Law of Indonesia is based on a
civil law system, intermixed with local customary law and the
Roman Dutch law
Roman-Dutch law (Dutch: ''Rooms-Hollands recht'', Afrikaans: ''Romeins-Hollandse reg'') is an uncodified, scholarship-driven, and judge-made legal system based on Roman law as applied in the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, i ...
. Before the Dutch presence and colonization began in the sixteenth century, indigenous kingdoms ruled the archipelago independently with their own custom laws, known as (unwritten, traditional rules still observed in the Indonesian society).
Foreign influences from India, China and the Middle East have not only affected culture, but also the customary laws. The people of
Aceh
Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
in
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, for instance, observe their own
sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
law, while ethnic groups like the
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Chri ...
in
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
still follow their
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
customary law.
Dutch presence and subsequent colonization of Indonesia for over three centuries has left a legacy of Dutch colonial law, largely in the Indonesian
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...
and
criminal code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
. Following independence in 1945, Indonesia began to form its own modern Indonesian law, modifying existing precepts. Dutch legal decisions maintain some authority in Indonesia through application of the concordance principle. The three components of , or customary law; Dutch-Roman law; and modern Indonesian law co-exist in the current law of Indonesia.
Hierarchy of legislations
Indonesian legislation comes in different forms. The following official hierarchy of Indonesian legislations (from top to bottom) is enumerated in Article 7 of Act No 12 of 2011, a "Law Concerning Making Rules":
#
The 1945 Constitution ( or UUD 1945);
#
Resolutions of the People's Consultative Assembly
The People's Consultative Assembly, the bicameral legislature of Indonesia, passed a series of resolutions of the People's Consultative Assembly () or TAP MPR throughout the 1960s, to the very last issued in 2003.
List of MPR and MPRS resoluti ...
( or Tap MPR);
# Acts ( or UU, also translated as Laws) and government regulations in-lieu-of Acts ( or Perppu);
# Government regulations ( or PP);
# Presidential regulations ( or Perpres);
# Provincial ordinances ( or Perda Provinsi); and
# City ordinances ( or Perda Kota) and Regency ordinances ( or Perda Kabupaten).
In practice, there are also presidential decrees ( or Keppres), presidential instructions ( or Inpres), ministerial regulations ( or Permen)'','' ministerial decrees ( or Kepmen) and circulars ( or SE)'','' all of which are legally binding and sometimes conflict with each other.
Once a legislation is promulgated, a State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia () is issued by
State Secretariat. Sometimes elucidation of the legislation () or attached documents like charts accompany the main legislation in a supplement to the State Gazette (). The
Government of Indonesia
The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and ju ...
also produces State Reports (, ) to publish government and public notices as well as other ministerial regulations and decrees.
The 1945 Constitution
The 1945 Constitution is the highest legal instrument in Indonesia, to which the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government must defer. The constitution was written in July and August 1945, when Indonesia was emerging from Japanese occupation toward the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was replaced by the
1949 Federal Constitution and the
1950 Provisional Constitution, but was restored after
President Sukarno decreed its reintroduction as the Constitution of Indonesia on 5 July 1959. However,
constitutional deviations grew rapidly during Sukarno Administration.
The
32 years of Suharto Administration ended any practice of constitutional deviations exercised under Sukarno (i.e. empowering Sukarno to rule as President-for-Life, as well as allowing the president to appoint or dismiss members of the legislature at will). However, the constitution would never been amended either. In contrast to Sukarno's volatile administration, Suharto refused to countenance any changes to the constitution and the
People's Consultative Assembly
The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Politics of Indonesia, Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the membe ...
() passed a resolution in 1985 requiring a national referendum for any constitutional amendments.
After the
Suharto's fall in 1998, the MPR amended the constitution four times between 1999 and 2002. Important amendments include a direct presidential election by the people, as well as limiting presidential term of office to only two-term five years each; The previous clauses in the Constitution of which had made it possible for Suharto's administration to stay in power for more than five terms. After the final amendment in 2002, the
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
( or DPR, the lower house) gained more power of oversight over the executive branch, the
Regional Representatives Council
The Regional Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD; alternatively translatable as the House of Regions or the House of Regional Representatives or the Senate of Indonesia), is one of two parliamentary chambers in Indonesi ...
( or DPD, the upper house) was established, regional government and regional autonomy was recognized, and an expanded section about
civil and human rights among other changes. The constitution consists of 26 chapters and 37 articles.
Resolutions of the People's Consultative Assembly
Resolution of the People's Consultative Assembly () or Tap MPR in short is issued by the
People's Consultative Assembly
The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Politics of Indonesia, Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the membe ...
