Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra
Agricultural land pawning is not a new phenomenon to the traditional communities (<i>Masyarakat Adat</i>) in Indonesia, especially the matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> people who rely on their agricultural land for economic transactions. Based on the national law, customary law...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/8/117 |
| _version_ | 1818580301118439424 |
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| author | Zefrizal Nurdin Hilaire Tegnan |
| author_facet | Zefrizal Nurdin Hilaire Tegnan |
| author_sort | Zefrizal Nurdin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agricultural land pawning is not a new phenomenon to the traditional communities (<i>Masyarakat Adat</i>) in Indonesia, especially the matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> people who rely on their agricultural land for economic transactions. Based on the national law, customary law (referred to as <i>Adat</i> Law hereafter) is to prevail over agrarian issues in Indonesia. But even so, agrarian issues remain under the influence of national law. This study discusses the management of agricultural land pawning in the matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> society according to national, <i>Adat</i>, and Islamic laws. Despite its popularity, the <i>Adat</i> law approach in dealing with land issues, especially agricultural land pawning, has not been well accommodated under National Law. This paper investigates how agricultural land pawning is regulated in Indonesia, with a focus on the <i>Minangkabau</i> society in West Sumatra. This paper does not seek to promote one legal system over another, but instead, it intends to promote legal certainty in agricultural land pawning in West Sumatra. To show how the lack of legal certainty can lead to confusion and conflict, this study relies on the contradicting verdicts of an agrarian conflict case from lower courts to the Supreme Court. The study reveals that the contradiction between national agrarian laws, <i>Minangkabau Adat</i> law and West Sumatra local Regulation No. 16/2008 on Communal Land Tenure causes confusion within the community and the judiciary. Legal certainty is crucial to strengthening the rule of law and democracy in Indonesia, and the conflicting interpretations of agrarian laws belittle this concept. This study suggests that one way to deal with legal uncertainty regarding agrarian law in West Sumatra, and throughout Indonesia, is to promote a stronger and more just decentralization, which is increasingly important as the country faces the question of legal unification. The suggested decentralization effort would leave local issues to the authority of local legislations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:15:25Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:15:25Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb3442c404c1472987add33b31cfd8ff2022-12-21T22:39:47ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2019-07-018811710.3390/land8080117land8080117Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West SumatraZefrizal Nurdin0Hilaire Tegnan1Department of Civil Law, Faculty of Law, Andalas University Padang, Padang 25163, IndonesiaDepartment of Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law, Andalas University Padang, Padang 25163, IndonesiaAgricultural land pawning is not a new phenomenon to the traditional communities (<i>Masyarakat Adat</i>) in Indonesia, especially the matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> people who rely on their agricultural land for economic transactions. Based on the national law, customary law (referred to as <i>Adat</i> Law hereafter) is to prevail over agrarian issues in Indonesia. But even so, agrarian issues remain under the influence of national law. This study discusses the management of agricultural land pawning in the matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> society according to national, <i>Adat</i>, and Islamic laws. Despite its popularity, the <i>Adat</i> law approach in dealing with land issues, especially agricultural land pawning, has not been well accommodated under National Law. This paper investigates how agricultural land pawning is regulated in Indonesia, with a focus on the <i>Minangkabau</i> society in West Sumatra. This paper does not seek to promote one legal system over another, but instead, it intends to promote legal certainty in agricultural land pawning in West Sumatra. To show how the lack of legal certainty can lead to confusion and conflict, this study relies on the contradicting verdicts of an agrarian conflict case from lower courts to the Supreme Court. The study reveals that the contradiction between national agrarian laws, <i>Minangkabau Adat</i> law and West Sumatra local Regulation No. 16/2008 on Communal Land Tenure causes confusion within the community and the judiciary. Legal certainty is crucial to strengthening the rule of law and democracy in Indonesia, and the conflicting interpretations of agrarian laws belittle this concept. This study suggests that one way to deal with legal uncertainty regarding agrarian law in West Sumatra, and throughout Indonesia, is to promote a stronger and more just decentralization, which is increasingly important as the country faces the question of legal unification. The suggested decentralization effort would leave local issues to the authority of local legislations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/8/117legal certaintyagricultural land pawningmatrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> society |
| spellingShingle | Zefrizal Nurdin Hilaire Tegnan Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra Land legal certainty agricultural land pawning matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> society |
| title | Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra |
| title_full | Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra |
| title_fullStr | Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra |
| title_full_unstemmed | Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra |
| title_short | Legal Certainty in the Management of Agricultural Land Pawning in the Matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> Society, West Sumatra |
| title_sort | legal certainty in the management of agricultural land pawning in the matrilineal i minangkabau i society west sumatra |
| topic | legal certainty agricultural land pawning matrilineal <i>Minangkabau</i> society |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/8/117 |
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