Indonesia · Overview
The legal system of Indonesia
A civil-law system received from the Netherlands and still resting on Dutch-era codes — the Burgerlijk Wetboek as the Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata, and the colonial commercial and criminal codes — with two further layers. Adat, the customary law of hundreds of communities, is recognised for land and family matters, and Islamic law applies to Muslims in marriage, divorce and inheritance through the Religious Courts and the Compilation of Islamic Law. Aceh additionally applies Sharia, including criminal provisions, under its special autonomy statute. A new Criminal Code was enacted in 2023 to replace the colonial code, taking effect in 2026.
Legal tradition
Indonesia belongs to the mixed civil, customary and islamic law tradition. A civil-law system received from the Netherlands and still resting on Dutch-era codes — the Burgerlijk Wetboek as the Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata, and the colonial commercial and criminal codes — with two further layers. Adat, the customary law of hundreds of communities, is recognised for land and family matters, and Islamic law applies to Muslims in marriage, divorce and inheritance through the Religious Courts and the Compilation of Islamic Law. Aceh additionally applies Sharia, including criminal provisions, under its special autonomy statute. A new Criminal Code was enacted in 2023 to replace the colonial code, taking effect in 2026.
How power is divided
Unitary but heavily decentralised since the 1999 regional autonomy laws, which devolved most service delivery to some 500 regencies and cities rather than to the 38 provinces. Aceh, Papua and its successor provinces, Yogyakarta and Jakarta hold special autonomy statuses with distinct arrangements — Aceh includes Sharia jurisdiction and its own political parties; Yogyakarta's governor is hereditary.
Where law comes from
- The 1945 Constitution
- Supreme; enforced by the Constitutional Court.
- Statutes (Undang-Undang)
- Passed by the DPR with the President; reviewable by the Constitutional Court.
- Government regulations and presidential regulations
- Reviewable by the Supreme Court against statutes.
- Adat law
- Customary law recognised for land and family matters where communities persist.
- Islamic law
- Applied by Religious Courts to Muslims; the Compilation of Islamic Law guides application.
The legal profession
Advocates are admitted under the Advocate Law 2003 after a law degree, a professional course, the bar examination and two years' apprenticeship, then sworn in by a High Court. PERADI is the principal bar association, though the profession has been divided by competing organisations, and the Constitutional Court has held that multiple bars may coexist while a single body administers admission. Notaries are a separate regulated profession with exclusive competence over deeds of incorporation and land transfers.
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