Bestuur
E-ISSN 2722-4708 | P-ISSN 2302-3783
Vol.12, No.2, December, 2024, pp. 104-123

Reconstructing Village Druwe Land
to Protect the Communal Land in Bali

104

Administration

Sukirno a,1,*, Muh.Afif Mahfud a,2, Muhammad Fahad Malik b,3
a Faculty of Law, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia.
b Department of Law, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Pakistan
1

kirno9undip@gmail.com* 2 afifmahfud4@gmail.com 3 fahadmalikawan98@gmail.com.

*Corresponding Author
ARTICLE INFO

Article history
Received: July 15, 2024
Revised: November 09, 2024
Accepted: December 28, 2024

Keywords
Bali;
Dispute;
Land Administration;
Legal Certainty;
Village Druwe Land;

ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of individualization of customary land, which is
communal land, occurs in many customary law communities in Bali,
such as those in Bangli and Lembang. The reason for this phenomenon
is that the land administration in Bali's customary law communities only
includes the names of the people who control the customary land. This
makes it difficult for indigenous villages in Bali to prove their rights to
the land. This research aims to analyze the weaknesses in the
administration of customary land in customary law communities in Bali
and also to construct an ideal customary land administration to protect
the communal rights of customary law communities over their land.
This research is a non-doctrinal (socio-legal) research that examines the
administration of customary land in reality and the understanding of
indigenous peoples regarding this matter. This research is a prescriptive
research that uses primary data obtained through in-depth interviews
and analyzed qualitatively. This research identifies three primary
weaknesses in the administration of customary land in Bali, namely
weak legal pluralism, insufficiently participatory land policies, and the
existence of land administration that is not detailed. Therefore, the ideal
construction of customary land administration in Bali is a change in
legal politics to strong legal pluralism including changes in the
conversion provisions of the Basic Agrarian Law which convert
customary land to property rights, participatory land administration even
up to the stage of citizen control and also detailed land administration
including land history, land mutation, land boundaries and land
stewardship.
This is an open access article under the CC–BY 4.0 license.

1. Introduction
The fulfillment of indigenous peoples' rights to their land needs attention because 5% of
the world's current population or around 370 million people are indigenous peoples spread
across 70 countries.1 In Indonesia, there are still lands controlled by indigenous people

Peter Bille Larsen dan Jérémie Gilbert, “Indigenous rights and ILO Convention 169: learning from the past
and challenging the future,” International Journal of Human Rights, 24.2–3 (2020), 83–93
https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2019.1677615
1

https://doi.org/10.20961/bestuur.v12i2.90365

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named customary land. Customary rights are the authority possessed community to control,
regulate, and manage land for the benefit of its citizens. Customary land rights are mostly
found in areas outside Java. In Bali, there are still communities called adat villages
(formerly called Pakraman villages) that control customary lands, including village yards,
land for temples, cemetery land, field land, and public facilities such as markets and
schools. All land controlled by an adat village is called village druwe or village-owned land.
However, there are weaknesses in the administration of druwe village land in Bali. This is
because the administration solely addresses the name of the proprietor of the land parcel and
the dimensions of the land.2
This information is insufficient for providing a detailed measure of the land parcel in
question. The lack of clearly defined boundaries and detailed mapping of the land, as well
as the absence of a history of land tenure, makes it impossible to determine the owner with
certainty. Furthermore, there is a dearth of data pertaining to land mutations and a paucity
of detailed guidelines on spatial planning, land stewardship, construction, and water usage.
These issues give rise to legal uncertainty, as there is a lack of clarity regarding the extent
and boundaries of customary land under the control of individuals. This results in a lack of
effective control over the community's use of the land.3
The consequence of this weakness in land administration is that customary lands
controlled by the community are then individualized, that is, registered as individual rights
with the land office. This problem is escalated by the Complete Systematic Land
Registration (CSLR) policy that accommodates the individualization and privatization of
land ownership through land certification, which presents inequality and injustice to
Indigenous peoples due to its top-down and liberal-capitalistic nature.4 In fact, the position
of the individual should only be the ruler or user of customary land, not the owner, because
the land is communal land. Its registration as an individual right clearly contradicts the
concept of customary land which emphasizes communal rights.5
The existence of village druwe land as customary land is also reduced by national law,
with the issuance of Law No. 5/1960 on the Basic Regulation of Agrarian Law (BAL),
especially Article II of the Conversion Provision which states that land rights over druwe
village are converted into property rights. This is different from the legal awareness of the
Balinese people who consider druwe village land as village-owned land, not individualized
land as property rights in national law. The top-down determination of national law in
presenting individualization, privatization, and negation of the communalistic nature of
customary land is inconsistent with the protection of customary land ownership and village
druwe land.6 Customary land is placed as an object of land registration and certificates can

Muhamad Iko Kersapati, ‘Spatio-Historical Data Enrichment for Toponomastics in Bali, The Island of
Gods’, GeoJournal, 88.5 (2023), 5489–5510 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10932-4
3
Ponco Hartanto and others, ‘Corruption Policy Challenges in Combating Land Mafia: Experiences from
Several Countries’, Journal of Human Rights, Culture and Legal System, 4.3 (2024), 521–654
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53955/jhcls.v4i3.233
4
Muh Afif Mahfud, Naufal Hasanuddin Djohan, and Muhammad Fahad Malik, “Constitutionality of
Simultaneous Extension and Renewal of Land Rights,” Jurnal IUS Kajian Hukum dan Keadilan, 12.1 (2024),
159–76 https://doi.org/10.29303/ius.v12i1.1360
5
Etika Rahmawati, Esmi Warassih Pudji Rahayu, and Sukirno, "State Actors in Agrarian Conflicts: A
Judicial Review in Rule of Law Perspective," Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, 7.2 (2023), 276-98
https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v7i2.43798
6
Sukirno Sukirno and Muh. Afif Mahfud, ‘Relational Dynamics of State Law and Customary Law: A Study
of the Ulayat Land Rights Recognition’, Kanun Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, 24.3 (2022), 309–25
https://doi.org/10.24815/kanun.v24i3.25367
2