(, or MPR, the bicameral legislature of Indonesia), with legal binding power directly below the Constitution. Under the original, unamended 1945 Constitution, MPR is the highest state institution in Indonesia, with the sole power to exercise popular sovereignty, amend the Constitution, vote and elect the president, and enact a Broad Guidelines of State Policy (. Thus, Tap MPR (despite not directly mentioned as a power of the MPR) is used to guide national and government policy, and its use was promoted during Suharto Administration.
After the fall of Suharto from power, MPR amended the constitution, and ceased to issue any further Resolutions. In a final Tap MPR enacted in 2003, MPR confirmed the binding power of some Resolutions (such as the Resolution to ban the Marxist–Leninist ideology) and declared the rest as completely or partially devoid of legal powers. Previously in 2000, MPR included the Resolutions in the official hierarchy of Indonesian legislations, but removed it in a 2004 Act of Lawmaking. Finally in 2011 a new Act of Lawmaking was enacted, reintroducing the Tap MPR into the official hierarchy of Indonesian legislations, but not confirming MPR power to issue further resolutions.
Acts and government regulations in-lieu-of acts
Acts or laws ( or UU) can only be enacted by the DPR with the president's assent. The
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, DPR, and DPD can propose a
bill of law ( or RUU) to be deliberated by the DPR. During the process of drafting and deliberating a bill, DPR forms a small task group to discuss the proposed legislation with the relevant government institutions and various stakeholders. When agreement has been reached and the DPR has approved the bill, the president signs the bill and it is enshrined into law as an act. However, if the president refuses to sign the bill approved by DPR, the bill will automatically be enacted within thirty days and is promulgated. When agreement cannot be reached within DPR to enact a bill into law, the bill may not be proposed again during the current DPR session.
The president are also authorized to promulgate a Government Regulations in-lieu-of Acts ( or Perppu in short) by the Constitution. There are several reason why the president might issue a Perppu:
* An emergency situation has arisen, in which an act (or revision of an act) is required, but deliberation process in the DPR may take too long;
* A legal vacuum has happened or legal loopholes has been discovered due to lack of sufficient Acts regarding the subject;
* Certain matters is not sufficiently covered under existing Acts.
However, after promulgation by the president, Perppu must be submitted to DPR for approval during the immediate DPR session (regular or extraordinary). If approved, Perppu will be enacted into an act. If not approved, said Perppu will be devoid of any legal power, and the president must submit a bill to repeal the Perppu. But during the time period between promulgation by the president and approval by DPR, Perppu is still a legally binding legislation with the same power as a proper Act.
Government regulations
Government regulations ( or PP) are issued by the president in the name of the Government to execute an act into proper government policies and regulations.
Presidential regulations
Presidential regulations ( or Perpres) are issued by the president to execute an act and its government regulation into sets of a more flexible and matter-specific policies and regulations, usually to be further executed by relevant institutions, ministries, and agency.
Provincial, city, and regency ordinances
Under current Indonesian administrative subdivisions, Indonesia is divided into 34 provinces () headed by a governor (). Each provinces is then subdivided into the urban cities () headed by a mayor (), and the rural regencies () headed by a regent (). Each of the provinces, cities, and regencies also have their own legislatures, called the Regional People's Representative Council ( or DPRD). There are further administrative subdivisions below the cities and regencies, but they do not issue legislations. Several regions may use different nomenclatures for their subdivisions, but are principally still the same.
Ordinances or regional regulations ( or Perda) are sets of legislations issued by the regional government applicable under their respective jurisdictions: provincial ordinances ( or Perda Provinsi) issued by the Provincial DPRD, city ordinances ( or Perda Kota) issued by the city DPRD, and regency ordinances ( or Perda Kabupaten) issued by the regency DPRD. The provincial ordinances is higher in rank than the city and regency ordinances, though sometimes legislations passed on the national level allowed them to be directly executed with city and regency ordinances, bypassing the issuance of provincial ordinances.
The ordinances regulated specific matters pertaining regional autonomy, facilitation of local situations, and executions of legislations of higher level than the ordinances.
The governors, mayors, and regents may issue their own regulations, decrees, and instructions to further execute and specified matters of the ordinances into applicable policies.
Similarly with the case in national-level Acts lawmaking procedures, the DPRDs and the regional heads of government can propose bills of law to be deliberated in the DPRD. If an agreement has been reached, the regional heads of government will sign the bill into an ordinance, then the bill will automatically enacted into an ordinance within thirty days.
Sources of laws
Written laws
As Indonesia is considered to prescribe to
civil law system, the legal system is heavily reliant on
statutory laws
Statutory law or statute law is written law passed by a body of legislature. This is opposed to oral or customary law; or regulatory law promulgated by the executive or common law of the judiciary. Statutes may originate with national, state leg ...
