Punishing Environmental Offenses Without Guilty Mind: Regulatory Framework and Judicial Responses

Abstract

This paper explores the legal considerations and the scope of application of criminal liability without guilty mind in environmental offenses in Indonesia. Under the existing Environmental Law, liability without fault has been applicable exclusively in civil cases. This paper combines literature and induction research methods. The first method dives into the legal provision in Environmental Law containing the formulation of the offenses, while the induction method refers to the analysis on judicial decisions in the application of liability without fault. The findings of the study show that most of the prohibited offenses in environmental legislation deal with the malum prohibitum crime tied to the violation of a permit. The mental element is not explicitly stated in these offenses. Hence, the culpability of the defendant is presumed to be displayed in the evidence of the prohibited conduct. Waste or emissions discharged into the environmental media without authorisation is prohibited and pertaining the potential to harm the environment. These offenses are included as formal offenses by removing the element of culpability in the structure of the offense. It is also sufficient for the court to rule that the defendants have committed the prohibited conduct as the basis for imposing criminal sanction.