UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

The Intertextuality of In Dubio Pro Reo and In Dubio Pro Natura in the Occurrence of Environmental Crimes

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.60153/ijolares.v4i1.216

Authors

Vincentius Patria Setyawan

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.860867+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:17:40.271554+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta

Reported affiliation countries

ID

Documentary abstract — original language

Despite the increasing prosecution of environmental crimes, environmental criminal law scholarship has yet to systematically address how the presumption of innocence, embodied in the maxim in dubio pro reo, operates in cases characterized by scientific uncertainty and diffuse ecological harm, creating a doctrinal gap in balancing procedural safeguards with ecological protection. While this principle safeguards the rights of the accused, its rigid application often conflicts with the need for ecological justice in environmental crime cases, where the victims are not individuals but ecosystems themselves. The emerging principle in dubio pro natura, which promotes environmental protection as a legal priority in ambiguous situations, offers a counterbalance but remains underdeveloped in doctrinal formulation, theoretical grounding, and consistent judicial application. This study argues for a context-sensitive interpretative framework that reconciles in dubio pro reo and in dubio pro natura in the adjudication of environmental crimes. Adopting a normative juridical method grounded in doctrinal legal analysis, this study examines statutory provisions, judicial decisions, and scholarly interpretations at both national and international levels. The findings identify a doctrinal inconsistency affecting evidentiary standards, burden of proof, and preventive enforcement mechanisms In several cases, the application of in dubio pro reo has undermined preventive environmental enforcement, while the potential of in dubio pro natura remains largely rhetorical. The study concludes that a balanced and context-sensitive integration of both principles is necessary to optimize justice, not only for human defendants but also for nature as a legal subject, particularly in prosecuting complex environmental crimes.

Identifiers

DOI

10.60153/ijolares.v4i1.216

OPENALEX

W7146975872

OPENAIRE

doi_________::67a8da8dd0f543c5e2550a50ee3adcd8

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

Article · article

Natural entities mentioned

Ecosystem

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAIRE · Record 1

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.60153/ijolares.v4i1.216
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7146975872

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w2084514558 · CITES
• Creating legal rights for rivers: Lessons from Australia, New Zealand, and India · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.