. Generally, all legislations explicitly mentioned in the official hierarchy of Indonesian laws (the hierarchy of legislations mentioned above) is legally binding and applicable as a source of law. Other legally binding legislations not included in the official hierarchy may be mentioned in the attached elucidation of the 2011 Lawmaking Act. Treaties ratified into an act also serve as a source of law.
Under Article 2 of the transitory provisions in the Constitution, all legislations and institutions made under Dutch colonial law will remain in place and in force, until new legislations and institutions are made to replace them. Legislations such as the ''
Algemene Bepalingen'' are still in force (albeit with articles repealed with new legislations), and institutions such as the civil registry still operates to this day.
Unwritten laws
The term "Unwritten Laws" refers to laws not promulgated through official authority. There are concerns that Indonesian legal system grew increasingly positivist and overregulated, pushing the unwritten laws to irrelevance.
Conventions
Conventions or customary norms are rules that was followed by official authority and considered an applicable law, even though it was not enacted through any official means. These conventions are usually rules which are conducted and abided by society in a similar situation, all while a legal belief must exist that said rules are binding as law (''
Opinio juris sive necessitatis
''Opinio'' was a Dutch weekly magazine which was briefly published between 2007 and 2008. The magazine was headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
History
''Opinio'' was first appeared on 18 January 2007. The magazine ceased operations and d ...
'').
In Indonesia, a sets of Constitutional Conventions () existed and observed by academics and lawmakers. Most of the conventions are now set into law as statutes.
''Adat'' laws
''Adat laws'' are a set of written, traditional rules still observed in Indonesian society. It usually involves sets of laws, code of conducts, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Instead on relying on written codes, the observance and enforcement of laws involve elder member of the society as well as their collective will and awareness.
No single, unified laws apply for the whole Indonesian society; Every ethnic groups have their own sets of laws.
It is similar to how conventions work, with the addition of an evolutionary characteristic of laws. For example, laws observed in
Minang society of west Sumatran highlands initially ascribed toward worship of ancestors, as well as Hindu-Buddhist faith. After Islam was adopted as an integral faith within the Minang people, Islamic values began to be inserted into the laws of Minang people, without completely abolishing the existing values.
Principles of Sharia Law
Sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
Law as a whole is not considered to be part of Indonesian unwritten laws. However, a deep influence of Islam existed on how to approach Indonesian laws, and aspects of Sharia Law is applicable on certain aspects of Indonesian Muslims' livelihood. Initial major presence of Islam in Indonesian laws existed in the form of marriage and inheritance laws for Muslims. Its rules is directly applied in the Religious Court, and currently an official compilation of applicable marriage and inheritance laws existed and later adopted as a statute, in the form of Presidential Instruction No. 1/1991 on the Introduction of Islamic Law Compilation.
Later, a 2006 amendment for the 1989 Religious Court Act expanded the religious courts' authority to include hearing cases of Sharia economy disputes. Another one, a 1998 amendment for the 1992 Banking Act also distinguished conventional banking from Sharia banking.
A major change happen under the Act of Aceh Governance No. 11/2006, which acknowledged Aceh's special status within Indonesia. The Act allows for the widespread application of Sharia laws in the local governance of Aceh, includes education, economy, and judicial system. A special nomenclature of Ordinance, the ''
Qanun'', is used for Aceh legislations. Sharia criminal law is
applicable in Aceh.
Legal doctrines
Secondary source materials on Indonesian laws may be used. Opinions, doctrines, and academic writings, such as books and law journals written by legal scholars and practitioners may usually be used in court for providing explanation and elucidation purpose. Recently, the use of online websites and databases may provide an alternative channel to look for references, which otherwise may be hard to search by conventional means.
Jurisprudences
Court decisions, case laws, or judge-made laws are not binding beyond the case and the parties; ''
Stare decisis
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
'' or precedents is not directly applicable in Indonesia, as is common with other civil law countries. However, decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, including the attached dissenting and concurring opinions, are considered to have persuasive force of precedence and are usually referred to at subsequent cases. However, judges are not bound to apply previous decisions, and will mainly use the facts presented to the court to reach a decision.
Criminal laws
Main sources of law for Indonesian criminal law come from the criminal code () and the criminal procedural code (). Other rules concerning a more specific subject on criminal actions may come from Acts and other regulations. The criminal code is a localized, translated version of Dutch colonial criminal code, the . The criminal procedural code is post-colonial, enacted into law in 1981.
Under the previous pre-2023 Criminal Code, Indonesian criminal legal system recognized two types of criminal acts: the heavier crimes ( or ) and the lesser misdemeanors ( or ). However this distinction is abolished with the new Criminal Code enacted in 2023.
