The Application of The Principle of Prudence in The Issuance of Replacement Certificates: A Perspective on Adat Law and Positive Law

Stefanus Sianturi; Asmarani Ramli

doi:10.21107/tlr.v7i2.29846

The Application of The Principle of Prudence in The Issuance of Replacement Certificates: A Perspective on Adat Law and Positive Law

Stefanus Sianturi, Asmarani Ramli

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the application of the principle of prudence in issuing replacement land certificates from both positive and customary law perspectives. It addresses the increasing land conflicts caused by duplicate certificates and administrative negligence in Indonesia’s land administration system. The research contributes a novel dual-legal approach by integrating statutory procedures and indigenous legal norms into a coherent framework to enhance legal certainty. Employing a normative juridical method, the study uses document analysis, statutory interpretation, and interviews with land officials. The primary data sources include Government Regulation No. 24 of 1997 and Decision No. 59/Pdt.G/2022/PN Unr. Findings reveal systemic weaknesses in verification procedures and a lack of institutional coordination, resulting in the fraudulent reissuance of certificates. Additionally, the neglect of adat-based verification undermines social legitimacy in customary regions. This research concludes that the current formal procedures are insufficient to prevent forgery and land conflicts. It recommends regulatory reform and the incorporation of community-based verification mechanisms as part of a precautionary legal standard. The study provides a critical foundation for integrating legal pluralism into national land governance.

Keywords

Principle of Prudence, Replacement Certificate; Adat Law; Legal Certainty; Land Administration

References

Admos Chimhowu, “The ‘New’ African Customary Land Tenure. Characteristic, Features and Policy Implications of a New Paradigm,” Land Use Policy 81 (February 2021): 897–903, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.014.

Afrizal and Ward Berenschot, “Resolving Land Conflicts in Indonesia,” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia 176, no. 4 (November 6, 2020): 561–574, https://doi.org/10.1163/22134379-17604002.

Anjar Alatas Sasmita, Ma’ruf Hafidz, and Hasbuddin Khalid, “Penerapan Prinsip Kehati-Hatian terhadap Pendaftaran Hak Milik atas Tanah sebagai Upaya Mencegah Terbitnya Sertipikat Ganda,” Journal of Lex Generalis 3, no. 5 (2022): 1139–1146, https://pasca-umi.ac.id/index.php/jlg/article/view/895.

Annabel Dulhunty, “When Extractive and Racial Capitalism Combine – Indigenous and Caste Based Struggles with Land, Labour and Law in India,” Geoforum 147 (December 2023): 103887, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103887.

Ayi Vevi Resvina, “Prinsip Kehati-Hatian Pejabat Pembuat Akta Tanah dalam Pembuatan Akta Jual Beli Berkaitan dengan Alas Hak dan Keterangan Palsu,” Jurnal Cahaya Mandalika 6, no. 2 (2024): 1858–1864, https://doi.org/10.55812/jcm.v6i2.2982.

Bambang Hermiyanto, Cindia Mawarni, Sugeng Winarso, and Subhan Arief Budiman, “Soil Quality Assessment and Land Capability Evaluation for Determining Integrated Watershed Management Model through SWOT Analysis and AHP Method in Arjasa Sub-Watershed, Indonesia,” Watershed Ecology and the Environment 7 (2025): 104–118, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsee.2025.02.001.

Barid Hardiyanto, “Politics of Land Policies in Indonesia in the Era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,” Land Use Policy 101 (February 2021): 105134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105134.

Christine A. Daly et al., “Reclaiming Homeland - An Evaluation of Traditional Land Use Planning in Oils Sands Mine Closure and Reclamation Plans,” Resources Policy 103 (2025): 105552, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105552.

Cristenia Gracia Theis and Walid Jumlad, “The Role of the Class I Immigration Office of TPI Yogyakarta in Preventing Illegal Indonesian Migrant Workers Based on Law Number 6 of 2011,” IJRAEL: International Journal of Religion Education and Law 1, no. 1 (2022): 19–29, https://doi.org/10.57235/ijrael.v1i1.39.

