Legal Certainty, Property Rights, and Sustainable Land Governance: Reassessing Indonesia’s Negative Publication System with Positive Tendencies

Authors

  • Elviana Sagala Universitas Labuhanbatu, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.
  • Sulzakimin Bin Mohamed Universitas Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.
  • Sriono Universitas Labuhanbatu, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38035/gijlss.v4i4.894

Keywords:

Legal Certainty, Property Rights Protection, Sustainable Land Governance, Land Registration, Socio-Legal Approach

Abstract

Land registration in Indonesia is intended to ensure legal certainty over property rights; however, its implementation does not always provide stable and substantive protection. The negative publication system with positive tendencies reflects a structural gap between administrative recognition through land certificates and the actual protection of ownership rights, with implications for sustainable land governance. This study aims to reassess how this system shapes legal certainty, limits property rights protection, and affects governance sustainability within a socio-legal framework. This research employs a normative legal method combined with a socio-legal approach, integrating conceptual analysis with case-based examination of statutory regulations, legal doctrines, and judicial decisions. The findings indicate that land registration produces formal and presumptive legal certainty rather than definitive protection. Land certificates function as strong administrative evidence but remain legally defeasible and subject to challenge, correction, or annulment due to procedural defects, data inconsistencies, or competing claims. From a socio-legal perspective, this condition creates conditional legal protection and shifts legal risk to rights holders, affecting tenure security and institutional trust. The study concludes that legal certainty is dynamic and non-final, and that sustainable land governance depends on the alignment between administrative registration, substantive legal validation, and effective institutional practices. This study also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), by emphasizing the importance of secure land tenure, inclusive governance, and reliable legal institutions in ensuring sustainable land governance.

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Published

2026-10-23

How to Cite

Sagala, E., Mohamed, S. B., & Sriono, S. (2026). Legal Certainty, Property Rights, and Sustainable Land Governance: Reassessing Indonesia’s Negative Publication System with Positive Tendencies. Greenation International Journal of Law and Social Sciences, 4(4), 1607–1622. https://doi.org/10.38035/gijlss.v4i4.894

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Vol. 4 No. 4 (2026): (GIJLSS) Greenation International Journal of Law and Social Sciences (September - October 2026)

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Copyright (c) 2026 Elviana Sagala, Sulzakimin Bin Mohamed, Sriono

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