Criminal Law Protection of Local Genetic Resources and Seeds in Support of National Food Sovereignty
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Indonesia is a megabiodiverse country that has an extraordinary wealth of genetic resources and local seeds. However, threats such as biopiracy, land conversion, concentration of seed control by multinational corporations, and weak law enforcement are serious challenges to national food sovereignty. This study comprehensively examines how criminal law instruments in Indonesia can be at the forefront of protecting genetic resources and local seeds. Using normative juridical research methods with legislative, conceptual, and comparative approaches, this study analyzes Law Number 13 of 2010 concerning Horticulture, Law Number 12 of 1992 concerning Plant Cultivation Systems, Law Number 29 of 2000 concerning the Protection of Plant Varieties, Law Number 11 of 2013 concerning the Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol, as well as provisions in the Criminal Code and other related regulations. The results of the study show that there are four fundamental weaknesses: (1) the disharmony of norms between laws and regulations; (2) the lack of clarity in the operational definition of local seeds and genetic resources in the criminal context; (3) disproportionate criminal sanctions that do not provide a deterrent effect; and (4) the absence of a recovery mechanism (restitutive) for the farming community that is the victim. This study recommends establishing a comprehensive Genetic Resources Protection Law with a corresponding criminal charge, the development of environmental criminal law doctrines that are responsive to food sovereignty issues, and the strengthening of law enforcement institutions specializing in agrarian crimes and genetic resources.
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