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be issued for the land. This clearly reduces customary land rights to land rights when these
rights actually have a higher position in the hierarchy of land tenure rights. In fact, a legal
policy in a democratic country, especially in land law, should prioritize integration and
participation for the widest possible community, especially for indigenous peoples.7 This
reality clearly contradicts the right of Indigenous peoples to regulate their own territory as
contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.8
This situation certainly affects the existing law enforcement process, namely when there is
a lawsuit over individualized village druwe land, the judge will give a decision in favor of
the individualized land because after all, national legal provisions do not protect the land of
indigenous peoples as communal rights. This happened in the following decisions: the
Bangli District Court Decision No.20/Pdt.G/2008/PN.Bli which confirmed that villagers
have property rights over PKD. This Bangli District Court decision was also upheld by the
CA and Supreme Court decision No.622 K/Pdt/2012. The same thing also happened in
Gianyar Regency, where the Lembeng Customary Village lost its case against the villagers
with the Denpasar District Court Decision No.4/PDT/2016/PT.DPS.
The situation above shows the lack of protection of customary land as common land of
indigenous peoples. This leads to a condition of weak legal pluralism that shows the
protection and recognition of customary law which is limited by the interests of the state
and the provisions of laws and regulations.9 The current condition shows that there is
inconsistency and lack of participation in the druwe land administration policy due to land
policies that are not integrative and participatory. Based on this, it can be further found if
there is a systematic error that causes the joint ownership of customary land of indigenous
peoples to be reduced to individual rights. This reality clearly contradicts the concept of the
thickest substantive rule of law put forward by Brian Z Tamanaha which requires the
protection of cultural rights including the common land owned by indigenous peoples.10
These conditions underscore the necessity of reconstructing Bali’s customary land
administration. This is an effort to make radical changes in the context of customary land
administration so that there is clarity regarding the boundaries of customary land, the
existence of an appropriate land stewardship model, and clarity regarding legal actions on
land through land mutation data. A comprehensive construction is needed because along
with changes in land administration, it is also necessary to change the politics of land law
from weak legal pluralism to strong legal pluralism. This change also provides space to
implement contextual policies which in Tamanaha's view reflect four things namely
morality, rationality, customs, and things approved by the community.11 Starting from this,

Muh Afif Mahfud, Naufal Hasanuddin Djohan, and Muhammad Fahad Malik, ‘Land Bank in Indonesia:
Disoriented Authority, Overlapping Regulations and Injustice’, Jambura Law Review, 6.2 (2024), 240–63
https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v6i2.24166
8
Dorothée Cambou, ‘The UNDRIP and the Legal Significance of the Right of Indigenous Peoples to SelfDetermination: A Human Rights Approach with a Multidimensional Perspective’, International Journal of
Human Rights, 23.1–2 (2019), 34–50 https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2019.1585345
9
Hanisah Binte Abdullah Sani, ‘State Law and Legal Pluralism: Towards an Appraisal’, Journal of Legal
Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 52.1 (2020), 82–109 https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2020.1727726
10
Brian Z. Tamanaha, ‘Tempering Arbitrary Power: A Moral Theory of the Rule of Law’, Washington
University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research PaperLegal Studies Research Paper Series, 24.March (2024).
11
Brian Z. Tamanaha, ‘Legal Pluralism Across the Global South: Colonial Origins and Contemporary
Consequences’, Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 53.2 (2021), 168–205
https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2021.1942606
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the existence of inductive and integrated policies involving all parties is a must to realize the
protection of customary rights of indigenous peoples.12
This article is organized in the following order: starting with a critique of the weak
enforcement of legal pluralism in Indonesia, proposing the importance of integrated and
contextual policies, and at the end outlining the weaknesses of the current land
administration and the idea of a new land construction oriented towards achieving
substantive justice. This research is different from the research of Mataram, Sukandia, and
Utama which shows the effectiveness of CSLR in Singakerta village in Gianyar which
shows that there is privatization and the position of the state as the main actor for the
administration of druwe village land. In addition, this study also differs from Wardana’s
research on land policy in pluralistic institutions in Bali.13 The most fundamental difference
of this research from the two previous studies is the discussion of the urgency of
reconstructing the Druwe village land administration by prioritizing an integrativeparticipatory approach through the construction of a new land administration by introducing
four books. In addition, this research uses the socio-legal method as an analytical tool in
finding the symbolic meanings of customary law communities.
2. Research Method
This research is a non-doctrinal, socio-legal study in which the concept of law is
understood as inherently contextual, embedded within the socio-cultural framework of the
society.14 This research project is specifically designed to examine the legal culture of the
Balinese indigenous communities concerning the management and administration of druwe
village land in Bali. This prescriptive study employs critical analysis to assess pertinent
issues and proposes new insights and solutions by applying relevant theories and concepts
to examine and address the complexities surrounding the administration of druwe village
land. The objective of this approach is to promote legal protection, legal certainty, and
justice. To investigate these objectives, primary data were collected through in-depth
interviews with customary leaders from three Balinese indigenous villages. The research
was conducted in three Balinese indigenous villages: Desa Adat Mengwi, Desa Adat
Panglipuran, and Desa Adat Tenganan. Additionally, participant observation was employed
to gain a nuanced understanding of the social and cultural dynamics within these
communities.15 The collected data underwent a structured analytical process comprising
several stages: data collection, the establishment of a coding framework, thematic coding,
in-depth data analysis, and, finally, the systematic organization of findings into an academic
article.16

Ni Luh Gede Astariyani, Mariko Hattori, and Willy Naresta Hanum, ‘The Validity of Sanctions
Arrangements in Regional Regulations’, Journal of Human Rights, Culture and Legal System, 4.3 (2024),
682–705 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53955/jhcls.v4i3.313
13
Agung Wardana, ‘Debating Spatial Governance in the Pluralistic Institutional and Legal Setting of Bali’,
Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 16.2 (2015), 106–22 https://doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2014.997276
14
Naomi Creutzfeldt, Marc Mason, and Kirsten Mc Connachie, Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory
and Methods, Routledge (London: Routledge, 2020) https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429952814-1
15
Naomi Creutzfeldt, ‘Traditions of Studying the Social and the Legal’, Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal
Theory and Methods, 2019, 9–34 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429952814-2
16
Creutzfeldt, Mason, and Mc Connachie.
12

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3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Weak Legal Pluralism and Inaccurate Administration of Customary Land in Bali