Pre-2023 Criminal code
The pre-2023 Criminal Code (Staatsblad 1915:732, entered into force in 1918, adopted by independent Indonesia by Law No. 1/1946 to be applied in Java and Madura, and finally made applicable nationwide by Law No. 73/1958) is divided into three "Books". First Book deals with general provisions including extent of application, punishment, participation in punishable acts, filing of complaints in criminal cases, and lapse of the right to prosecute and definitions. Second Book deals with crimes including crimes against the state, against public order, crimes against life, and crimes against the person and property. Third Book sets out the misdemeanors.
2023 Criminal Code
The Indonesian government has considered changes to the criminal code ever since independence, with the colonial-era code being seen as a mismatch with current national culture and values. In 2019, a new bill on criminal code was publicly announced, but controversial provisions criminalizing extramarital sex, abortions, and other restrictions on religious and civil liberties led to
a series of protests and riots in response, ultimately causing the bill to replace the code to be scrapped. However, in 2022, a bill reintroducing the 2019 proposal with some statutes being "watered down" was passed by Indonesia's parliament and is planned to take effect in full after a three-year provisional period, despite similar concerns about its effect on civil rights and the rights of religious and sexual minorities.
The new criminal code is finally enacted as
Law No. 1/2023 on the Criminal Code. The code is expanded to 624 articles, split into 2 Books: "General Provisions" and "Crime"; The new code no longer differentiates crime from lesser misdemeanors. It also contains provisions regarding government acknowledgement regarding 'living laws' (''adat'' or customary rules) in punishing crimes.
Punishments
Pre-2023 Criminal Code
Article 10 of the pre-2023 Criminal Code rules on the initial sets of
punishments
Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...
imposed on people convicted of a crime. There are two types of punishments: Main and Additional Punishments.
Main Punishments consist of:
*
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
(''pidana mati'') by firing squads. Prior to 1964, the execution method used is hanging;
*
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
(''pidana penjara''), either for
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
, or for a minimum of one year and maximum of 20 years;
* Detention (''pidana kurungan''), which is the term used for imprisonment under one year imposed on people convicted of misdemeanors.;
* Fines (''pidana denda''); and
* Enshelterment (''Pidana tutupan''), a special type of imprisonment imposed on people convicted for crimes committed for "honorable means". The only time it was imposed was after the
3 July Affairs, of which the prisoners were important public and political figures.
Additional Punishments, which imposed only to complement the Main Punishments, consist of:
* Deprivations of certain rights (''pencabutan hak-hak tertentu'');
* Seizures of certain property and goods (''perampasan barang-barang tertentu''); and
* Public announcement of court decisions (''pembacaan putusan Hakim'').
2023 Criminal Code
Article 64 of the new Criminal Code rules on three types of punishment categories: Main punishments, Additional punishments, and Capital punishment (written in the code as 'other punishments specified for particular crimes in other rules').
Main punishments consist of:
* Imprisonment
* Enshelterment
* Observation
* Fines; and
* Community services.
Additional punishments consist of:
* Deprivations of certain rights
* Seizures of certain property and goods
* Public announcement of court rulings and decisions
* Payment of restitution
* Fulfilment of customary obligation.
Civil laws
Indonesian legal system utilizes the ''Civil Code'' ( or KUHPer, previously known as ''Burgerlijk Wetboek'' or BW), as well as two civil procedural codes: or HIR for civil cases in Java and Madura, and or RBG for civil cases outside Java and Madura. There is also the ''Commerce Code'' ( or KUHD previously known as ) used for basic commercial principles. The Civil Code, the Commerce Code, and both civil procedural codes are Dutch colonial legal codes, directly adapted from Dutch laws. Other rules concerning civil law may come from newer, more specific Acts and other regulations.
Civil code
The Civil Code (Staatsblad 1847:23, entered into force in 1848) is divided into four "Books": Persons (''Orang''), Property (''Kebendaan''), Contracts (''Perikatan''), and Evidence and Expirations (''Pembuktian dan Daluwarsa''). Note that many chapters and articles within the Civil Code has been repealed and replaced by newer legislations.
Family laws
Rules on marriage in Indonesia are stipulated mostly under the 1974 Marriage Act () and has largely unchanged, safe for an amendment in 2019 and three constitutional reviews in 2010, 2015, and 2017. The Act itself repealed several articles on family and marriage previously covered in the Civil Code, as well as repealed colonial laws on Mixed Marriage () and special rules for marriage of native Christians (), creating a post-colonial outlook and approach on family law in Indonesia. In addition, some rules are also added through the official Indonesian Compilation of Islamic Laws (), a set of general Sharia laws and principles in private laws, applicable and compatible with Islamic practices in present-day Indonesian Muslim society.
