On Saturday, May 27, 2023, HuMa attended the event “Launch of the Commemorative Book for the 80th Birthday of Prof. Maria S.W. Sumardjono” at the Faculty of Law, UGM. The book launch was held to commemorate the 80th birthday of Prof. Dr. Maria S.W. Sumardjono, S.H., MCL., MPA. The book is titled “Exploring the Agrarian Legal Thought of Prof. Maria S.W. Sumardjono.” Rikardo Simarmata, as part of the book production team, stated that there were 36 authors. “This is a gift from all of us, a sign of love, a sign of our respect, hopefully this book will contribute to the health and longevity of our mother,” he said.

One of the authors, Myrna Safitri, shared Prof. Maria’s thoughts on society’s protection of their land in forest areas. According to her, firstly, land control in forest areas occurs due to the assumption that the area is free from community control. The establishment of forest areas from designation, boundary arrangement, determination, all has been completed. Many forest areas are still in the designation status.

“What does this mean for the resolution of land disputes in forest areas?” Myrna, as she is known, asked through a Zoom forum.

Myrna, who is also a member of HuMa, recounted that around 2014, she and Prof. Maria worked to resolve land conflict issues in forest areas. This effort led to the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Forestry, Public Works, and the Head of BPN. The aim was to address how to settle land mechanisms in forest areas. This Joint Regulation was later replaced by Presidential Regulation No. 88 of 2017 concerning the Settlement of Land Control in Forest Areas.

“These initiatives can be strengthened and expanded so that we have forest areas that truly provide legal certainty and justice to the community,” she concluded.

Furthermore, Myrna believed that there is an assumption that granting rights to land poses a threat to the environment. People have the freedom to use their land as they wish. “We forget that the Agrarian Law is not anthropocentric; it does not only focus on society and justice. Article 15 of the Agrarian Law shows it is not anthropocentric; the law is also pro-environment. The ecocentric view emerges in that article,” she argued.

Another author, Prof. Kurnia Warman, discussed what he had written about Land Law Pluralism in Indonesia. He stated that Legal Pluralism emerged with the existence of the state. Previously, everyone lived according to their own laws. When the state was established, regulations were enacted based on the diversity of the population.

He believed that it is not enough to just acknowledge differences, but to build a unified legal system in Indonesia from this diversity.

In the context of Land Law Pluralism in Indonesia, Prof. Kurnia stated that there has been success in formulating agrarian law based on the Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA). This is reflected in Article 5 of the UUPA.

“The agrarian law that applies to land, water, and airspace is customary law, as long as it does not contradict national and state interests, based on national unity, Indonesian socialism, and regulations stipulated in this law and other legislation, with consideration of elements based on religious law,” he explained.

Prof. Kurnia believed that the agrarian law based on the UUPA does not aim to replace existing customary law. He added that in Indonesia, individuals in land disputes cannot refer to the UUPA because it does not indicate to whom the land is inherited. He further explained that first, land law pluralism in Indonesia is enveloped in agrarian law, stating customary law as unwritten positive law. Second, customary law serves as a source for developing agrarian law itself.

“How can we realize this?” Prof. Kurnia asked. He emphasized the crucial point in his writing that land registration does not eliminate legal pluralism. However, Indonesia faces obstacles in land registration as it has not been able to register customary lands into the land administration system.

“I urge that the Indonesian land administration system should be promoted to the public not to standardize land ownership in Indonesia. Land registration and the management of customary lands are the biggest challenges today. If all customary lands are registered in the land registry, by 2025, complete land registration can be achieved,” he concluded.