In Quest of New Law: The Perplexity of Legal Syncretism in Indonesia

Abstract

When Dutch rule in Indonesia came to an end in 1950 the new Republic inherited a complex legal system whose main component parts were Dutch criminal and civil law, Adat or customary law and Islamic law. The Dutch legists had been divided in their ideas about what the proper content of “Indies” law should be. Until the latter part of the nineteenth century most jurists favoured the establishment of a positive, unified legal system throughout the Netherlands East Indies, based on modern Dutch law, modified where necessary to suit local conditions. It was anticipated that as education, effective administration and new legislation progressed the authority and operation of the “irregular” or non-Western legal systems would diminish. The non-Western systems of law encompassed regional and tribal customary law, often combined with Islamic law, and the legal usages and practices of the “foreign oriental” minorities, mainly Chinese and Indian.