In summary:
* The act of
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
in Indonesian law is a spiritual union of man and woman, legal if it is lawful under each parties' religious rules of marriage. Such marriage then will be acknowledged by state and will be recorded in the civil registry.
* All marriage by principle are monogamous. However,
polygynous marriage is allowed under strict limitations, such as if the wife is unable to conceive or unable to exercise her family duty as a wife. Most importantly, the wife must be present and give the husband her permission to marry again. Meanwhile,
polyandrous marriage is not allowed.
*
Marriageable age
Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the general age, as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental, religious or other forms of social approval, at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage. Age and other prerequisites to ...
is 19 for both man and woman. Prior to the 2017 constitutional review and 2019 amendment of the Act, it was 19 for man and 16 for woman. It was altered due to conflicting rules with another law which define a child as being under 18 years of age, including unborn child. However the Act still allowed the record of marriage involving parties below the marriageable age, if the parties request and receive a court dispensation (from the Religious Court if Muslim, from the District Court if other than Muslim).
* Marriage can be
annulled
Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...
by both husband and wife, or their parents, or an appointed official. Annulment is allowed if the marriage is found to be unlawful under religious laws or the civil law, or if the marriage is concluded under unlawful threat, or if one party discovered undisclosed personal matters regarding the other party. The time period and conditions for annulment is not unlimited, however; Different time limit applies for different conditions.
* Nuptial agreements (, ), a legal term used in the Act to describe an agreement concluded between the parties, is encouraged and allowed to be concluded either
before marriage, during the wedding ceremony, or
after the wedding during the rest of the marriage. Prior to the 2015 constitutional review of the Act, nuptial agreements are limited to only those concluded before or during the wedding.
* Property acquired during marriage is considered
joint ownership marital property. Property acquired before marriage by each parties are of their own, unless specified otherwise.
* Dissolution of marriage is only caused by death, by divorce, or by court decisions. The act of
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
is concluded in court hearings (Religious Court for Muslims, District Court for other than Muslims), after all attempt to solve the differences fail. Reason to divorce is limited by law:
** A party committed
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, or become
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
,
drug abuser, or
addicted to gambling;
** A party abandoned the household for two continuous years without reasonable cause;
** A party committed a crime and punished by incarceration for five years or more;
** A party mistreated, abused, or endangered the other party (
domestic abuse
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...
);
** A party suffered from
physical disability
A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epileps ...
or disease, which render the party unable to exercise their family duty;
** Continuous quarrels between husband and wife which render the parties unable to continue their marriage.
** Under the official Indonesian Compilation of Islamic Laws, two more reasons for divorce is stated: (1) The husband violated the ''sighat taklik talak'' (marriage oath read by the husband in Islamic wedding), and (2) A party later converted to different faith, which may cause a crisis of faith in the household.
* The Act also regulates on
Child
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
. Children born in marriage or born as a result of a lawful marriage are lawful children. Children born out of wedlock have automatic familial relations to the mother and the mother's family, as well as the father, proven by
paternity test
DNA paternity testing is the use of DNA profiles to determine whether an individual is the biological parent of another individual. Paternity testing can be especially important when the rights and duties of the father are in issue and a child ...
. Prior to the 2010 constitutional review of the Act, children born out of wedlock only have familial relations to the mother, but no rules on the father.
* Children under the age of 18 are under their parents' protection and care, and they represent their children within and outside the court of law. Exception are made for children who are already married before the age of 18, they are to be considered adult.
*
Guardians
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...
(''wali'') can be assigned guardianship over children under the age of 18, who are never married, and not under their parents' protection and care. Guardians also serve as caretaker over the children's property, and continue to do so until the children reach the age of 18 or considered an adult by virtue of marriage.
* Parents (and Guardians) can be stripped of their parental (or guardianship) authority by request of one of the parent, the grandparents, full siblings who already reached adulthood, or appointed officials. The reason for this action may be due to parental (or guardianship) neglect, or they are considered to be behaviorally unbefitting. Parent(s) who are stripped of their authority must still continue the support payment for their children. Guardians who are stripped of their authority will be replaced by court-appointed guardians.
* Marriage concluded overseas between Indonesian citizens or when one party is an Indonesian citizen is lawful if (1) The marriage itself is considered to be lawful under the law where the marriage is concluded, and (2) The Indonesian citizen(s) in this marriage got married lawfully under the Act. Vice versa, marriage concluded in Indonesia between an Indonesian citizen and a foreign citizen is also lawful under the same conditions. Only this latter type of marriage is formally known as Mixed Marriage (''Perkawinan campuran'') under the Act, and it is one option for foreigners to acquire Indonesian residence permits and citizenship.
Curiously, despite the Act not acknowledging lawfulness of marriage concluded between man and woman of different faiths, it is also not explicitly outlawing them.
