Legal Protection for Landowners Based on Land Rights Above Management Rights in Batam City (Case Study of Decision Number 32/PDT/2024/PT TPG)

Abstract

Batam is a rapidly growing industrial and commercial city in the Riau Islands, with most of the land holding State Land status managed through a Management Rights scheme by the Batam Business Entity Agency. The Management Rights regulation, which began with Home Affairs Decree No. 43 of 1977, often ignores the existence of land control by the community, especially in areas that are not yet clear and clean, so that people who have land rights are only given the option of compensation. This condition raises legal issues related to the certainty and protection of land rights. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the legal protection for land owners based on the right to Management Rights in Batam City as well as the legal considerations of the judge in Decision Number 32/PDT/2024/PT TPG. The research method used is normative legal research using the Theory of Legal Protection and Theory of Legal Certainty. The approach methods used in this study are the case study approach and the statutory approach. Data analysis is an activity in the research that takes the form of conducting a review of the results of data processing. The research results indicate that legal protection for landowners based on the right to manage land in Batam City, as stipulated in Decision Number 32/PDT/2024/PT TPG, is granted as long as the right to manage land is legally acquired, actually controlled, and based on good faith, even if it does not yet take the form of a registered land right. The judge's legal considerations were not solely oriented to the formal status of the Management Right held by BP Batam, but also took into account the reality of land ownership, existing civil legal relationships, and the principles of justice, legal certainty, and utility. The judge emphasized that the Management Right is a delegation of state authority and not an ownership right. Therefore, it does not automatically extinguish the civil rights of other parties. Therefore, the owner of the right to manage land remains entitled to legal protection as long as it is not proven to conflict with statutory regulations.