Legal pluralism is a reality that always covers humans because humans are actually not
only bound by state law but also various other orders of life.17 Griffith defines legal
pluralism as a condition where two laws exist simultaneously in the same space, object,
and time. According to him, legal pluralism can be divided into two, namely, weak legal
pluralism which is a condition where customary law is subordinate to state law, and strong
legal pluralism which is a situation where customary law is in an equal position with state
law. Indonesia applies weak legal pluralism because the recognition, respect, and
protection of indigenous peoples are highly dependent on the will, goodness, and policies
of the state.18 Weak legal pluralism is also found in the 1945 Constitution which is also
still conditional because it must be following the laws and regulations made by the state.19
This has caused many problems regarding the protection of indigenous peoples in
Indonesia, such as the uncertainty of the legal standing of these communities, the takeover
of customary land by the government or the private sector, and various other complex
problems.20
At a philosophical level, this is incongruent with the values of justice and legal certaint
that underpin customary land management. This is not consistent with the value of justice
because it will eliminate the cultural rights of customary law communities that have been
hereditary.21 Based on the theory of justice put forward by Ronald Dworkin, there are two
measures to create justice, namely political preference and personal preference. 22 Political
preference, namely the protection of indigenous peoples who have been seen as weak in
defending their communal rights. In addition, the politics of law in Indonesia, as contained
in Article 18 B paragraph (2) and Article 3 of the Basic Agrarian Law, which embraces
legal pluralism that is weak in protecting indigenous peoples, also causes the interests of
indigenous peoples to be sidelined. This legal politics ultimately makes it difficult for
indigenous peoples to defend their interests both politically and legally. This is the case in
the land management of Indigenous peoples in Bali as the communal lands of indigenous
peoples have been lost due to the individualization of land and the weak legal protection of
indigenous people's lands. One of the reasons for the weak protection of Indigenous
peoples' land is the administrative weakness of the customary village, which does not

17

Brian Z. Tamanaha, Legal Pluralism Explained: History, Theory, Consequences, Legal Pluralism
Explained: History, Theory, Consequences, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190861551.001.0001
18
Nilna Aliyan Hamida, ‘Adat Law and Legal Pluralism in Indonesia: Toward A New Perspective?’,
Indonesian Journal of Law and Society, 3.1 (2022), 1 https://doi.org/10.19184/ijls.v3i1.26752
19
Gde Made and Suviwat Jenvitchuwong, ‘The Participation within Indigenous Land Management :
Developments and Challenges of Indigenous Communities Protection’, Journal of Human Rights, Culture
and Legal System, 3.2 (2023), 308–27. https://doi.org/10.53955/jhcls.v3i1.72
20
Jaja Ahmad Jayus, ‘Urgency of Legal Indigenous Communities’ Position in Indonesian Constitutional
System’, Jurnal Media Hukum, 27.1 (2020), 79–98 https://doi.org/10.18196/jmh.20200144
21
I Gede Arie Mataram.
22
David Roth-Isigkeit, The Plurality Trilemma: The Contingent Geometry of Global Legal Thought, The
Plurality Trilemma, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72856-8_6

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clearly define the boundaries of the land, including the absence of a land history that
facilitates the process of individualization.23
In personal preference, the realization of justice must pay attention to the social and
cultural conditions of the community concerned. This means that the realization of justice
must reflect the social conditions, culture, and values of the community concerned. In this
case, the individualization of Indigenous peoples by national law through court decisions
legitimizing the conversion of communal rights into individual rights is clearly not in line
with the communalist view of Indigenous peoples. This means that the current law is
unable to reflect the values, rationality and customs of these indigenous peoples.24
The two indicators put forward by Ronald Dworkin above are clearly not met in the case
of customary land for indigenous peoples in Bali. The non-fulfillment of justice certainly
cannot be justified in the Indonesian context because all people including indigenous
peoples are entitled to justice because the goal of the nation is to protect the entire
Indonesian nation and realize all Indonesian people including indigenous peoples.25 In
these conditions, there can be contestation between the two and when this happens,
customary law has the potential to be overridden by state law. 26 This causes the application
of state law to customary law to be scrutinized so that the negation of the uniqueness and
rights of these communities is not sidelined in policy making.27
This weak legal pluralism affects the pattern of policy-making and formation in the land
sector in Indonesia, which places the state as the main actor in administering the customary
land of indigenous peoples. Based on this authority, the state has formed various laws and
regulations including the Regulation of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs No. 10 of 2016
concerning Procedures for Determining Communal Rights to Land of Indigenous Peoples
and Communities Located in Certain Areas. Based on this regulation, the state conducts
land registration of indigenous peoples which will result in land certificates in the form of
land ownership rights to indigenous peoples. The granting of land rights in the last two
regulations has reduced the ulayat rights of customary law communities to land rights. This
is not appropriate because in the hierarchy of land tenure in Indonesia it is clear that
customary rights have a higher position than land rights. The hierarchy of land tenure

Lis Julianti and Artit Pinpak, ‘The Digitalization of Investment Impact on Developing Tourism Industry’,
Journal
of
Human
Rights,
Culture
and
Legal
System,
4.3
(2024),
655–81
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53955/jhcls.v4i3.289
24
Ni Komang Sutrisni and others, The Compliance of Governance on Family Data Protection Regulation,
Journal
of
Human
Rights,
Culture
and
Legal
System,
2024,
IV
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53955/jhcls.v4i3.293
25
Hilaire Tegnan, ‘Legal Pluralism and Land Administration in West Sumatra: The Implementation of the
Regulations of Both Local and Nagari Governments on Communal Land Tenure’, Journal of Legal Pluralism
and Unofficial Law, 47.2 (2015), 312–23 https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2015.1072386
26
Sartika Intaning Pradhani and Almonika Cindy Fatika Sari, ‘Penerapan Pendekatan Positivistik Dalam
Penelitian
Hukum
Adat’,
Masalah-Masalah
Hukum,
51.3
(2022),
235–49
https://doi.org/10.14710/mmh.51.3.2022.235-249
27
Thaddeus Arkum Aasoglenang, ‘Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Conflict Adjudicatory Mechanisms: The
Theory and Practice in North-Western Ghana’, SN Social Sciences, 3.10 (2023), 1–28
https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00764-x
23

