Institutionalising Legal Pluralism: Islamic, Customary, and State Legal Authority in Indigenous Muslim Local Governance

Hasbi Umar; Burhanuddin

doi:10.66882/iil.v1i1.6

Authors

Hasbi Umar UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, Indonesia Author
Burhanuddin UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, Indonesia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66882/iil.v1i1.6

Keywords:

legal pluralism, Islamic law, indigenous communities, relational governance, local governance

Abstract

Legal pluralism in Indonesia is constitutionally recognised, yet the coexistence of state, customary, and Islamic legal authorities does not necessarily produce effective institutional pluralism in local governance. The central problem lies not only in the recognition of multiple legal orders, but in the absence of a sufficiently articulated framework governing their interaction, jurisdiction, and mutual accountability. This study examines how Islamic and customary legal authority can be institutionally accommodated within Indonesia’s constitutional and local governance framework. Employing a normative legal research approach, the study analyses constitutional provisions, legislation, legal scholarship, and contemporary literature on legal pluralism, Indigenous legal orders, and substantive autonomy. The analysis demonstrates that formal recognition remains insufficient where customary and Islamic authorities lack clear jurisdictional boundaries and institutional mechanisms for interacting with state law. Building on relational legal pluralism and recent scholarship on substantive autonomy, the study develops a relational governance model comprising five interconnected elements: legal recognition, jurisdictional allocation, institutional linkage, reciprocal recognition, and constitutional accountability. The model advances the argument that substantive autonomy requires not only legal recognition and institutional capacity but also the relational capacity to engage with other legal authorities within a shared constitutional space. The study contributes to the literature by reframing institutionalised legal pluralism from the coexistence of multiple legal orders towards the institutional design of relationships among legal authorities. This framework provides a conceptual basis for integrating Islamic and customary authority into local governance without reducing either to subordinate extensions of state law.

References

Achmad Hariri, and Basuki Babussalam. “Legal Pluralism: Concept, Theoretical Dialectics, and Its Existence in Indonesia.” Walisongo Law Review (Walrev) 6, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.21580/walrev.2024.6.2.25566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21580/walrev.2024.6.2.25566

Anggoro, Syahriza Alkohir, and Tunggul Anshari Setia Negara. “The Struggle for Recognition: Adat Law Trajectories under Indonesian Politics of Legal Unification.” International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 29, no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10040. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10040

Anggraeni, Rr Dewi. “Islamic Law and Customary Law in Contemporary Legal Pluralism in Indonesia: Tension and Constraints.” Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah 23, no. 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.15408/ajis.v23i1.32549. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15408/ajis.v23i1.32549

Aziz, M. Abd, Muhammad Djunaidi Ghony, Imam Suprayogo, and Mukhlisah Amin. “Islamic Legal Pluralism and Localized Ijtihad in Rural Indonesia: Negotiating Madhhab, Custom, and Multicultural Muslim Life.” Mazahibuna: Jurnal Perbandingan Mazhab 8, no. 1 (2026): 92–111. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24252/mazahibuna.vi.65263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24252/mazahibuna.vi.65263

Benda-Beckmann, Keebet von. “Trajectories of Legal Entanglement Examples from Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailand.” Legal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis 54, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1080/27706869.2022.2056372. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/27706869.2022.2056372

Bhat, P. Ishwara. Idea and Methods of Legal Research. Idea and Methods of Legal Research, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199493098.001.0001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199493098.001.0001

Chalmers, Shane. “Law’s Pluralism: Getting to the Heart of the Rule of Law.” Law, Culture and the Humanities 17, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/1743872117707276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17438721211063670

Clark, Cristy, Karen Fisher, and Elizabeth Macpherson. “Indigenous Rights and Ontological Plurality in the Institutional Arrangements for the Waikato and Waipā Rivers in Aotearoa.” International Journal of Human Rights, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2361650. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2361650

Coyle, Michael. “E Pluribus Plures: Legal Pluralism and the Recognition of Indigenous Legal Orders.” In The Oxford Handbook of Global Legal Pluralism, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197516744.013.5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197516744.013.5

Djawas, Mursyid, Abidin Nurdin, Muslim Zainuddin, Idham, and Zahratul Idami. “Harmonization of State, Custom, and Islamic Law in Aceh: Perspective of Legal Pluralism.” Hasanuddin Law Review 10, no. 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.20956/halrev.v10i1.4824. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20956/halrev.v10i1.4824

Griffiths, John. “What Is Legal Pluralism?” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 18, no. 24 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1986.10756387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1986.10756387

Hamida, Nilna Aliyan. “Adat Law and Legal Pluralism in Indonesia: Toward A New Perspective?” Indonesian Journal of Law and Society 3, no. 1 (2022): 1. https://doi.org/10.19184/ijls.v3i1.26752. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19184/ijls.v3i1.26752

Jayuska, Rizki, I. Gusti Ayu Ketut Rachmi Handayani, Isharyanto, Ismail Marzuki, and Achmad Fawaid. “The Ambiguous Authority of Provincial Governors in Customary Law Recognition: Regulatory Fragmentation in Indonesia’s Decentralization Era.” Khazanah Hukum 7, no. 2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.15575/kh.v7i2.46367. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15575/kh.v7i2.46367

