Law of Indonesia

Following independence in 1945, Indonesia began to form its own modern Indonesian law, modifying existing precepts.

12/2011:[2] In practice, there are also presidential decrees (Keputusan Presiden or Keppres), presidential instructions (Instruksi Presiden or Inpres), ministerial regulations (Peraturan Menteri or Permen), ministerial decrees (Keputusan Menteri or Kepmen) and circulars (Surat Edaran or SE), all of which are legally binding and sometimes in conflict with each other.

The 1945 Constitution is the highest legal instrument in Indonesia, to which the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government must defer.

The constitution was written in July and August 1945, when Indonesia was emerging from Japanese occupation toward the end of World War II.

[3] Resolution of the People's Consultative Assembly (Ketetapan Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat) or Tap MPR in short is issued by the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, or MPR, the bicameral legislature of Indonesia), with legal binding power directly below the Constitution.

Under the original, unamended 1945 Constitution, MPR is the highest state institution in Indonesia, with the sole power to exercise popular sovereignty, amend the Constitution, vote and elect the president, and enact a Broad Guidelines of State Policy (Garis-Garis Besar Haluan Negara).

[9] During the process of drafting and deliberating a bill, DPR forms a small task group to discuss the proposed legislation with the relevant government institutions and various stakeholders.

[13] The president are also authorized to promulgate a Government Regulations in-lieu-of Acts (Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang or Perppu in short) by the Constitution.

But during the time period between promulgation by the president and approval by DPR, Perppu is still a legally binding legislation with the same power as a proper Act.

Each of the provinces, cities, and regencies also have their own legislatures, called the Regional People's Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah or DPRD).

[7] The governors, mayors, and regents may issue their own regulations, decrees, and instructions to further execute and specified matters of the ordinances into applicable policies.

Similarly with the case in national-level Acts lawmaking procedures, the DPRDs and the regional heads of government can propose bills of law to be deliberated in the DPRD.

There are concerns that Indonesian legal system grew increasingly positivist and overregulated, pushing the unwritten laws to irrelevance.

Instead on relying on written codes, the observance and enforcement of adat laws involve elder member of the society as well as their collective will and awareness.

For example, adat laws observed in Minang society of west Sumatran highlands initially ascribed toward worship of ancestors, as well as Hindu-Buddhist faith.

Its rules is directly applied in the Religious Court, and currently an official compilation of applicable marriage and inheritance laws existed and later adopted as a statute, in the form of Presidential Instruction No.

[26] The Act allows for the widespread application of Sharia laws in the local governance of Aceh, includes education, economy, and judicial system.

Opinions, doctrines, and academic writings, such as books and law journals written by legal scholars and practitioners may usually be used in court for providing explanation and elucidation purpose.

Recently, the use of online websites and databases may provide an alternative channel to look for references, which otherwise may be hard to search by conventional means.

Main punishments consist of imprisonment, enshelterment, observation, paying fines, and, performing community services.

[36] There is also the Commerce Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Dagang or KUHD previously known as Wetboek voor Koophandel) used for basic commercial principles.

The Civil Code (Staatsblad 1847:23, entered into force in 1848) is divided into four "Books": Persons (Orang), Property (Kebendaan), Contracts (Perikatan), and Evidence and Limitations (Pembuktian dan Daluwarsa).

[40] In summary: Curiously, despite the Act not acknowledging lawfulness of marriage concluded between man and woman of different faiths, it is also not explicitly outlawing them.

[45] Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court also rejected earlier petitions to review the Marriage Act, hence upholding the role of state and the importance of religion in family laws.

[51] The form of limited liability companies in Indonesia are very similar to Naamloze Vennootschap or NV practiced in the Netherlands.

Trademarks Marks (Merek) are two- or three-dimensional visual signs represented with images, logos, names, words, letters, numbers, sets of colors, sounds, holographic imageries, or any combinations thereof, created with the purpose of differentiating goods and/or services provided by any individuals or entities, used in any commercial activities.

[60] CopyrightsCopyrights (Hak Cipta) are exclusive rights of creators over their creative works, automatically exist and enter into force under a principle of declaration after its creation.

[1][3] International treaties, following its signature or accession by authorized Indonesian officials, need to be debated by the People's Representative Council and ratified into acts.

For example, in early 2015 it was reported that there was a severe shortage of judges which was particularly affecting the operations of district courts (pengadilan negeri).

[72] The Indonesian government and professional lawyers in Indonesia are well-aware of these problems and are working, over time, to improve the system.