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rights is:28 Indonesian rights to land, State control over land, the customary rights of
customary law communities, and Individual rights.
In this regard, it is important to understand that only individual land rights are subject to
land registration that can be owned individually or collectively. Through such land rights,
the right holder has access to or use of the land and exclusivity or excludes others from
using the land. This condition shows that the aspect of individual authority becomes the
focal point in land rights. This has led to the individualization of land rights. In fact, in our
research there are land rights that are certified in the name of an individual rather than on
behalf of indigenous community. I Made Suwitra states that the highest right of control
over customary land is in the customary village in form of the right to manage, to regulate,
to use, and to utilize. This right of control is basically still based on a religious
communalistic nature that is autonomously governed by customary law. One example
occurs in Panglipuran Village where the use of land such as the change in the number of
cultivators of customary land from 45 to 78 was decided by the Customary Council. The
Customary Council has the authority to manage: (1) land owned by the Customary Village;
(2) communal or individual land for use. Land for use has customary, religious, traditional,
cultural, and economic functions for the owner while still paying attention to the social
function of land rights.29
Historically, land ownership in Bali cannot be separated from the history of the
Pasamuan Tiga Decree chaired by Mpu Kuturan which clearly states that all land within
the village area including Kahyangan Tiga land belongs to the customary village, cannot
be traded and there is no individual ownership. Basically, every villager who utilizes a
patch of land is obliged to carry out village ayahan in the form of both labor and material.30
The customary council should carry out the administration of customary land including
maintaining the continuity of the status of Padruwen land rights of the Customary Village,
and maintaining the sanctity, preservation, cleanliness, and orderly use of the property of
the customary law community. In order to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the
subject matter, it is essential to delineate the distinctions between the various categories of
land tenure within the context of a customary village. These include Customary Village
Land, Village Yard Land, and Village Ayahan Land. Customary Village Land is defined as
land owned by the Customary Village. This land may be directly managed by the
Customary Village, such as setra (cemetery) land, palaba (temple interest) land, market
(tegal) land, and so forth. Alternatively, it may be handed over to the Customary Village
krama for management purposes, including Customary Village yard land and Customary
Village ayahan land. In addition, PKD represents land utilized by the krama (villagers) for
residential purposes. Finally, AYDS denotes village land cultivated by the krama for
agricultural purposes and other activities.

King Faisal Sulaiman, ‘Polemik Fungsi Sosial Tanah Dan Hak Menguasai Negara Pasca UU Nomor 12
Tahun 2012 Dan Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 50/PUU-X/2012’, Jurnal Konstitusi, 18.1 (2021),
091–111 https://doi.org/10.31078/jk1815
29
Rebecca Meckelburg and Agung Wardana, ‘The Political Economy of Land Acquisition for Development
in the Public Interest: The Case of Indonesia’, Land Use Policy, 137 (2024), 107017
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.107017
30
Ida Bagus Putu Eka Suadnyana, “Desa Pakraman sebagai Lembaga Adat dan Lembaga Agama Bagi
Kehidupan
Masyarakat
Hindu
di
Bali,”
Dharma
Duta,
18.1
(2020),
21–32
https://doi.org/10.33363/dd.v18i1.446
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Given that PKD and AYDS land is customary village land, each village krama may not
transfer rights to the land to other parties. However, empirically, under the pretext of
conversion regulations in the BAL, the village krama can convert their land into freehold
land ignoring the customary law that applies to the village land they control. In the end,
conflicts occurred between the village of krama. The current ignorance of the reality of the
communal nature of the land and the role of customary council in the management process
has led to the loss of the right of customary law communities to manage their territories,
including land as a resource governed by the tools or structures of the customary law
community.
The reduction of customary rights to land rights and the disrespect for the authority of
these communities to manage their territories violates the state's obligation to protect the
rights of indigenous peoples.31 This obligation is contained in Article 6 of the Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples Convention 1989 which states that the government must consult
indigenous peoples on policies that can affect their lives. In the convention, there is the
principle of prior, free, and informed consultation which should be the basis for the
government in making policies in the land sector.32 Fergus MacKay's research shows that
the non-ratification of this convention harms the protection of Indigenous peoples,
including the Toba Batak community which is the focus of his research.33 Experts in the
field of indigenous peoples currently question the government's attention and policies
towards indigenous peoples. This is due to the lack of countries that have ratified the
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention and the many violations of the rights of
indigenous peoples in the world.34
The implementation of customary land administration is not following these obligations
because it has reduced the customary land rights of indigenous peoples to individual rights,
does not involve indigenous peoples, and applies the prior informed and consent principle.
This condition contrasts with the wave of fulfillment and strengthening of indigenous
peoples' rights to land in other countries such as Scandinavia. In fact, in 1832, the United
States Supreme Court issued a decision recognizing the rights of Indian Tribes as
independent community entities that have the right to regulate and manage their own
territory.35 The same thing happened to the Sami indigenous people in Norway who even

Bertus de Villiers, ‘Dithering Between Consultation and Consensus – Whereto with Advisory Bodies for
Indigenous Peoples?’, Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, 22.1 (2023), 32–62
https://doi.org/10.53779/HBKA3992
32
Tanya Hayes and Felipe Murtinho, ‘Diagnosing Participation and Inclusion in Collective Decision-Making
in the Commons: Lessons from Ecuador’, International Journal of the Commons, 17.1 (2023), 37–53
https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1200
33
Live Danbolt Drange, ‘Indigenous Peoples and Rights to Land and Water in 2019: How Do Countries That
Have Ratified the ILO-Convention 169 Comply?’, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 22.4
(2021), 577–96 https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2021.1953965
34
Thomas Christiansen, ‘When Worlds Collide in Legal Discourse. The Accommodation of Indigenous
Australians’ Concepts of Land Rights into Australian Law’, Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, 65.1
(2020), 21–41 https://doi.org/10.2478/slgr-2020-0044
35
Anna J. Willow, ‘Doing Sovereignty in Native North America: Anishinaabe Counter-Mapping and the
Struggle
for
Land-Based
Self-Determination’,
Human
Ecology,
41.6
(2013),
871–84
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9593-9
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have their own parliament to guarantee their interests called Sámediggi which has existed
since 1989.36
The conditions of Indigenous peoples in the countries above are very different from those
in Indonesia because the government still uses a partial, non-integral-participatory
approach in land administration. After all, it does not involve indigenous peoples in the
process.37 This will lead to various conflicts. This is because customary law communities
have their order that must be considered and government policies that ignore this will be
opposed by the community. This is what Ran Hirschl and Alexander Hudson call
participation determining legitimacy. They state that participation has three characteristics:
transparency, substantive, and community involvement.38
3.2 Administration of Customary Land and its Problems

