Contradictions between Land Certification Regulations and the Principles of Minangkabau Customary Law on Ulayat Land

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the normative contradictions between land certification regulations and the principles of Minangkabau customary law, particularly in relation to the recognition and protection of tanah ulayat as communal property. It seeks to evaluate the extent to which national and regional legal frameworks align with constitutional and statutory mandates to safeguard indigenous rights.

Theoretical Framework: The analysis is grounded in the principles of legal pluralism and constitutional recognition of hak ulayat (Article 3 of the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law and Article 18B(2) of the 1945 Constitution), providing a conceptual lens to assess the harmony between state law and customary norms.

Method: Employing a normative juridical approach, this research draws on statutory provisions, regional regulations, judicial decisions, and doctrinal scholarship.

Results and Discussion: The findings reveal structural inconsistencies: national regulations, especially through the Complete Systematic Land Registration (PTSL) program, privilege individual certification, while West Sumatra Regional Regulation No. 18 of 2019 aims to preserve communal rights. Procedural requirements such as identification of registrants, signatures from clan members, and formal boundary delineation tend to undermine the collective essence of tanah ulayat. This dissonance has generated legal uncertainty, normative ambiguity, and heightened risks of conflict.

Research Implications: Harmonization requires the development of technical mechanisms for communal registration, recognition of collective certificates, and participatory involvement of customary authorities.

Originality/Value: This study contributes by offering a normative legal analysis that integrates constitutional mandates, statutory law, and adat principles, highlighting pathways to reconcile agrarian reform with indigenous tenure systems.