ECOCIDE CRIME AND THE URGENCY OF CODIFICATION IN NATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AS A COLLECTIVE RIGHT

Abstract

Large-scale environmental destruction, or ecocide, has gained significant attention in both international and
national legal discourse due to its systemic, far-reaching, and intergenerational impacts. Although Indonesia
possesses environmental legal instruments, including Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and
Management and the criminal provisions within the new Criminal Code (KUHP), there is still no explicit
regulation on ecocide. This legal vacuum creates an impunity gap for corporations and individuals committing
massive ecological damage. This article examines the urgency of codifying ecocide in Indonesia's national
criminal law, employing a normative-juridical approach supported by John Rawls' theory of justice, Phillipus
M. Hadjon's theory of legal protection, and theories of criminalization developed by R.A. Duff and Douglas
Husak. Comparative analysis with Ecuador, Bolivia, Belgium, and France further demonstrates the global trend
of recognizing ecocide as an extraordinary crime equivalent to genocide and crimes against humanity. Case
studies of Indonesian forest fire rulings (e.g., PT Kallista Alam and PT Adei Plantation) illustrate the normative
weaknesses in current environmental law enforcement. This study finds that codification of ecocide is urgent not
only to ensure repressive sanctions but also to strengthen preventive and educational functions of criminal law.
The normative recommendations emphasize progressive legislation that recognizes ecocide as a serious crime,
targeting individuals, corporations, and even state actors, in order to guarantee environmental protection as a
collective constitutional right for present and future generations.