Problems arise because there is land registration carried out in traditional villages in Bali
with the issuance of certificates as proof of ownership of land rights through the Complete
Systematic Land Registration program. This land registration of customary lands was
mainly carried out in 2018 so that many customary lands were then certified in the
program. The inclusion of customary land in Bali as an object of Systematic and Complete
Land Registration has reduced customary land rights to individual land rights. Through this
CSLR, there will be two problems that can arise, namely that the land will become a land
right that can be easily claimed by individuals, including being transferred and potentially
becoming an object of collateral with a mortgage. Some examples of problems with CSLR
implementation in Bali is there are indigenous villagers who get Free Hold Certificates on
behalf of individuals.
This condition is also inseparable from the faulty conversion provisions in national land
law. Article 2 paragraph (1) of the BAL Conversion Provision states that druwe land can
be converted into freehold land. Made Oka Cahyadi Wiguna stated that the substance of
the provision that converts village druwe rights into individual property rights is not
appropriate because the land is communal land of the customary law community
concerned.39 The land is made into property rights, it will be easier to transfer to other
parties, does not show respect for the authority of customary structures and emphasizes
individual aspects. Conversion of Village Courtyard Land and Ayahan Land into full
private or individual land so that it will eliminate the communalistic nature of druwe land
into individual private land. This case occurred in Lemukih Pakraman Village (Buleleng
Regency), Culik Pakraman Village (Karangasem Regency),14 Belancan Village, Bukih
Village and Manikliyu Village (Bangli Regency). There were 25 cases of land certification
of village druwe into private land in Belancan Village and 10 certifications in Bukih

Per Selle and Kristin Strømsnes, ‘Indigenous People’s Self-Governing Bodies and the Role of Civil
Society:
The
Case
of
the
Norwegian
Sámi’,
Ethnopolitics,
0.0
(2023),
1–20
https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2023.2286780
37
Geoffrey Swenson, Legal Pluralism in Theory and Practice (London: Anthem Press, 2018)
https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/vix060
38
Ran Hirschl and Alexander Hudson, ‘A Fair Process Matters: The Relationship between Public
Participation and Constitutional Legitimacy’, Law and Social Inquiry, 00.00 (2024), 1–28
https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2023.82
39
Made Oka Cahyadi Wiguna, ‘Pengaruh Eksistensi Masyarakat Hukum Adat Terhadap Penguasaan Tanah
Prabumian Berdasarkan Konsepsi Komunalistik Religius Di Bali’, Jurnal Hukum Novelty, 7.2 (2016), 182
https://doi.org/10.26555/novelty.v7i2.a5466
36

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Village, while in Manikliyu Village there was private land acquisition by residents without
being bound by ayahan.
Individual free hold certificate over druwe land (village land) not only degrade the
position of customary rights but also cause this land can easily transferred. This condition
further jeopardizes the position of customary land.40 Moreover, based on the results of the
author's research, there are various examples that show the conversion of customary rights
into private property rights in Balinese customary law communities. The individualization
of customary land into freehold land is also caused by poor inventory of customary land,
starting with the absence of land boundaries, which can lead to conflicts between land
users and between customary villages. Data on the mutation of land use is unknown so that
the use of customary land by individuals cannot be monitored by the customary council
and transferred to other parties. At this point, indigenous peoples and the government
should jointly conduct customary land mapping. The involvement of indigenous peoples in
the administration of customary land is actually a very good event also to make proper land
mapping because what is desired in the legislation is land mapping, not land registration,
which reduces the communalistic aspects of the community. The mapping of customary
land should clearly determine the boundaries of customary land areas, land assets owned
by customary law communities, the boundaries of land used by the community, the
boundaries of agricultural land and various other aspects. This can be done because the
customary law community has customary law named awig-awig which is the basis for
customary land tenure.41 If this is not done through community involvement and based on
awig-awig, the boundaries determined will not be precise and will even cause conflict and
instability in the community.42
At a practical level, currently in the context of customary land management of Balinese
customary law communities there is still no legal certainty, especially land law that
provides legal protection to the real owner.43 In this case, the land as the object of rights
must be clear so that legal certainty can be realized. However, until now there is no land
administration in the customary law community that clearly records the boundaries of land
tenure and clear land mutations. The absence of a record of land mutations in the
customary law community means that changes in the control of the land of the customary
law community in Bali by its members cannot be known.44 The absence of land mutation
records has two implications: no monitoring of indigenous peoples' land tenure and a lack
of evidence for indigenous peoples to defend their communal customary land.
The weakness in the protection of the village druwe land of the customary law
community, which ended with the individualization of land, occurred due to at least five
factors, namely: (1) the development of individualism; (2) the very high economic value of
land; (3) weak legal pluralism; (4) land policies that are not integrated and integrative; and

Franklin Obeng-Odoom and Anne Haila, ‘The Power of Uncertified Urban Land’, International Journal of
Urban and Regional Research, 48.5 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.13244
41
Wiwin Yulianingsih, Frans Simangunsong, and Muh. Arief Syahroni, ‘Awig-Awig Management of Marine
and Fisheries Resources West Lombok’, International Journal Of Community Service, 2.4 SE-Articles
(2022), 460–64 https://doi.org/10.51601/ijcs.v2i4.152
42
Arya Pageh Wibawa and others, ‘Phenomenology : Adaptation of Poleng Motifs in Facing Bali Tourism’,
KnE Social Sciences, 2023.1 (2021), 259–65 https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v8i2.12769
43
Novyta Uktolseja and Agustina Balik, ‘The Existence of Customary Rights in Modern Society’, Journal of
Law, Policy and Globalization, 93 (2020), 154–68 https://doi.org/10.7176/jlpg/93-17
44
Gusti Ayu Made Suartika and Alexander R. Cuthbert, ‘Sleight of Hand: The Expropriation of Balinese
Culture’, Space and Culture, 25.4 (2022), 758–78 https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331220902973
40