Diego Buitrago-Mora and Miquel-Àngel Garcia-López, “Real Estate Prices and Land Use Regulations: Evidence from the Law of Heights in Bogotá,” Regional Science and Urban Economics 101 (July 2023): 103914, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2023.103914.

Eric Mensah Kumeh et al., “Customary Power, Farmer Strategies and the Dynamics of Access to Protected Forestlands for Farming: Implications for Ghana’s Forest Bioeconomy,” Forest Policy and Economics 133 (December 2021): 102597, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102597.

Euthalia H. Sittadewi, Iwan G. Tejakusuma, Asep Mulyono, Titin Handayani, Adrin Tohari, and Zufialdi Zakaria, “Post-Landslide Restoration through Multistrata Agroforestry-Based Land Management in the West Bogor Area of Indonesia,” Trees, Forests and People 16 (June 2024): 100593, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2024.100593.

Francesco Maria Pierri, Ward Anseeuw, and Adriano Campolina, “Land Tenure for Resilient and Inclusive Rural Transformation,” Global Food Security 44 (2025): 100835, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100835.

Glenn Campbell and Lachlan Pirie, “Incorporating Indigenous Boundaries into Australian Law,” Land Use Policy 141 (June 2024): 107158, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107158.

Hendrikus Krisanto Mario Djawa Tay, Agustinus Hedewata, and Yossie M. Y. Jacob, “Penerapan Prinsip Kehati-Hatian dan Kepastian Hukum dalam Penerbitan Sertifikat Hak Atas Tanah oleh Kantor Pertanahan Kabupaten Nagekeo,” Jaksa: Jurnal Kajian Ilmu Hukum dan Politik 2, no. 1 (Januari 2024): 38–49, https://doi.org/10.51903/jaksa.v2i1.1474.

Julia R. Entwistle, “Community Land Governance in Liberia: Implications for Tenure Security and Land Concessions,” 2025.

Juliani Tanner, Hendrik Salmon, and Yohanes Pattinasarany, “Pertanggungjawaban Hukum Badan Pertanahan Nasional Terhadap Keberadaan Sertifikat Ganda,” CAPITAN: Constitutional Law & Administrative Law Review 1, no. 1 (July 27, 2023): 23–32, https://doi.org/10.47268/capitan.v1i1.9905.

Lenny Maulani Maulani, “Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Pemegang Sertipikat Tanah Pengganti Karena Hilang,” Indonesian State Law Review (ISLRev) 4, no. 1 (2021): 1–6, https://doi.org/10.15294/islrev.v4i1.46807.

Louis De Redon and Camille Mialot, “Soil Protection and Land Property Law in France: On the Way to a Functional Approach to Soil?,” Soil Security 16 (September 2024): 100165, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soisec.2024.100165.

Michael M. Getzner et al., “Socio-Economic, Political and Fiscal Drivers of Unsustainable Local Land Use Decisions,” Land Use Policy 153 (2025): 107537, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107537.

Novri Susan, Scenario Building on Law No. 7 of 2012 about Social Conflict Intervention: The Possible Future of Land Conflict Management in Indonesia, Procedia Environmental Sciences 17 (2013): 870–879, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2013.02.105.

Otelemate Ibim Dokubo, Maria Alina Radulescu, and Lorenzo Squintani, “What Law Does Not Understand about Public Participation,” Heliyon 10, no. 11 (June 2024): e32001, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32001.

Panji Karya Pramana, “Perinsip Kehati-Hatian Dalam Proses Penerbitan Sertifikat Hak Atas Tanah Oleh Kantor Badan Pertanahan Nasional (BPN) Di Kabupaten Lombok Timur,” JURIDICA: Jurnal Fakultas Hukum Universitas Gunung Rinjani 5, no. 2 (May 31, 2024): 63–80, https://doi.org/10.46601/juridicaugr.v5i2.295.

