Adat Court in Aceh, Indonesia: a Review of Law

This article aims to find out the legal position, authority, and structure of adat (customary) court in Aceh. This study used juridical methods. Data were obtained through literacy studies by examining such as the rule of laws, books, and journals. Data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach. The results of the study showed that adat court in Aceh has a significant position in the legislative system. The authority of adat court in Aceh is able to resolve small disputes that occur in society. The structure of adat court in Aceh is divided into land and sea areas. Adat court in the land territory consists of village and the mukim adat court, and the sea territory consists of lhok and district adat court.


A. Introduction
Adat court is a process or way to maintain the material customary law in the customary court, the person who violates the provisions of customary law can be brought before a panel of customary judges to be tried (Mansur, 2017: 168). Meanwhile, according to Rato, (2015: 337), adat court functions to resolve conflicts that arise in the community, as well as take preventive actions, namely traditional education.
The practice of adat court has not only been carried out for generations but also has been strengthened by the recognition of the Aceh legislation, namely Law Number 11, 2006 concerning the Government of Aceh (UUPA). It's further elaborated in its implementing regulations, namely through Aceh Regional Regulation (Aceh: Qanun) Number 9, 2008 concerning Indigenous and Customary Life Development, Qanun Aceh Number 10 of 2008 concerning Customary Institutions, and Aceh Governor Regulation Number 60 of 2013 concerning Custom Settlement.
According to Qanun Aceh Number 9, 2008, 18 types of customer disputes that can be resolved through adat court in Aceh such as disputes within the household, between families related to faraid (heritage), between residents, seclusion, about property rights; minor theft in the family, over property sehareukat (the property acquired during the marriage), minor theft, theft of domesticated animals; customary violations of livestock, agriculture, and forests, disputes at sea, disputes in the market, forest burning, slander, sedition and defamation, pollution of the surrounding environment, threatening to threaten, other disputes that violate the custom.
The granting of authority to settle 18 types of disputes to the adat court provides a great opportunity for adat court to contribute to reducing the number of cases that should be handled by conventional courts.

B. Literature Review
The adat court nomenclature is not uniformly agreed in Indonesia, this is sometimes confusing in defining it. However, it can be ascertained that the intent and purpose are the same, namely trying to find a way of peace.
Before Indonesia gained independence, the King had full power over his kingdoms, including the power of judging and punishing. However, according to Tresna (1957: 14), at that time the King also appointed functionaries of customary law to enforce law through customary justice.
When Islam came to Indonesia, the legal system at that time also changed. Islamic influences in Mataram, for example, there was Pradata in the court (Hindu), it was changed to Surambi court with the authority to run Qisas, even though the implementation of the meaning of Qisas was not in accordance with the true meaning of Islamic law (Tresna, 1957: 14).
While in Aceh, the influence of Islamic teachings had come first compared to Mataram. According to Lombart (2007: 118), there are 4 forms of justice that were seen at that time, the period of Aceh's glory under the rule of Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607-1636), namely: civil court, criminal court, religious court, and commercial court.
A civil court is held every morning except on Friday at a large hall near the main mosque (now the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque). The Chief Justice is one of the wealthiest people at that time. While the criminal court is held at another hall, namely, towards the palace gate. Two other courts, the Religious Court and the Commercial Court only examine special cases. The person who was most involved in hearing the case at the Religious Court was Kadi. Denys Lombard described the authority of Kadi was like a bishop, presiding over a court which included those who violated religion".
The court power was strengthened by Iskandar Muda in order to adhere to the rules of good morals and religious behavior, which according to Bustanus Salatin, was enforced by him (prohibiting playing gambling and liquor). While the latter is the Commercial Court, this court is usually held in another building to resolve disputes between traders, both foreign and indigenous traders. Regarding this, Denys said that "finally near the port, there was a hall where all disputes were settled between traders, both foreign and indigenous". This court is chaired by a rich Admiral who may be considered the same as the mayor (Lombart, 2007: 121). According to the results of research conducted by Mansur (2018: 18), the last court or In the development of the history of customary justice in Indonesia, the justice system is divided based on population classification. It aims to accommodate the pressure of the population groups in the archipelago (in the language of the invaders, it is classified as indigenous people or bumi putera) to implement a legal system that lives and develops which is still being implemented among them.
For indigenous people, the court recognized is in accordance with Article 11 AB (Alglemene Bepalingen, statutory provisions applicable in Indonesia) which stated: "Except in the case of (authentic) Indonesians or those who are equal to the Indonesian people voluntarily obey the rules of European civil and legal law, or in cases for which such legislation or other regulations apply, then the law applicable and carried out by inlandserechter judges, for them it is the law of their religion, institutions and customs of the people, as long as the principles of justice are generally recognized".
The Article was reaffirmed in 1854 through Article 75 RR (Regerings-Reglement), whose translation read as follow: "Except in the case that the Governor-General has explained that this applies to the Dutch East Indies rules of European law or in matters of indigenous people voluntarily obeying civil and commercial laws that apply to European groups, the indigenous judges carry out for them the Law of their religion, as long as it does not conflict with the generally recognized principles of justice".
In 1925, the RR was renamed IndiesheStaatregeling (IS), a codification of the constitutional principal law, in which Article 75 RR became Article 131 IS. However, Article 131 IS has only been effective starting January 1, 1926 with the following editors: In conducting ordinances that contain civil law and trade the ordinance maker will notice that: "(b) For indigenous (native) groups, foreign eastern groups and their parts, legal regulations are based on the names of their religions and customs; but to those rules can be excluded if the public interest or social needs they require, it can be established for them European law, if necessary with changes or laws that apply to them and the European people together." Therefore, for the indigenous population (indigenous people) there is a separate court (customary court, religious court) in resolving disputes that occur. In its implementation, the judges must refer to religious laws provided that they do not conflict with the generally recognized principles of justice (Mansur & Jalil, 2013: 70).
However, in terms of the authority of customary courts in the colonial period they still had extensive authority, such as being able to settle big cases with severe penalties, whereas the current customary court, such as in Aceh, only resolved cases/small/light disputes. Major matters become the authority of the formal court. (1). All cases according to customary law including the power of judges from small-scale legal communities (village judges) remain tried by the judges.
(2) The provision in advance does not reduce even the right of litigants to submit their case to the judges referred to Article 1.2 and 3 (higher judge) at any time.
(3). The judges referred to paragraph 1 judge cases according to customary law; they may not sentence. Village judges, if any sentence is imposed, then it must be imposed simply, such as: reprimand, warning, giving mercy or forgiveness, obligation to hold a charity ceremony, salvation to clean relatives or clean the village or more is a sentence of exile, removed or expelled from hometown. (Hadikusuma, 1981: 144). Mansur and Jalil (2013: 70) concluded that, it began to show a weakening of the power possessed by customary justice. If previously it was able to impose harsh sanctions in criminal cases but due to the enactment of Law Number 1 of 1951 the authority was weakened. Customary judges are only classified as judges of peace with only small cases of violations. Adat court in the past with the indigenous court separated material and formal law, but after the Emergency Law, the provisions of material (customary law) and formal (judicial) for unified became one.

