingly greater for human interests and the crime of forest and land fires. However, this paper looked at interests of the country. In addition to fulfilling human needs, it and analyzed this issue based on constructivism paradigm [1]. also plays a role in the national economic growth (revenue Thus, it was substantially different from others even though (tax)), employments, technology transfers, and the role of there were some similar points in the discussion and analysis. banks in sustaining the economy, and most crucial is that corporate crime is categorized as transnational which is Indonesia and Netherland initially recognized the organized, involving people in a network and interrelated [3]. corporation not as a legal subject. The arguments are based Each has its functions, tasks and roles; as a result, it is not on:1) Corporations do not have a mens rea (a desire to easily eradicated because it is formed on three elements: first, a misbehave); 2) Corporations are not individuals although it can solid criminal group because of ethnic ties, interests and so on, carry out various legal actions that are usually performed by second, the groups that protect (protector) referring to individuals; 3) The corporation has no awareness and does not unscrupulous officers and professionals, and third, groups of have an actual body; 4) Corporations cannot be accounted for people who enjoy the results of crimes systematically because if there are directors who commit crimes, it must be an committed. Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL. This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 48 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 442 Forest and land fires often occur in Indonesia, especially in Methods of Data Collection and Analysis: The types of the province of Riau. It has been considered as one season in data required in this study were primary and secondary data. Riau because it occurs almost in every dry season every year; Secondary data applied the literature review while the primary thus, it is known as a new season called the smog season. The data were obtained from the primary source directly in a worst fires occurred in 2015, in which more than 5,595 Ha purposive manner. Primary data sources included: Legislative were burned, 600,000 people suffered from ISPA or URI members (DPRD) and Political Party cadres; executive (Public (Upper Respiratory Tract Infection), and 9 children died (in Health Service); Religious, traditional and community figures; Riau and South Sumatra); the airport was closed and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); Private parties; material losses were accumulated. In 2016 2,348 ha of land Regional pers; Academics; College students; and the were burned while in 2017 1,052 Ha were burned, and in community. Primary data were collected through surveys and 2018,it was even wider for about 5,776.46 Ha; at last, in 2019 focus group discussions in Pekanbaru. Then, the data were an area of 108.5 Ha was burned within 12 days [4]. Since Riau interpreted according to the hermeneutic methodology in the has forests and peat lands [5], the fires are hard to extinguish; it constructivism paradigm. quickly spreads and causes long haze [6]. Based on the above background, this study aimed to III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION determine and recognize the existence of corporations as subjects of criminal law and their accountability, and to find A. Corporations as Legal Subjects and Criminal Liability out the dynamics of corporate responsibility in the crime of The corporation has been widely mentioned both in terms forest and land fires in Riau Province in which preventive and of scholars and in the juridical sense of the laws and regressive efforts had been carried out, so thatsmog disaster regulations, either public or private corporations. The caused by forest and land fires in Riau province would no corporation is literally different in each country: Corporatie: longer become an annual disaster. the Netherlands, Corporatio: Britain, Corporation: Germany, Corporatio: Latin; it is derived from the word corpus which II. RESEARCH METHODS means body, gives the body or makes it equal [12]. The research process can be seen as a series of interrelated The scholars provide various restrictions on the corporation phases and cannot be separated from one another. Denzin and in terminology. Subekti and Tjitrosudibio [13] define a Lincoln in "Introduction: Entering the field of Qualitative corporation as a legal entity. Lobbying Loqman comments that Research" in the Handbook of Qualitative Research"(1994), as the discussion of scholars derives two opinions about quoted by Agus Salim [7] propose five phases which constitute corporation [3], the first of which refers to corporations as a a series of research processes. collection of trades with legal entities. In this context, only corporations with legal entities can be convicted. The second Stand Point: it is associated with traditions guiding opinion describes corporations broadly, in the sense that not researchers throughout the research process [8]. Traditions in only is a legal entity, but also in the sense that every human research are classified into quantitative research and qualitative association, either trade associations or other businesses, can be research. This research applied the tradition of qualitative criminally liable. Some juridical regulations provide research. Bogdan and Taylor define qualitative methodology as restrictions on corporations while others merely refer to the a research procedure that produces descriptive data in the form word corporation or business entity as regulated subjects. Some of written or oral words from people and observable behaviors of juridical restrictions include Law 31 of 1999 concerning [1]. Eradication of Corruption, Law number 35 of 2009 concerning Paradigm: Etymologically, the word paradigm comes from Narcotics, Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information para, which means next to, beside, on the side, side