Interfaith marriage
Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religiou ...
in Indonesia remains a divisive issue.
Commercial and corporate laws
Indonesian commercial law utilizes several sets of laws, starting with the colonial Commerce Code. The Commerce Code repealed and replaced many articles regarding commercial and corporate activities in the Civil Code. Later new laws and regulations would be enacted to repeal and replace older rules from the code, as well as to introduce new norms and rules, such as the Limited Liability Company Act of 2007 ().
The Commerce Code introduces several type of business entities ():
*
Sole Proprietorships
A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole ...
(), where business is run by individual(s);
*
Partnerships
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...
(), which includes:
** Private Partnerships ( or ), basic partnership formed to run a business, and usually ends when one of the partners left;
** Firms (, '','' or simply ''Firma''), where partnership runs a business under a common name, and the absence of one partner does not usually end the partnership;
** Limited Partnerships ( or ), where partners are differentiated between 'active partners' who invest in and run the business, and 'passive partners' who invest in the business, but do not run it. Very similar to ''
Kommanditgesellschaft
A (abbreviated "KG", ; from + ) is the German name for a limited partnership business entity and is used in German, Belgian, Dutch, Austrian, and some other European legal systems. In Japan, it is called a ''gōshi gaisha''. Its name derives fr ...
'';
*
Limited Liability Companies
A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
(), where business ownerships are divided into shares.
Of all these business entities, only limited liability companies are which to be considered a legal entity at the same time. Indonesian laws also acknowledge separate sets of
Legal Entities
In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
():
* Limited Liability Companies;
*
Foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
();
*
Cooperatives
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
(); and
* Associations ().
Limited liability companies
The limited liability companies or PT are the most common legal entities registered to run business in Indonesia. It is the only form of business where
foreign direct investments
A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct c ...
(FDI) are allowed. The form of limited liability companies in Indonesia are very similar to
NV practiced in the Netherlands. PT in Indonesia are required to form several organs in order to run a business:
* a General Meeting of the Shareholders ( or "RUPS"), authorized to appoint the Directors and Commissioners, amend the company's articles of association, approve the corporate policies, and approve the corporate dividend payouts and budgets;
* a Board of Directors (), authorized to manage the company and its assets, actively manage the company's bookkeeping, and serve as the company's representation; and
* a Board of Commissioners (), authorized to oversee and observe the company's activities, as well as to give advice to the Directors.
Agrarian laws
The agrarian laws in Indonesian are composed mostly regarding land laws, but in the broadest term might include resource management principles on water, mining, fishery, and forestry. The authoritative statute regarding this subject is the 1960 Agrarian Basic Law Act () or simply the Agrarian Act. Its purpose was to unify the already-existing colonial and various rules on land and land use, and transform them into a national land reform framework for a modern agrarian laws.
In summary:
* All the land, water, and
air space
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
of Indonesia, including all resources within it, belongs to the Indonesian nation (), and the nation authorized the state to control its use and rights over the land, water, air space, and the resources within. It means that claims to 'unclaimed' land or resources will not be acknowledged, as no land is considered ''
res nullius
''Res nullius'' is a doctrine.Johnston. The International Law of Fisheries. 1987p 309 The expression "res nullius" (lit: ''nobody's thing'') is a Latin term derived from private Roman law whereby ''res'' (an object in the legal sense, anything ...
'' by principle.
* The state acknowledged both individual and communal ownership over land and resources. The latter (known as ) is more relevant within the context of traditional
indigenous communities
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of Indonesia, who may still practices communal ownership of goods and resources within their respective community. However these acknowledgement of traditional rights will not overrule national development effort.
* The Act and other regulations set on several rights over the use of land:
** Primary rights, where it is directly granted from the nation's right over land (rights granted by the state). It consists of four rights, limited to Indonesian citizens only:
*** Right of Ownership (), which only Indonesian citizens and a limited number of legal entities may acquire it. Foreign citizens, foreign legal entity, and Indonesians with more than one citizenships are excluded from having this right, even if they managed to acquire such right by means of
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
or by
marital joint property. In such situation, within one year they must transfer the rights over the assets to someone lawful or said assets be taken over by the state;
*** Right to Cultivate (), which only Indonesian citizens and legal entities registered in Indonesia may acquire it. The right authorized its holder to control and use the land for agriculture, plantation, fishery, and/or husbandry purposes;
*** Right to Build (), which only Indonesian citizens and legal entities registered in Indonesia may acquire it. The right authorized its holder to construct structure on the land for personal or business use;
*** Right to Use Granted by State () granted its holder to use the land for personal or business purposes within a certain period of time. The right is granted to:
