The History and development of Agrarian Law in Indonesia
The transition from colonial law to sovereign national law
Keywords:
Agrarian law, colonial, legal dualism, UUPA 1960, legal unificationAbstract
Colonial agrarian law in Indonesia prior to 1960 was dominated by the interests of the Dutch East Indies, creating a dualism between Western and Customary law that disadvantaged the Indonesian people and failed to guarantee legal certainty. This study aims to analyze the history of agrarian law development during the colonial period, evaluate various exploitative policies, and describe the long process of drafting a sovereign National Agrarian Law. The method employed is normative legal research with historical and literature review approaches. The results indicate that colonial agrarian policies from the VOC era to the 1870 Agrarische Wet oppressed the people through monopoly practices, Landrent, Forced Cultivation (Cultuurstelsel), and the Domein Verklaring principle that seized customary land rights. In response, the Indonesian government undertook a 12-year law-drafting struggle through various committees (1948-1960) to create national land law unification based on Pancasila. The conclusion confirms that the enactment of Law No. 5 of 1960 (UUPA) successfully abolished legal dualism and established national land law uniformity serving the interests of the Indonesian nation.
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