Notarial Liability for a Child Acknowledgment Deed Used as a Basis for Adoption

Ulfah Dwi Rahmawati

Abstract


The Child Acknowledgment Deed examined in this study was executed on 9 January 2002 and was later used as one of the documents supporting an adoption application after the death of the prospective adoptive father. This study analyzes the limits of the Notary's legal responsibility for the making of the deed and determines the legal status and evidentiary force of the deed after the related adoption determination was declared to have no legal force. The research is normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, case, and historical approaches. Legal materials are collected through library research and analyzed qualitatively, while the interview with the Notary who drew up the deed is used only as supporting clarification. The study finds that the Notary's conduct in 2002 must be assessed under the legal rules then in force, especially the former Notarial Office Regulation and the Civil Code. The court decision did not specifically adjudicate the Notary's professional liability because the Notary appeared as a witness. The deed may retain its character and evidentiary function as an authentic deed if the formal requirements applicable in 2002 were fulfilled, but it cannot be a substitute for a court determination of adoption and does not independently create inheritance rights.


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References


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Interview:

Rahmawati, Ulfah Dwi. (2026). Interview with Notary Elizabeth Sri Indrawati, S.H., 29 June 2026.


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