**** Indonesian citizens;
**** Legal entities registered in Indonesia, founded under Indonesian laws;
**** Government institutions;
**** Religious and social organizations;
**** Foreign citizens based in Indonesia;
**** Foreign legal entities with a representative based in Indonesia; and
**** Diplomatic missions of foreign states or international organizations.
** Secondary rights, where it is indirectly granted from the nation's right over land (rights granted from the land owners). It consists of:
*** Right to Build Granted by Land Owners ();
*** Right to Use Granted by Land Owners ();
*** Right to Land Pledge ();
** Grants () of land and property for Islamic worship, education, and social welfare purposes, in perpetuity
** Encumbrance rights () over land, which is a mortgage guarantee attached to land, separate from ''hipotek'', which are mortgage rights over fixed property other than land
** Strata titles over condominiums (), which is subject to Condominium Act of 2011 ()
** Other rights yet to be phased out, such as:
***Right to Sharecrop ()
*** Right to Lodge ()
*** Right to Lease ()
Intellectual Property laws
Rights
Intellectual Property (IP) laws exist and sufficiently regulated. Several categories of IP rights are acknowledged, regulated, and protected under its own act.
Trademarks
Marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...
() are two- or three-dimensional visual signs represented with images, logos, names, words, letters, numbers, sets of colors, sounds, holographic imageries, or any combinations thereof, created with the purpose of differentiating goods and/or services provided by any individuals or entities, used in any commercial activities. These marks are to be used for identification of products, promotion of products, quality assurance of products, and marker of products' origins.
A registered trademark's protection lasts for 10 years since the date of trademark authorization, and renewable for extensions.
Trademarks protection is regulated under the 2016 Trademarks and Geographical Indications Act ().
Patents
Patents
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
() are exclusive rights which belong to inventors of technological inventions. Ownership of patents allowed inventors to implement themselves or authorize others to implement the inventions. Inventions () are defined as inventors' problem-solving ideas in a technology-specific problems, which may appear as a product, a process, or an innovation and development of said products and processes. Meanwhile, Simple Patents () are different from normal patents, in which they are improvement of an existing process and products, directly applicable in the industry.
A patent's right lasts for 20 years since the date of patent authorization. A Simple Patent's right may lasts for 10 years since the date of patent authorization.
Patents protection is regulated under the 2016 Patents Act ().
Industrial designs
Industrial designs
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...
() are defined as a two- or three-dimensional creative works of forms, configurations, or compositions of lines and/or colors, or any combinations thereof, with an aesthetical value and executed into a two- or three-dimensional form, and applicable in the production of goods, industrial commodities, or hand-crafted products.
An industrial design's right and protection lasts for 10 years since the date of industrial design authorization. The right owner holds exclusive rights to either authorize or to forbid its commercial use.
Industrial designs protection is regulated under the 2000 Industrial Designs Act ().
Copyrights
Copyrights
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
() are exclusive rights of creators over their creative works, automatically exist and enter into force under a principle of declaration after its creation. Within the rules of copyrights, a
Related Rights
In copyright law, related rights (or neighbouring rights) are the rights of a creative work not connected with the work's actual author. It is used in opposition to the term "authors' rights". ''Neighbouring rights'' is a more literal translation ...
() serve as an exclusive rights granted to performers, phonographic producers, or broadcasting bodies who utilized and benefitted from performing, producing, and broadcasting creative works. Under copyright laws, several creative works are protected, such as:
*
Books
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ar ...
,
computer programs
A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components.
A computer program i ...
,
pamphlets
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
,
layouts of published writings, and other creative writings;
*
Sermons
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
,
lectures
A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical inform ...
,
orations
Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
, and other related creative works;
*
Props
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
made for education and scientific purposes;
*
Songs
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...
and
musical works, with or without
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
;
*
Theatrical dramas,
musical dramas,
dances
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
,
choreographies,
puppetries (), and
pantomimes
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
;
*
Fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
, which include
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
,
drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
,
carving
Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...
,
calligraphies
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
,
sculptures
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
,
plastic arts
Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be used broadly for all the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and pho ...
,
collages
Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...
, and
applied arts
The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univers ...
;
*
Architectures
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
;
*
Maps
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
, charts, and other products of
cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
;
*
Batik
Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...
techniques;
*
Photographs
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...
; and
*
Translations
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
, interpretations, adaptations,
anthologies
In book publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...
, and other transformed products.
Several dates of copyright protections exist:
* General copyrights last for the creators' lifetime plus 70 years;
* Computer program copyrights last for 50 years since the first publication;
* Performers copyrights last for 50 years since the first show;
* Phonographic producers copyrights last for 50 years since the first publication;
* Broadcasting bodies copyrights last for 20 years since first airing.
Copyrights protection is regulated under the 2014 Copyrights Act ().