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(5) the absence of good land administration in indigenous communities. The development
of individualism and capitalism has led individuals to want to control resources, including
land, which has a high value because Bali is a world-class tourist spot, causing the demand
for land to increase and the price of land to rise. 45 The individualization of land ownership
is also ironic because Indonesia has a weak legal pluralism that does not strongly protect
the authority and rights of customary law communities to manage their territories.
Moreover, the pattern of formation and implementation of regulations related to the
customary rights of indigenous peoples is also clearly not in accordance with the sociocultural conditions of indigenous peoples. 46 This is also further exacerbated because
indigenous peoples also do not have complete administration.
I Made Suwirta in his dissertation research found that customary lands in each customary
village have not been inventoried and mapped so that it cannot provide accurate
information on the extent of customary lands controlled and owned by customary villages.
Boundary disputes between indigenous villages have recently colored the lives of
indigenous communities in Bali, such as those between the indigenous villages of Ulakan
and Antiga, between the indigenous villages of Macang and Ngis in Karangasem. There
have also been cases between the villages of Gunaksa and Kusamba Dawan Klungkung,
between the villages of Pengosekan and Padangtegal Ubud Gianyar, and between the
villages of Cekik and Gablogan in Tabanan. Therefore, the Pakraman Village Council
needs to take the initiative to urge local governments in cities, regencies and provinces to
conduct a holistic inventory and mapping of customary village with the aim of providing a
complete picture of the existence of control and ownership rights over customary lands in
each customary village with all its cultural activities, so that studies, guidance and
empowerment will be effective and valuable. Finally, boundary disputes can be minimized.
It can be argued that there are a number of inherent weaknessesin the current
administration of customary land in Bali. The initial issue pertains to the reduction of
druwe land (customary land) in Bali to land rights, which occupy a subordinate position
within the hierarchy of land tenure rights. Subsequently, the second point that requires
attention is that land rights place an emphasis on aspects of individual authority that are not
consistent with the customary rights, which are oriented towards the collective or
communal aspects of life. The third point pertains to the transfer of authority over
customary land administration from customary law communities, which are entitled to
respect, to the CSLR Program, which is a systematic land registration process that places
the onus on the government. The fourth point is that the CSLR program in Bali Province
has shortcomings due to its focus on quantity over quality in the context of customary land
registration. Customary land is of a qualitative nature, encompassing social, cultural, and
spiritual relations. Windia has asserted that the implementation of the CSLR program
employs a principle of generalization that fails to account for the cultural diversity of each

Nyoman Utari Vipriyanti, Ni Kadek Sri Arini, and Ernan Rustiadi, ‘Land-Use Problem and Controling for
Sustainable
Coastal
Development
in
South
Bali’,
GeoJournal,
89.2
(2024),
45
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-024-11042-5
46
John F. McCarthy and others, ‘Land Reform Rationalities and Their Governance Effects in Indonesia:
Provoking Land Politics or Addressing Adverse Formalisation?’, Geoforum, 132.April (2022), 92–102
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.04.008
45

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customary law community in Bali.47 Ultimately, there is a dearth of efficacious
mechanisms for the administration of customary land in Bali, which has resulted in a lack
of legal certainty. The lack of administrative mechanisms to determine land boundaries,
land mutations, land ownership history, and spatial stewardship and water use among
customary law communities represents a significant gap in the data necessary for effective
land management. The mechanism developed must align with the principles of public
participation, or participation from the customary law community concerned, in order to
reflect the values and legal culture of the community.
3.3 Integral-Participatory Administration of Land of Indigenous Peoples

The problem of integrated policies in the land sector is an urgent problem both in
developed countries, developing countries and under developing countries. Integrated land
management is a strategy to optimize planning and implementation so that goals can be
achieved. An integrated policy involves various actors to solve a problem. 48 A
participatory approach is an approach that involves all parties. The establishment of
integrated and participatory policies has become Chapter X of Agenda 21 at the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. This
report states that to create an integrated land policy, parties must have a common goal,
recognition of community rights, awareness of mutual dependency, involvement of all
parties, transparent processes and consensus-based decision-making.49
In this case, customary land management is actually based on the values embraced by the
customary law community, including in the context of administering the land. One
example is Panglipuran Village where the spatial layout is directed at the position of the
rising sun and also the mountain at that location. In Panglipuran Village, which has an area
of 112 acres, there is also a rule that it is not allowed to sell customary village land to
people outside the village. The government should be present to support the existence and
also ensure the implementation of the authority and rules of the customary law community.
Instead of reducing the land of the customary law community from customary land to land
rights as happened through the CSLR program and also making generalizations that do not
respect the culture of the community.
The existence of various weaknesses in land administration certainly requires a new
reconstruction that not only prioritizes quality aspects but makes the interests of indigenous
peoples in Bali the main thing. Prioritizing the institutionalized authority of indigenous
peoples and the participation of all indigenous peoples in Bali. Several steps must be taken
in managing customary land in Bali, namely conducting an inventory of customary village
lands, both those that become public facilities and customary village lands controlled by
each village resident. Currently, based on the author's research, there has been an inventory
of customary land in the community but it has not been fully implemented. This has been
done in Mengwi village, for example. Based on data held by the Mengwi Village Clerk, I

47

Shri I Gusti Ngurah WiraWedawitry WP I Putu Gelgel, I Wayan P.Windia, & Ngakan Dwijendra,
‘Philosophical Meanings Behind Differences in Population Status Domiciled in Traditional Villages (Desa
Adat)
in
Bali,
Indonesia’,
Law
and
Humanities
Quarterly
Reviews,
1.3
(2022)
https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1996.01.03.21
48
Jeremy Rayner and Michael Howlett, ‘Introduction: Understanding Integrated Policy Strategies and Their
Evolution’, Policy and Society, 28.2 (2009), 99–109 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polsoc.2009.05.001
49
Sareh Moosavi and Geoffrey R. Brown, ‘Advancing the Adaptive, Participatory and Transdisciplinary
Decision-Making Framework: The Case of a Coastal Brownfield Transformation’, Cities, 111.January (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103106