Kadaryanto, Bagio, Ardian Kurniawan, and Burhanuddin. “Reconstruction of Indigenous Community Inclusion in Village Autonomy Policy: Towards a Substantive Autonomy Model in Indonesia.” Al-Risalah: Forum Kajian Hukum Dan Sosial Kemasyarakatan 25, no. 1 (2025): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.30631/alrisalah.v25i1.1845. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30631/alrisalah.v25i1.1845

Kolopaking, Lala M., Sofyan Sjaf, and Sampean. “Problems and Prospects of Recognition of the Ammatoa Kajang Indigenous Community in Indonesia.” Development in Practice, no. October (2025): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2025.2562478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2025.2562478

Kurniawan, Ardian, Hendri K., Syamsu Hadi, Anggi Purnama Harahap, and Burhanuddin. “Recolonizing Formal Restorative Justice: A Socio-Legal Critique of Indonesia’s Shift from Customary Justice to State Law.” Diponegoro Law Review 10, no. 2 (2025): 294–309. https://doi.org/10.14710/dilrev.10.2.2025.

Manse, Maarten. “The Plural Legacies of Legal Pluralism: Local Practices and Contestations of Customary Law in Late Colonial Indonesia.” Legal Pluralism and Critical Social Analysis 56, no. 3 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/27706869.2024.2377447. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/27706869.2024.2377447

McConville, Mike, and Wing Hong Chui, eds. Research Methods for Law. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781399515092

McKerracher, Kelty. “Relational Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Legal Orders in Canada.” Global Constitutionalism 12, no. 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045381722000193. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045381722000193

Merina, Bresca, and Tomy Bawulang. “Indigenous Leadership and Local Policy Implementation: Evidence From the Recognition of Indigenous Peoples Regulation in Teluk Bintuni, Indonesia.” Jurnal Bina Praja 17, no. 3 (2025). https://doi.org/10.21787/jbp.17.2025.2881. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21787/jbp.17.2025.2881

Newman, Dwight. “Indigenous Rights and Intrastate Multijuridicalism.” In The Oxford Handbook of Global Legal Pluralism, edited by Paul Schiff Berman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197516744.013.6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197516744.013.6

Niko, Nikodemus, Heni Widiyani, Fitri Kurnianingsih, Emmy Solina, Endri Endri, Angelo Lenard Yu, and Syarifah Ema Rahmaniah. “The Living Law in Indonesia’s New Criminal Code: Legal Pluralism, Indigenous Autonomy, and the Risk of State Co-Optation.” Masalah-Masalah Hukum 55, no. 1 (2026): 231–57. https://doi.org/10.14710/mmh.55.1.2026.231-257. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/mmh.55.1.2026.231-257

Pradhani, Sartika Intaning. “Pendekatan Pluralisme Hukum Dalam Studi Hukum Adat: Interaksi Hukum Adat Dengan Hukum Nasional Dan Internasional.” Undang: Jurnal Hukum 4, no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.22437/ujh.4.1.81-124. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22437/ujh.4.1.81-124

Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning Villages.

Republic of Indonesia, The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia

Rokhmad, Abu. “Institutions and Contributions to Islamic Law in Indonesia’s Legal System.” Walisongo Law Review (Walrev) 3, no. 1 (2021). https://doi.org/10.21580/walrev.2021.3.1.7282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21580/walrev.2021.3.1.7282

Roughan, Nicole. “Plurality of Laws and Conflict of Laws: Reconciling Through Recognition?” In Philosophical Foundations of Private International Law, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192858771.003.0011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192858771.003.0011

Shahar, Ido, and Karin Carmit Yefet. “Rethinking the Rethinking of Legal Pluralism: Toward a Manifesto for a Pluri-Legal Perspective.” Law and History Review 42, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248023000184. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248023000184

Tamanaha, Brian Z. Legal Pluralism Explained: History, Theory, Consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190861551.001.0001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190861551.001.0001

Umar, Nasaruddin, Irvan Mawardi, Akiho Tsuji, and Tuti Haryanti. “Reproduction of Islamic Law in The Era of Globalization and Pluralism.” Jurnal Hukum Dan Peradilan 12, no. 3 (2023). https://doi.org/10.25216/jhp.12.3.2023.629-654. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25216/jhp.12.3.2023.629-654

United Nations. “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Resolution 61/295.” United Nations General Assembly, 2007.

Utama, Tody Sasmitha Jiwa. “Between Adat Law and Living Law: An Illusion of Customary Law Incorporation into Indonesia Penal System.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 53, no. 2 (2021): 269–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2021.1945222. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2021.1945222

Webley, Lisa. “The Why and How to of Conducting a Socio-Legal Empirical Research Project.” In Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods, 2019. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429952814-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429952814-4

Yahya, Afif Syarifudin. “The Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights within the Framework of Regional Autonomy in Indonesia.” Natapraja 13, no. 2 (2025): 176–92. https://doi.org/10.21831/natapraja.v13i2.84838. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/natapraja.v13i2.84838