Conceptualizing Criminal Fine Enforcement in Indonesia’s Forestry Sector through Ecological Restoration

Abstract

Low compliance in the enforcement of corporate criminal fines in Indonesia’s forestry sector has fostered impunity for offenders, undermining ecological restoration. This research aims to provide a conceptual framework for reforming the rigid criminal fine enforcement system to achieve both legal rigor and ecological justice. The research adopts a normative legal methodology, employing a statutory approach to analyze environmental and forestry regulations to identify legal gaps, alongside a conceptual approach to design a more stringent mechanism for corporate fine enforcement. The findings indicate that while Indonesia has established mechanisms for imposing fines for forestry-related offenses, the effectiveness of law enforcement post-judicial rulings remains low, exacerbated by pervasive judicial corruption. Consequently, corporations often evade their financial obligations, preventing both ecological and economic restitution. This research proposes a law enforcement framework that integrates preventive and repressive measures, applying parameters such as the size of concessions, logging method requirements, royalty payments, and penalties within government policy instruments, with a central focus on executing fines to ensure environmental restoration.