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Putu Gede, there are several facilities in this traditional village spread across several
Banjar, including in Banjar Mengwi, Banjar Pangean, Banjar Batu, Banjar Gampang,
Banjar Pande, Banjar Alam Kajeng, Banjar Paseng. In addition, there are also burial
grounds consisting of four, namely Setra Ageng, Setra Brahmana, Setra Pendeta and Setra
Bebanjangan.
In addition, there are also village lands that are currently used as rice fields consisting of
Subak Tungku Mengwi and Subak Bulan. In addition, there are also several public
facilities located on the dry land of this traditional village, namely markets, auxiliary health
center posts, schools, museums, official houses, perbekel offices and field land. The other
use of village land is village yard land which is land used by the village krama. The
discussion of subject certainty and object certainty is the basis for constructing the ideal
administration of customary land in Bali Province. The author outlines the three basic
principles of integral participatory customary village administration, namely, respect for
customary law, community participation in land administration and the Importance of
interdisciplinary approach.
The first principle is respect for customary law.50 This means that the basis of the ideal
land administration in Balinese traditional villages is to use customary law. This is also in
line with the principle in Article 5 of the BAL that customary law is the basis of national
agrarian law. In order to realize this, there needs to be an affirmation in the national
agrarian law and specifically in the Balinese regional regulation which confirms that the
administration of customary land including customary land in Bali is based on customary
law both written in awig-awig and pararem which is a living law in Balinese society. For
example, in Tenganan Village it was found that newlyweds can apply to the customary
village for land including cutting down trees. Both rules are based on Catur Dresta which is
imbued with Balinese Hindu teachings. Windia stated that until now there has been no
special regulation regarding the administration of customary land in Bali. This is a
weakness in terms of substance when examined from the legal system proposed by
Lawrence M. Friedmann.
The second principle is the participation of the community in the administration and
management of land. The word of participation indicates that the administration of
customary land in Bali must involve the community, academics and the government. In
this case, the party with the most important role is the customary law community. This is
important to ensure that the land administration process is in line with the values of the
customary law community. This shows that community participation in land administration
is genuine participation where the community determines the substance of land
administration policies. Using Sherry Arnstein's ladder of participation, public
participation in land administration should reach the level of citizen control so that it is the
community that controls the decision-making.51
The third one is the importance of an interdisciplinary approach. In order to create this
participation, there must be a change in the perspective of the government and a change in

Damai Siallagan, ‘Hukum Adat as Embodied Law : Assessing the Legal Regimes Governing Indigenous
Land
Rights
in
Indonesia’,
Canadian
Law
Review,
3.12
(2024)
https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4986123
51
Sherry R. Arnstein, ‘A Ladder of Citizen Participation’, Journal of the American Planning Association,
85.1 (2019), 24–34 https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2018.1559388
50

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the power structure that gives more space to the community in making decisions. For
public participation to be successful, there are several conditions that must be met, namely
human resources, knowledge, finance and expertise. With regard to finance, public
participation can reduce the costs of land administration and achieve greater benefits.52
Among these resources, the most important is expertise, which makes an interdisciplinary
approach very important. In this case, anthropology, sociology, law and geodesy need to
be used so that land administration is based on holistic and comprehensive thinking.53 The
effectiveness of combining interdisciplinary, participatory and socio-legal approaches in
dealing with indigenous peoples has been demonstrated by Michael Stauffacher in shaping
and implementing sustainable policies in Switzerland.54
At a technical level, the administration of customary land in Bali must be seen in three
stages, namely planning, implementation and supervision.55 In the context of planning, the
administration of customary land in Bali, which emphasizes public participation, discusses
the land objects that will be the target of this activity, including the boundaries between
customary villages so that communication with other customary villages is also necessary,
the lands of public facilities that belong to and are used for the benefit of customary
villages and customary village lands controlled by the village krama. This relates to the
inventory aspect of customary village land.
3.4 Constructing Village Druwe Land Administration in Bali for Legal Certainty
The construction of village druwe land administration in Balinese customary law
communities is certainly based on the value of justice which aligns with respecting cultural
rights. In addition, it is also intended to create legal certainty so that indigenous peoples
can easily prove ownership of their land and prevent the takeover of customary land by
individuals or other parties. To achieve this legal certainty, an ideal and comprehensive
administrative model for indigenous peoples is needed. In this context, the current land
administration in Balinese indigenous communities and the new construction will be
described:
Indicator
Land administration by Desa Adat

Current Land Administration
Only limited to the name of the community that
controls the land

Impact

1. The realization of legal certainty and
protection of customary land has not been
achieved.
2. Does not realize justice for Indigenous
peoples because they have the potential to
lose their communal land
3. Numerous conflicts over land boundaries
between traditional villages
4. Conversion of customary village land into
individual freehold land
5. Unclear control and use of village land
Intervene by carrying out Systematic and

Government

Future Land Administration
Land administration by Desa Adat includes:
1. Land use and spatial planning of
Indigenous villages
2. Land boundary data
3. Land Mutation Data
4. Land History Data
1. Legal certainty and protection of
customary land
2. Realizing justice for Indigenous peoples
3. Realization of orderly land administration
in Indigenous villages
4. Customary villages can easily prove their
land ownership due to organized
administration
5. Land conflicts can be avoided

Customary land administration is the basis for

52

Hayes and Murtinho.
Kaisa Kurkela and others, ‘Citizen Participation as an Organisational Challenge in Local Government’,
International Journal of Public Sector Management, 37.1 (2024), 124–40 https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-082022-0179
54
Michael Stauffacher and others, ‘Analytic and Dynamic Approach to Collaboration: A Transdisciplinary
Case Study on Sustainable Landscape Development in a Swiss Prealpine Region’, Systemic Practice and
Action Research, 21.6 (2008), 409–22 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-008-9107-7
55
Putu Devi Rosalina and others, ‘Rural Tourism in Bali: Towards a Conflict-Based Tourism Resource
Typology
and
Management’,
Tourism
Recreation
Research,
1–16
https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2023.2223076
53

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Complete Land Registration of customary land
in Bali which has not taken into account the
social and cultural conditions of the Balinese
people and administrative errors on Balinese
customary land.

ISSN 2722-4708

implementing land registration and mapping in
Bali's indigenous peoples, ensuring that the
government's administration of customary land
is in line with its recognition and respect for
indigenous peoples.
Based on strong legal pluralism

Based on weak legal pluralism
Highly participatory even at the top stage of
citizen control in Sherry Arnstein's ladder of
participation