Phyu Phyu Han et al., “The Evolution of Land Governance in Myanmar: A Historical Analysis of the People-Land Nexus in the Konbaung Dynasty and British Colonial Eras,” Forest Policy and Economics 172 (2025): 103446, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103446.

Pius John Nyamhanga, Emmanuel Timothy Malisa, and Samwel J. Kabote, “Village Land Governance: Compliance with Village Land-Use Planning in Selected Communities in Tanzania,” Heliyon 11 (2025): e42827, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42827.

Raharja Sasmita, Randikha Prabu, Sigid Suseno, and Patris Yusrian Jaya, “The Concept of Reasons for Eliminating Corporate Crime in Criminal Law in Indonesia,” Heliyon 9 (2023): e21602, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21602.

Samuli Haataja, “Cyber Operations and Automatic Hack Backs under International Law on Necessity,” Computer Law & Security Review 53 (July 2024): 105992, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2024.105992.

Sean Scannell and Vincent Tawiah, “A Thematic Literature Review on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS),” Public Organization Review 24, no. 3 (September 2024): 1053–75, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-024-00773-1.

Sendy Salsabila Saifuddin and Yulia Qamariyanti, “Kepastian Hukum Sertifikat Hak Milik Atas Tanah atas Terbitnya Surat Keterangan Tanah pada Objek Tanah yang sama,” Notary Law Journal 1, no. 1 (February 8, 2022): 31–48, https://doi.org/10.32801/nolaj.v1i1.2.

Simon Manda and Lizzy Banda, “Seeing like the State? Customary Land Pressures and Fracturing Tenure Systems in Rural Zambia,” Land Use Policy 132 (September 2023): 106833, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106833.

Takashi Kurosaki, Saumik Paul, and Firman Witoelar, “In Pursuit of Power: Land Tenancy Contracts and Local Political Business Cycles in Indonesia,” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 227 (November 2024): 106764, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106764.

Tasya Aisyah Putri Saleh, “Prinsip Kehati-hatian dalam Penerbitan Sertifikat Hak Atas Tanah yang Sedang dalam Sengketa Pada Program PTSL,” UNES Law Review 6, no. 1 (September 2023): 3560–3571, https://doi.org/10.31933/unesrev.v6i1.

Tupalishe Mulwafu and Garton Kamchedzera, “Land Degradation Neutrality and the Weak Avoid, Reduce and Reverse Priorities in Malawi’s Soil Laws,” Soil Security 14 (March 2024): 100134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soisec.2024.100134.

Tyas Ismi Trialfhianty, Claire Helen Quinn, and Maria Beger, “Engaging Customary Law to Improve the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in Indonesia,” Ocean & Coastal Management 261 (February 2025): 107543, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107543.

Vijesh V. Krishna, Christoph Kubitza, Unai Pascual, and Matin Qaim, “Land Markets, Property Rights, and Deforestation: Insights from Indonesia,” World Development 99 (November 2017): 335–349, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.018.

Ward Berenschot, Ahmad Dhiaulhaq, Otto Hospes, Afrizal, and Daniel Pranajaya, “Corporate Contentious Politics: Palm Oil Companies and Land Conflicts in Indonesia,” Political Geography 114 (October 2024): 103166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2024.103166.

Wyda Lusiana et al., “Sertifikat Elektronik sebagai Jaminan Kepastian Hukum Kepemilikan Hak Atas Tanah di Desa Mojowatesrejo, Kecamatan Kemlagi, Kabupaten Mojokerto,” Cakrawala: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Global 4, no. 1 (January 9, 2025): 47–55, https://doi.org/10.30640/cakrawala.v4i1.3762.

Zarema Akhmadiyeva and Thomas Herzfeld, “How Does Practice Matches Land Laws in Central Asia?,” Land Use Policy 109 (October 2021): 105726, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105726.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21107/tlr.v7i2.29846