Land Tenure Disputes in Indonesia: Legal Certainty, Rights Protection, and Agrarian Justice

Abstract

Land tenure disputes in Indonesia represent a chronic problem that reflects the state's failure to maintain consistency between law, land administration, and social justice. This study examines the problematics of state land disputes in Indonesia with a focus on three main dimensions: legal certainty, rights protection, and agrarian justice. Using a normative juridical approach combined with sociological analysis, this research analyzes the national land law framework, land administration practices, and the dynamics of agrarian conflicts in Indonesia. The findings reveal that the root of state land disputes lies in the legacy of the colonial domein verklaring doctrine, which has transformed into a neo-domein verklaring through the expansive interpretation of the State's Right of Control (Hak Menguasai Negara / HMN) after the enactment of the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) of 1960. The tension between formal legal certainty and substantive social justice is further exacerbated by time-bound land registration policies (Article 96 of Government Regulation No. 18/2021), inconsistencies in spatial data across institutions, and weak protection of indigenous community rights and vulnerable groups. This study proposes a reconstruction of agrarian policy based on an integrative approach that balances legal certainty, rights protection, and agrarian justice through strengthening the national agrarian single data system, participatory agrarian reform, and strict oversight of state land management. This study contributes to the development of agrarian law in Indonesia by offering a conceptual framework for just resolution of state land disputes.