Not yet participatory

The table above shows that there are very significant changes and differences between
the current construction of customary village land administration which is still very simple
and has not yet realized legal certainty. Therefore, a fundamental change is needed by
creating a more detailed and comprehensive land administration in customary villages
based on the principle of communalism of Balinese customary law communities. The main
actor responsible for the implementation of customary land administration in Bali is the
structure of the customary village in Bali, which knows the pattern of land tenure and its
principles. This also confirms the existence of strong legal pluralism because it recognizes,
appreciates and respects the rights of customary law communities in managing their land.
The existence of clear customary land administration as we offer will provide legal
protection to customary law communities over their land because the land/lebensraum is a
shared or social space for these communities.
Currently, there is no ideal inventory of Desa Adat land in Bali, although the
administration is more advanced than in other areas because of block maps and set books.
The block map contains the map and block numbers of the land and is accompanied by a
set book that contains the names of participants corresponding to the numbers on the map.
This book was the basis for tax payments in the past so it is not a special administration
that the adat village has over land tenure in the village.
The current administration of customary village land in Bali still has various weaknesses,
including that the administration only addresses the name of the owner of the land parcel
and also the size of the land. This data is not detailed because not include clear land
boundaries, no land parcel maps and no history of land tenure so that the user can be
clearly determined, no clear information about mutations to land and no specific guidelines
regarding spatial planning, land stewardship, building and water use. 56 The absence of
information on these matters clearly means that the value of legal certainty will not be
achieved. In Humberto Avila's view, one form of legal certainty is certainty because of the
law, namely the existence of clear and complete evidence for rights holders, which in this
case is the Balinese customary law community. Certainty because the law itself is very
important to provide protection and security for these customary law communities and
prevent land ownership disputes.57
It is also clear that the certainty of the object of the right, the certainty of the subject of
the right and the certainty of the legal status of the land will not be achieved. Certainty of
the object of the right will not be achieved because there is no certainty of the boundaries
of the land associated with the existence of land maps and measurement letters and the

56

Wardana.
Katharina Pistor, ‘The Value of Law’,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-020-09388-z
57

Theory

and

Society,

49.2

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(2020),

165–86

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existence of a clear spatial map. On the other hand, the certainty of the subject of the right
also cannot be fully guaranteed because the owner is not clearly known because it is not
supported by the history of land ownership and there is no clear evidence of land mutation.
The lack of certainty of the subject of the right and the object of the right will certainly
affect the certainty of the legal status of the land.58
A more in-depth and technical review shows that the weakness of this inventory of
indigenous villages is that there is no specific administration of land tenure and use in
indigenous villages, both related to land history; Land Parcel Maps; Records of Land
Mutations and Problems and contains Spatial Planning, Land Stewardship, Building
Planning, and Water Use. To overcome these problems, it is necessary to reconstruct the
land administration by dividing the land administration into four books consisting of:
Book A
Land History

Book B
Land Map

Book C
Land Mutation Data

Land history is important
so that the history of land
tenure and use can be known
so that the subject of the right
can be known with certainty.
This book can describe the
name of the party using the
land, the basis of the land
tenure, and the use of the land.
This also applies to land
controlled by groups of
indigenous people together for
public purposes such as land
for temples, markets, and
various other activities. The
existence of this book will
make it easier for indigenous
peoples to prove the existence
of control and ownership of
the land from the claims of
other parties.

The purpose of Book B is
to create certainty of the
object of the right because it
contains physical land data.
This book determines the size
of land parcels and the
boundaries of land parcels
controlled by customary law
communities, including land
parcels controlled by villagers.
The existence of this book is
also to clearly define the
boundaries of the customary
village so that conflicts over
land boundaries between
customary villages can be
prevented. It is also important
to determine the boundaries of
land for public facilities such
as cemeteries, schools, official
houses, perbekel offices,
temples, and others so that the
boundaries are clear. Included
in what needs to be properly
inventoried are the clear
boundaries of land parcels so
that conflicts between village
krama do not occur and there
is no conflict between adat
structures with structures
(bendesa) and village krama.
In practice, the determination
of land boundaries needs to
involve the village or the
bordering landowner.

Land mutation data plays
an important role in realizing
legal certainty for customary
village land because it can
identify changes in the list of
users so that it can be updated
from time to time. The author
needs to state the user of the
land because this land is still
juridically indigenous village
land but is physically used by
the village krama. The
existence of this data is also
important to serve as evidence
to
avoid
claims
from
irresponsible parties. The land
mutation data above is also
very important to prevent the
transfer of land to people
outside the customary village
and the pledging of customary
village land. This is because
both of these are prohibited in
the Balinese customary law
community and sanctions will
be
imposed
on
the
perpetrators. This happened in
the Tenganan indigenous
community in 1985 and the
person was penalized to pay
twice the price of the land at
the time.

Book D
Spatial Planning, Land Use,
And Water Use
Book D is one of the most
important and fundamental
books in the administration of
customary land in Bali
because it determines the
designation of land parcels
such as land intended for
village settlements (krama),
land for agriculture, land for
engagement,
and
other
interests. This causes the use
of land to be adjusted to the
potential of the land and to
prevent problems in the future.

The creation of the four books above can be done through a program that emphasizes the
authority of Balinese customary law communities in administering their land. This will
lead to various benefits, namely: (1) it is a form of respect for customary law communities
in managing their territories; (2) it prevents the transfer of customary land to other parties;
(3) it increases legal certainty in the land sector; and (4) it prevents conflicts in the land
sector, both conflicts between fellow village krama and between customary villages.

Robert B Keiter and Matthew Mckinney, ‘Public Land and Resources Law in the American West’,
Environmental Law, 49.1 (2019), 1–72. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3417931
58

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4. Conclusion
The current land administration of Balinese Indigenous peoples still has various
weaknesses, namely: (1) Current practices stem from weak legal pluralism that contained
in various laws and court decisions that do not prioritize respect and protection of the
rights of indigenous peoples to their land; (2) land administration policies are insufficiently
participatory so that they only emphasize the role of the government and do not fully
reflect the socio-cultural conditions of indigenous peoples; (3) the existence of land
administration that is not detailed in indigenous peoples because it is only in the form of
the names of people who are users of customary land so that it does not include land
boundaries, the absence of land stewardship and also the absence of land data mutation.
These weaknesses have led to customary law community land being transferred to
individual property and conflicts over land boundaries. Therefore, this research proposes
changes in the land administration of indigenous peoples in Bali, namely changes in the
political side of the law from weak legal pluralism to strong legal pluralism that respects
and protects the customary land of Indigenous peoples, an integrative-participatory land
administration policy so that the involvement of Indigenous peoples becomes essential and
structuring the administration of customary lands so that it is more detailed and
comprehensive. This can be done through the creation of four land administration books,
namely: (1) book A containing land history; (b) book B containing land maps; (c) book C
containing land mutation data; (d) book D containing spatial planning, land use and water
use. The clear and detailed land administration of Indigenous peoples can be the basis for
the government to conduct land registration and mapping.

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