Regulation of the Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency No. 12 of 2026

Legal Update · October 2026

The Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency has issued a new regulation that revokes the 2012 guidelines on the investigation of environmental crimes. The regulation sets out how environmental civil-servant investigators (Penyidik Pegawai Negeri Sipil Lingkungan Hidup, “PPNS LH”) handle environmental crimes, from the supervision report to the handover of the case file. Among other things, it contains provisions on corporations and the persons in charge of them.

Regulation of the Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Control Agency No. 12 of 2026 on the Handling of Criminal Acts in the Environmental Sector (“Permen LH 12/2026”) takes effect on 29 September 2026. Permen LH 12/2026 revokes Minister of Environment Regulation No. 11 of 2012 on Guidelines for the Investigation of Criminal Acts in the Environmental Protection and Management Sector (“Permen LH 11/2012”). It governs how PPNS LH handle environmental crimes, from the preliminary investigation (penyelidikan) to the termination of an investigation (penghentian penyidikan), including the preliminary investigation and investigation of corporations.

• Environmental crimes are handled on the basis of either an environmental supervision report or a person being caught in the act (tertangkap tangan).
• Liability of a corporation falls on both the corporation and the persons in charge of it, where a person in charge of the corporation must attend the examination of the corporation.
• The naming of a suspect and an arrest are based on at least 2 pieces of evidence, while detention is based on at least 2 pieces of valid evidence. PPNS LH carry out an arrest or detention on the order of investigators of the Indonesian National Police (Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia, “Polri”).
• Inspection of letters and blocking are on the list of coercive measures, together with a prohibition on the suspect leaving Indonesia.
• PPNS LH must inform a suspect of his or her rights clearly and rights to appoint an advocate or a legal aid provider (pemberi bantuan hukum) for the suspect, and the examination of a suspect is recorded by surveillance camera throughout.

The full publication, including the comparison with Permen LH 11/2012 and the table of time limits, is available for download here.

This material is published by IGNOS Law Alliance (“IGNOS”), a law firm based in Jakarta that practises in the jurisdiction of Indonesia. It summarises the regulation named above on the basis of its text as at the date of publication, and is provided for general information only. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. It should not be relied on or acted on without first obtaining advice on your own circumstances from a qualified lawyer. Where this material refers to an Indonesian regulation, only the official Indonesian text of that regulation is authoritative. IGNOS does not guarantee that this material is complete, accurate or current and, to the extent permitted by law, accepts no liability for any action taken or not taken on the basis of its content. Further disclaimers are available at https://ignoslaw.com/disclaimers.html.