Legal analysis on the calculation of loss value for the case of industrial forest fire (Case study verdict No. 24/Pdt.G/2015/PN.PlgjoNo. 51/PDT/2016/PT.PLG)

Abstract

PT. Bumi Mekar Hijau is an industrial forest company sued by Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the court for forest fire. In the lawsuit, Ministry of Environment and Forestry filed a lawsuit of IDR 7,986,605,000,000 in which the material compensation is paid in cash to the Plaintiff through State Treasury Account of IDR 2,687,102,500,000, while the defendant was required to recover the environment which was on fire, with a width of 20,000 hectares at the cost of IDR 5,299,502,500,000. The value of lawsuit against PT. Bumi Mekar Hijau is extremely large. It’s the largest lawsuit in the case of forest and land fire in Indonesia. In the verdict of Palembang District Court, the Judge rejected this lawsuit, considering that Judge did not see any loss caused by the fire since there was no extinction or ecological damage. Thus, soil can be planted again, while there was no intention of PT. Bumi Mekar Hijau to clear land by burning forest. When the fire occurred and who did it is not known, so the unlawful conduct cannot be proven. Decision of Palembang High Court No. 51/PDT/2016/PT.PLG annuls the first-degree decision by requiring the defendant, PT. Bumi Mekar Hijau, to pay compensation of IDR 78,502,500,000. This paper will discuss whether loss value claims submitted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry are in accordance with the rules of environmental law. In addition, it also discussed whether the application of the law by the first-level Panel of Judges and the level of appeal were correct, specifically related to loss value or compensation.