Relationship between Adat (Customary) Courts and State Courts
Article 18B paragraph (2)  Courts, and the Constitutional Court. This fact proves that the law has not been in favor of strengthening customary justice. (Abdurrahman, 2013: 2). In the case of Aceh, this situation could cause confusion for justice seekers because they did not get legal certainty.
Other assumptions suggest that, Article 18B Paragraph (2)  Although the Basic Law does not explicitly regulate the existence of Customary Courts, in practice, such as Adat court in Aceh, it becomes a legal phenomenon that must be addressed wisely. In Indonesian society consisting of a multicultural society (Nurjaya, 2012, 21) where the law cannot be seen from the aspect of the constitution and the law alone, there needs to be a legal breakthrough, so that the absence of clear rules will not prevent the community from running Customary Justice.
In Indonesia, the customary law system also known as the people's legal system (folk law) continues to grow and develop in people's lives. In fact, the concept also became the norm and law. Functioning as an instrument for controlling the social order and order of society. Thus, the law does not only function as the state law stated in the legislation, but also manifests itself in religious law and also customary law (custom law). Nurjaya (2005: 101 and106: 2011: 236 and242;2013: 64 and 68;) explained that the paradigm of developing national law in Indonesia needs to be changed, from the legal centralism to the ideology of legal pluralism (legal relationship will certainly benefit the people who are seeking justice in the two courts. At the same time legal objectives were also achieved.

Concept of Adat Court
In concept, Abdullah (2010) argues that, adat court is included in a mediation study because it talks about matters that are inseparable from efforts to reconcile/dissolve disputing parties or dispute in society peacefully and outside the general justice process. While According to Spiller, (1999: 57) says that, mediation or mediation is taken from the Latin word 'medius' which means 'middle' or "middle". The word refers to a process that involves middle people as intermediaries. And usually the process is often associated with a dispute resolution process between two parties or more by being assisted by a third party, namely an intermediary / mediator.
In Indonesia, the concept of mediation itself is well known and has a very good place in the eyes of the law (Abdullah, 2015: 41 Peaceful dispute resolution cannot be separated from the source of cultural roots of the Indonesian people. In the conception of customary law, peaceful settlement is one way of solving problems in order to bridge the diversity of Indonesia's population consisting of various tribes, peoples, languages, regions, and also religions. Customary law as a system has its own pattern in resolving disputes. Settlement through adat court has its own character compared to the completion of other legal system models. This is because, the system that is built comes from customary law that is born and grows from the community itself, so that its existence is compounded and cannot be separated from the community.
The basis of the settlement in the customary court referring to Abbas  Therefore, the embodiment of the concept of customary law is associated with the two views above being very principled in its enforcement through customary justice. Again, even though customary law is regulated in such a way, and even though in some regions it stipulates certain sanctions for certain violations, in practice it is always based on the principles and efforts of peaceful settlement or mediation.

