Resolving Customary Inheritance Disputes within Indonesia’s National Legal System
The Case of Harta Pusaka Tinggi in Minangkabau Society, West Sumatra
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v9i1.32765Keywords:
Customary Inheritance, Harta Pusaka Tinggi, Compilation of Islamic LawAbstract
This study examines the legal status and dispute resolution mechanisms concerning harta pusaka tinggi within the Minangkabau customary inheritance system in West Sumatra, as well as the urgency of its incorporation into Indonesia’s national inheritance framework through the Compilation of Islamic Law (Kompilasi Hukum Islam). The study focuses on the management and transfer of harta pusaka tinggi, which under Minangkabau adat law constitutes collective ancestral property that cannot be individually owned or transferred except under limited circumstances based on communal deliberation. This research aims to analyze the legal position of harta pusaka tinggi in Minangkabau customary law, examine the mechanisms for resolving inheritance disputes, and formulate the need for substantive legal reform regarding customary inheritance within the national legal system. Employing a qualitative socio-legal approach that combines legal anthropology and normative legal analysis, data were collected through interviews with customary leaders affiliated with the Lembaga Kerapatan Adat Alam Minangkabau (LKAAM), the Kerapatan Adat Nagari (KAN), community leaders, and court judges in West Sumatra, complemented by an analysis of statutory regulations and legal documents. The findings reveal that the governance of harta pusaka tinggi has undergone significant transformation due to modernization, economic pressures, and the absence of comprehensive national regulations governing customary inheritance. These conditions have generated legal uncertainty, increased inheritance disputes, and created difficulties for judges in determining substantive legal grounds in customary inheritance cases. This study argues for the reconstruction and accommodation of Minangkabau customary inheritance principles within the Compilation of Islamic Law in order to strengthen legal certainty, preserve indigenous customary values, and promote a more responsive inheritance dispute resolution system within Indonesia’s plural legal order
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Interviews
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