Customary Law (Adat Law) in Indonesia

Adat law is unique form of law that have been existed in Indonesia for long-time. Adat law developed according to the needs of community in adat society. In Indonesia there are 3 types of adat society that are territorial in structure:

a.) Village Society: groups of natives who live by the same principles, ways of life, and have the same beliefs. The community is fixed, remain at the same location and is governed by a village chief.

b.) District Society: comprises of a number of village societies of the same Adat that live within the same district but with each community retaining its independence.

c.) Village Union Society: formed on the basis of coorperation between the district societies that are located within the same adat territory. Whereas the aim of coorperation is to work together and create a good and prosperous adat society.

Advantages and disadvantages of being a village chief:

- Advantages: make decision on himself.

- Disadvantages: society or community have to follow his decision which sometime he makes innapropriate decision-making.

Major areas of Adat Law:

1.) Marriage Law: Marriage in Adat communities is the means by which organized relationship within the group form to define the autonomous community and personal concerns. The parental responsibility for the decision of property is substantially different from the western cultural perspective on marriage where the marriage contract is executed only between the parties to the marriage and not their respective families.

2.) Inheritance law: the most common system that is used in Adat law with respect to inheritance is the bilateral system.

3.) Land law: prior to basic Agrarian law there were two legal systems used as to determine and distinguish right to land: right based on Adat law which refer to Indigenous Indonesian and Right based on civil code.

4.) The law of Delict: Adat law also recognizes delict which mean a disturbance to the equilibrium of an individual or the community that is deemed unacceptable by the community.

Distinct Adat characteristic:

- Patriarchal form of family relationship which is inheret by son (s) given by the father.

- Amatriarchal form which is inheret by daughter (s) given by mother.

- Bilateral system: both parents.