Geographical indications
Geographical indications
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
or GI () are a mark or sign which indicate an origin of produced goods, which due to its geographical elements, may it be natural or manmade, able to attach to those goods a certain reputation, quality, and characteristic.
Protection of GI rights last for as long as the reputation, quality, and characteristic attached to the goods, all of which are the basis of the GI rights authorization, are maintained.
GI protection is regulated under the 2016 Trademarks and Geographical Indications Act ().
Integrated circuit layout designs
Integrated circuit layout designs () are defined as a three-dimensional assembly of a layout design, of which one part of it have to be an active element, also of which all of the interconnects or part of the interconnects of an integrated circuit and the three-dimensional assembly are meant for the creation of an integrated circuit.
Meanwhile, an
integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
or IC () is defined as a produced good, finished or semi finished, of which one part of it have to be an active element, also of which all of the interconnects or part of the interconnects are integrated within a semiconducting material to achieve an electronic function.
An IC layout design protection last for 10 years since the layout design first commercially exploited or since the date of authorization.
The IC Layout Design protection is regulated under the 2000 Integrated Circuit Layout Designs Act ().
Trade secrets
Trade secret
Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily asc ...
() is a publicly unknown information of technological or business value, which also have an economic value for its usefulness in business activity, and for that it is to be kept secret by its owners. These trade secrets may include methods of production, processing methods, sales method, or other technological and/or business information, which may have economic value and unknown to the general public.
Protection of Trade Secret rights is regulated under the 2000 Trade Secrets Act ().
Plant varieties
Plant varieties protection () is an exclusive right of plant breeders to control materials relating to cultivating a unique plant variety.
Protection of plant variety rights is regulated under the 2000 Plant Variety Protection Act ().
Communal IPs
With the Indonesian government 2013 ratification of the
Nagoya Protocol
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, also known as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is a ...
, Indonesian IP protection laws beginning to acknowledge communal rights over certain IPs, such as: (1) Expressions of traditional cultures, (2) Traditional knowledge, and (3) Genetic resources. In addition, potential GI rights can be applied under a communal rights belonging to a community.
Communal IP protection is regulated under the 2017 Law and Human Rights Ministerial Regulation on Communal Intellectual Property Data.
Nationality law
International law and treaties
Rules and regulations regarding the application of
international laws
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
in Indonesia are based in the Art. 11 of the Constitution, the 2000 Treaties Act () and 2018 Constitutional Court decision on the Act.
International
treaties
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
, following its signature or accession by authorized Indonesian officials, need to be debated by the
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
and ratified into acts. Treaties concerning these following subjects must be ratified by acts:
* Political issues, peace agreements, and matters of national defense and security;
* Territorial changes or border delimitation of Indonesian territory;
* Indonesian sovereignty or sovereign rights;
* Basic human rights and the environment;
* Formation of new legal norms; and
* Foreign loans and/or grants.
Some treaties, however, can be ratified using only presidential regulations, if the subjects of the treaties are not concerning the points mentioned above, or if said treaties are mere procedural and do not need any form of ratification into national legislations (i.e. protocols to a treaty).
Problems with the system
There are still many problems with the legal system in Indonesia. Many laws and regulations conflict with each other, and because the legal system (including the courts) sometimes does not operate effectively, it can be difficult to resolve these conflicts. Further, the rule of law in Indonesia is often undermined by rife
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
among the nation's judiciary and law enforcers.
Resources
The overall legal system is badly under resourced, both in the public sector and the private sector which provides many services to clients. For example, in early 2015 it was reported that there was a severe shortage of judges which was particularly affecting the operations of district courts (). It was reported that around 250 new judges were needed each year but that no new judges had been appointed for four years. At the time, Indonesia was reported to have a total of around 8,300 judges but that around an additional 1,000 judges were needed to fill the backlog.
The Indonesian government and professional lawyers in Indonesia are well-aware of these problems and are working, over time, to improve the system.
[Tony Budidjaja,]
The future of Indonesia's legal profession: A lawyer's perspective'
''The Jakarta Post'', 11 April 2013.
Notes
See also
*
Law enforcement in Indonesia
Law enforcement in Indonesia is mainly performed by the Indonesian National Police (POLRI), together with other law enforcement agencies which are under the president, a certain ministry or State-owned company (BUMN) which perform policing d ...
*
Indonesian criminal procedure
Indonesia is a civil law country with five major codes. Its criminal procedure code, thKitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana ("KUHAP") determines the procedures and rights of individuals at different stages of the trial process.
History of In ...
References
External links
*
Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia — the government gazette of Indonesia.General Directorate of Laws, Indonesia Ministry of Justice and Human Rights— provides Indonesia bills, the State Gazette, the State Reports, and other government regulations.
{{Asia topic, Law of, IL=Israeli law
*