When Customary and State Law Collide: A Land Conflict in Jambi

This study critically examines the legal challenges emerging from the concurrent application of Indonesian national law and traditional adat (customary) systems to a contemporary land dispute. The dispute involves the Indigenous Anak Dalam community of Jambi and a state-owned plantation company. The primary objective is to identify and analyse the specific legal inconsistencies and procedural barriers that effectively undermine the constitutional protection of indigenous communal land rights. The research was conducted through a comprehensive critical legal analysis of Indonesia's core regulatory frameworks. This methodological approach involved a systematic examination of the 1945 Constitution, the foundational Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA), conflicting sectoral regulations, and pertinent court judgments, revealing the operational tensions within the legal system. The analysis yields three significant results: First, the constitutional recognition of customary rights (hak ulayat) is systematically negated by contradictory sectoral legislation, creating a legal vacuum. Secondly, formal legal procedures routinely facilitate the administrative conversion of ancestrally claimed lands into state-controlled property. Furthermore, the burden of proof in legal proceedings imposes a disproportionate and often insurmountable obstacle for indigenous groups whose land tenure is based on oral history and tradition. These findings are critically significant as they demonstrate that the prevailing legal architecture not only fails to protect indigenous peoples' rights but actively prioritizes and strengthens state-issued agricultural permits (HGU) at their expense. This reveals a profound dissonance between constitutional principles and their practical enforcement. The study concludes with substantive implications for policy and legal reform. Key recommendations include legally redefining the standing of indigenous communities, institutionalizing support for community-led participatory mapping, and establishing robust, mandatory processes for obtaining Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). These reforms are presented as essential steps toward reconciling national development agendas with the constitutional mandate to recognize and protect indigenous rights.