The Role of Notaries in Drafting Customary Land Utilization Agreements for National Strategic Projects in the Merauke Customary Territory

Fitri Novita Rahmadany

Abstract


The utilization of customary land for National Strategic Projects (PSN) in Merauke Regency, South Papua, creates a specific legal problem because communal customary tenure must interact with national land administration, corporate investment, and accelerated development policy. This article updates the earlier journal manuscript by using the final thesis findings as its principal basis. The study applies a juridical-empirical or sociological legal method, combining statutory, conceptual, case, and sociological approaches with interview data from two notarial practitioners in Merauke. The analysis shows that legal uncertainty is concentrated in three areas: uncertainty over the customary representative entitled to consent, uncertainty over the status and boundaries of the customary land object, and the absence of complete institutional and spatial data that can be relied upon before a deed is signed. The article also clarifies the division of authority between a Notary and a Land Deed Official (PPAT). A Notary may draw up a contractual and time-limited Customary Land Utilization Agreement Deed under the Notary Office Law, while a PPAT has special authority to make deeds for certain legal acts concerning registered land rights for land-registration purposes. The utilization deed must therefore be distinguished from a deed of release or transfer of land rights. The regulatory analysis includes the 1945 Constitution, the Basic Agrarian Law, the Civil Code, the Notary Office Law, Papua Special Autonomy legislation, Law No. 6 of 2023, Government Regulations Nos. 24 of 1997 and 18 of 2021, Presidential Regulations on PSN, and Minister of ATR/BPN Regulation No. 14 of 2024. The main solutions are stronger recognition of customary institutions, participatory mapping, clearer verification standards, strict separation of Notary and PPAT functions, and a deed structure that preserves customary rights while providing a certain term, object, compensation scheme, supervision, dispute settlement, and land restoration obligations.


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References


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Regulation:

The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, especially Article 18B paragraph (2).

Indonesian Civil Code, especially Articles 1320 and 1868.

Law No. 5 of 1960 concerning the Basic Agrarian Principles, especially Article 3.

Law No. 30 of 2004 concerning the Office of Notary as amended by Law No. 2 of 2014.

Law No. 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua as amended by Law No. 2 of 2021.

Law No. 2 of 2012 concerning Land Acquisition for Development in the Public Interest.

Law No. 6 of 2023 concerning the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Law No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation into Law.

Law No. 14 of 2022 concerning the Establishment of South Papua Province.

Law No. 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, as adjusted by Law No. 1 of 2026.

Government Regulation no. 24 of 1997 concerning Land Registration, especially Article 37 paragraph (1).

Government Regulation no. 18 of 2021 concerning Management Rights, Land Rights, Apartment Units, and Land Registration.

Presidential Regulation no. 3 of 2016 concerning Acceleration of National Strategic Projects as amended by Presidential Regulation No. 109 of 2020.

Regulation of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency No. 14 of 2024 concerning Administration and Registration of Customary Land Rights of Indigenous Law Communities.

Regional Regulation of Boven Digoel Regency No. 2 of 2023 concerning Recognition and Protection of the Rights of Indigenous Legal Communities.

Boven Digoel Regent Regulation No. 14 of 2024 concerning Guidelines for Recognition and Determination of Indigenous Law Communities.

Constitutional Court Decision No. 35/PUU-X/2012.

Interviews:

Rahmadany, Fitri Novita. (2026). The Role of Notaries in Drafting Deeds of Agreement for the Utilization of Customary Land for National Strategic Programs in the Merauke Customary Region. Master of Notarial Law Thesis, Faculty of Law, Sultan Agung Islamic University, Semarang.

Research interview with Dr. H. Ahmad Ali Muddin, SH, M.Kn., Notary and PPAT in Merauke Regency, 17 June 2026.

Research data from Dr. Rizal Alamsyah Hadi Saputra, SE, SH, M.Kn.; research permission letter no. 34/Not-RAHS/VII/2026 dated 22 July 2026. The exact interview date is not stated in the thesis attachment.


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