Saturnino A. Pacubas - USAid

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SECTION III - NATIONAL POLICY.
There is only one basic law which defines the national
policy of the Government of Indonesia regarding land
registration. This is Act No 5 passed in 1960 which is known
as the Basic Agrarian Law of Indonesia which took effect of
September 24,1960.
Article 19 precisely mandated that all lands within the
territorial jurisdiction of Indonesia should be registered in
order to attain legal security of ownership. The Explanatory
Memorandum of the law emphasized that land registration is an
obligation of all Indonesians. And to show how the Government
is really bent on making land registration a duty of its
citizens, Act. 52 of the law imposes a criminal liability on
those who deliberately violate certain provisions of the law.
This basic law was followed by Government Regulation No. 10
which took effect on March 23, 1961. This regulation spelled
out the procedures in registering the different rights to land
in order to make them secure and serve as strong evidence of
such rights. Although the system is negative, the tendency of
the regulations is positive. There are several periods of time
provided in the regulatioui which compels claimants or
landowners to act or assert their rights of ownership;
otherwise the government will come in and consider the right to
have been waived and the land will revert to the State.
SECTION IV: CONSTRAINTS TO LMTR.
The legal constraints to an accelerated system of land
registration in Indonesia is the Basic Agrarian Law itself.
Although Article 19 ordained and says the Government shall
conduct land registration throughout the territory of the
Republic of Indonesia, the implementation thereof thru a
Government regulation is predicated on several conditions,
namely:
1. "The issuance of certificates of rights on land will be
valid as a strong evidence"
2. "The registration of land shall be conducted with due
consideration to the condition of the State and the society, of
the traffic and social-economic needs as well as the
possibility of its implementation according to the
consideration of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs".
Under No. 1 above the State/Government does not guarantee
ownership of land as shown in the certificate of title. The
certificate is considered only as a strong evidence of
ownership. Under condition No. 2 (also above), the condition