C. Method
This research was conducted using qualitative methods with the type of research used is legal (juridical) research, namely legal research by examining library legal materials in the form of laws, books, journals, and other literature in accordance with research. The data obtained will be analyzed using a qualitative descriptive approach.
This qualitative study focuses deeply and holistically on fieldwork.
The purpose is to uncover important facts, circumstances, phenomena, and variables about the objects in question using phenomenological, social, and humanistic approaches. The findings are presented in the form of a lengthy description detailing the written and oral words obtained from various sources of information (Tabrani ZA, 2014: 123 (Tabrani ZA, 2014: 125). While the documentation is done through a review of written data in the form of documents relating to the focus of the study (Tabrani ZA, 2014: 126).
The study targeted two types of data: primary and secondary data.
Primary data is the data that the researchers collected directly from the respondents or informants during the observations and secondary data is the data that was obtained indirectly including printed or electronic documents that could provide information. (Walidin, et.al.: 2015). Data were analyzed using techniques proposed by Milles and Huberman.

Finding
The findings of study indicate that traditional justice in Aceh has a formally strong position because it has been recognized in the legal system. However, legal experts sometimes are still debated because formal rules that recognize customary justice often use different terms.
Some experts state that in the legislation does not use the term customary justice, but the process and method of resolving disputes use customary justice in solving problems to find a way to peace. Another finding of study is that adat courts in Aceh are divided into two areas of coverage.
First, the customary court on land which consists of adat gampong court as the first court of justice, and the adat mukim court as the court of appeal.
The second is adat laot court, which consists of adat laot lhok court and laot district adat court. Uniquely, it does not recognize the level of appeal. The authority of the laot customary court is divided based on the territory of authority, the laot lhok customary court is tasked with resolving fishing disputes that occur within the lhok area, while the laot customary court of the city regency will resolve the fishermen dispute that occurs between two lhok and or two city or districts. Article 14 paragraph (1) Qanun Aceh No. 9 2008 states that, community dispute resolution is carried out by 3 institutions, namely traditional Gampong (village) institutions, Mukim customary institutions and customary marine institutions. The authority granted by the laws and regulations concerns dispute resolution and the existence of a customary functionary structure in dispute resolution, the adat institution is interpreted as an adat court . Mahdi (2011: 197) states, that in fact the Qanun governing the custom institution provides hidden meanings about customary justice. Meanwhile, Taqwaddin (2009: 4) states that, Qanun Aceh Number 9, 2008 and Qanun Aceh Number 10, 2008 have increased the position of adat court as a formal court. This opinion received support from Tripa (2011Tripa ( : 1000.

Discussion a. Position of Adat Court in Aceh
The rules of the UUPA, Qanun and the views of the experts above have actually ensured that the position of adat court in Aceh has a strong position, only the UUPA and Qanun should directly use customary court nomenclature. This is to avoid different interpretations.

b. Authority of Customary Courts in Aceh
The authority of adat court (customary institutions) in Aceh is regulated in Chapter XIII Article 98 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) concerning the Customary Institution of the Law on the Governing of Aceh (UUPA). In paragraph (1) it reads: "Customary institutions function and play a role as a vehicle for community participation in the administration of the Aceh Government and district/city government in the fields of security, peace, harmony and order." While paragraph (2) stated that completion of customary social problems is carried out through customary institutions.
Further provisions regarding the duties, authority, rights and obligations of customary institutions, customary empowerment, and  In addition, with the existence of the laws and Qanun above, it can be concluded that the existence of customary law both in the material and formal sense (customary justice) can be said to have been placed in a positive (formal) legal system. This shows that the existence of customary law and customary institutions (customary justice) will eventually lead to ____________ 1 See article 1 (23) the Qanun Jinayah of Aceh Province (Qanun No 6 of 2014): an act being in a closed place or hidden between two people of different types sex which is non mahram and without marital ties with the willingness of both parties tha leads to fornication.  The scheme illustrates that the customary land court has the first level and appeal level, while in the sea area, the two types of the judiciary remain called the first and last levels. The second difference between the customary court of the sea area lies in the jurisdiction or authority of the region to try.
Adat Lhok court only has the authority to adjudicate fishermen's disputes in their area, while the District Adat (Marine) Courts adjudicates cases between fishermen in two regions of Lhok or more, and also adjudicates the Lhok dispute if the Panglima Laot (chief of maritime in an area) cannot solve the disputes among the fisherman. (Ahmad, 2010: 45;Mansur, 2010: 27).
Adat court in Aceh, especially land areas, is not only authorized to

D. Conclusion
The position of adat court in Aceh is getting stronger along with recognition through Law Number 11 of 2006 concerning Aceh Government, Qanun Aceh Number 9, 2008 with the Development of Indigenous and Customary Life, and Qanun Aceh Number 10 of 2008 concerning Customary Institutions. With the existence of legislation, the authority of adat court is also increasingly clear, namely resolving small disputes/which occur during society. However, the nomenclature of the judiciary stipulated in legislation can still be debated. Based on the laws and regulations in Aceh, the structure of adat court in Aceh consists of Adat Gampong Courts, Adat Mukim Courts, adat court in the sea area consists of Lhok (regional)and District Adat Court. However, from a regulatory standpoint, the legislation is still rather weak.