Transformation of Corporate Crime Regulations in the New Criminal Code Compared to the Old Criminal Code

Abstract

The colonial legacy of the legal fiction doctrine of societas delinquere non potest has been proven to create systemic weaknesses that isolate corporate entities from the jurisdiction of criminal liability. This study aims to analyze the comparative construction of corporate criminal liability between the old Criminal Code (WvS Stb. 1915 No. 732) and the national criminalization regime based on Law Number 1 of 2023. The methodological search relies purely on normative legal research that applies legislative, conceptual, and comparative approaches through literature studies. The results of the analysis demonstrate a radical paradigm leap that definitively abandons the outdated individual liability orientation, moving to adopt direct corporate liability based on corporate fault theory. This latest codification is capable of destroying the immunity of white-collar criminal actors through instruments of proportional fines, asset confiscation, and even permanent dissolution of legal entities. The recognition of corporate compliance as a criterion for institutional forgiveness also marks a crucial transition towards business governance with integrity. This article recommends that law enforcement officials immediately modernize forensic accounting-based investigative tactics to ensnare complex economic crimes without distorting the stability of the business climate.