Legal Analysis of Land Disputes Involving the Circumvention of Law in Land Sale and Purchase Transactions

Abstract

Land is a strategic resource holding significant economic, social, cultural, and legal value; consequently, legal certainty regarding land rights is of paramount importance. In practice, disputes over land ownership rights frequently arise from the circumvention of the law during land sale and purchase transactions—such as the use of private deeds (*akta di bawah tangan*), document forgery, the use of nominees, or the transfer of rights without adhering to statutory procedures. Such conditions not only cause losses to the parties involved but also undermine legal certainty and erode public trust in Indonesia's land administration system.This study aims to analyze the implementation of land ownership dispute resolution based on statutory regulations and to identify the obstacles encountered during this process. It employs a normative legal research method supported by an empirical approach, utilizing statutory, conceptual, and field-based approaches. Data were analyzed qualitatively through a combination of literature review, interview results, and empirical data.The research findings indicate that a sufficient legal basis for land dispute resolution already exists, comprising Law Number 5 of 1960 concerning Basic Regulations on Agrarian Principles, the Civil Code, Government Regulation Number 24 of 1997 concerning Land Registration, and various other implementing regulations. However, implementation in the field faces numerous obstacles, including weak land administration, "land mafia" activities, low public legal awareness, suboptimal inter-agency coordination, and the continued circumvention of the law in land transactions. Therefore, regulatory harmonization, the digitalization of land administration, enhanced professionalism among law enforcement officials, and increased public legal awareness are essential to ensure legal certainty and legal protection regarding land rights.