Examining Corporate Criminal Liability After Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code in Indonesia

Abstract

The reform of the national criminal law through Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (KUHP) has brought fundamental changes to the concept of corporate criminal responsibility. The new Criminal Code explicitly recognizes corporations as the subject of criminal law. This seems to shift the classic paradigm of "societas delinquere non potest". This research aims to analyze the normative construction related to corporate criminal liability after the enactment of the 2023 Criminal Code, including the recognition of corporations as criminal subjects, elements of offense, the relationship between management accountability and corporations, forms of criminal sanctions, and their harmonization with sectoral laws. The research method used is normative juridical with legislative, conceptual, and comparative approaches. The results of the study show that the 2023 Criminal Code develops a systemic corporate accountability model through a corporate policy approach and prevention failures. Nevertheless, its implementation still faces challenges in the aspects of proving corporate "mens rea", law enforcement culture, and synchronization of norms between legal regimes. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen technical regulations, judicial guidelines, and increase the capacity of law enforcement officials so that corporate criminalization runs effectively and fairly.