Authority of the State Administrative Court in the Cancellation of Land Certificates

If there is a land case involving authority, procedures, and administrative substance in the issuance of land rights or land certificates, then the state administrative court has the authority to examine and adjudicate based on Law Number 5 of 1986 and its amendments. For example, the BPN issues a land certificate in the name of another party without going through the procedures and substance that should be, such as no Sale and Purchase Deed, no land history certificate, no statement of no dispute from the land owner, no measurement to the location, determination of land plot boundaries that are not in accordance with the actual situation, no validation of the survey letter, and several requirements in the land certificate issuance procedure are not met.

Thus, the issuance of a land certificate that is administratively flawed and procedurally flawed and detrimental to certain parties as mentioned above, the party who feels aggrieved can sue the BPN to the State Administrative Court (PTUN) so that the land certificate is declared null and void by the PTUN judge, with or without a claim for compensation and or rehabilitation as regulated in Article 53 paragraph (1) of Law Number 9 of 2004 concerning Amendments to Law Number 5 of 1986 concerning State Administrative Courts.

Cancellation of Land Certificates

Cancellation of a land certificate that violates the provisions of laws and regulations or there is an incorrect process against it is an administrative action that is the authority of the agency/body that issued it or the state administrative court. This is based on Jurisprudence of the Decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia Number 383 K/Sip/1971 dated November 3, 1971 with the legal principle “declaring the cancellation of a land title certificate issued by the agrarian institution legally is not within the authority of the district court but solely within the administrative authority".

Cancellation of land title certificates can be done in 2 (two) ways: requesting cancellation to the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/BPN through the Land Office on the grounds of legal errors in the issuance process or through the mechanism of filing a lawsuit to the PTUN. Cancellation of the land title certificate must be requested by the party who won the court to the Land Office/BPN based on the court decision obtained.

Land Title Certificate as Documentary Evidence in Civil Cases

A land title certificate over land that is disputed in a general court or district court functions as documentary evidence, which is formal evidence with a very strong position in civil law because it is an authentic deed. Everyone can prove their rights to the land if the name listed in the certificate is clearly stated as the holder. The object of the lawsuit in the form of a land title certificate in a civil case is certainly related to onrechtmatig daad or tort civil law Article 1365 of the Civil Code.

The issuance of a land title certificate can be sued in the district court within the scope of the general court based on a civil case between the disputing parties. If the land case in question is a dispute over ownership of land rights or a dispute over ownership rights or issues of rights attached to land ownership and not the validity of the issuance of land title certificates, then the district court has the authority to examine, adjudicate and decide on the ownership dispute.

For example, in cases such as several parties claiming to own a plot of land, land cases between siblings involving grants, inheritance, land sale and purchase disputes between parties, land grabbing, and so on. Then a lawsuit for unlawful acts can be filed in the local district court. The district court does not have the authority to cancel a land title certificate, but only has the authority to declare the certificate to have no legal force in its verdict.

The Civil Chamber Formulation Number Perdata Umum/2/SEMA 10 2020 which states that:A civil judge does not have the authority to cancel a certificate, but only has the authority to declare that the certificate has no legal force, on the basis that it does not have a valid legal basis. Cancellation of a certificate is an administrative action that is the authority of the state administrative court".

What If There Are Conflicting PTUN and PN Decisions?

If it is related to a land ownership case filed in the PTUN and the district court, but it turns out that the two decisions are contradictory, then in accordance with the letter from the Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for Judicial Affairs Number 6/WK.MA.Y/II/2020 dated February 10, 2020, regarding Land Problems which are the object of dispute in the Court, point four of the letter states that in the event of a State Administrative Court Decision that conflicts with a Civil Decision regarding Ownership Issues, the State Administrative Court decision refers to the Civil Decision. Based on this explanation, as long as it relates to ownership issues, the PTUN decision must refer to the district court decision. The legal remedies that can be taken are by appealing, cassation, or judicial review.

Conclusion

Based on the description above, it can be concluded that if a person feels that their interests are harmed as a result of the issuance of a KTUN in the form of the issuance of a land title certificate relating to the authority, procedures and substance by the BPN or Land Office, then they can file a lawsuit with the PTUN. Meanwhile, in the general court, in this case the district court, there is competence to adjudicate land cases related to ownership rights disputes due to civil reasons in the form of unlawful acts between the interested parties.

If in the PTUN, the status of the land title certificate is the object of the dispute (including the KTUN), while the land title certificate disputed in the district court functions as an authentic documentary evidence.

References

  • Diva Sukmawati, Putu. “Agrarian Law in Land Dispute Resolution in Indonesia”. Sui Generis Journal of Law, Vol 2 no. 2 (2022).
  • Pujiyono, Muh. “Protection and Legal Certainty of Land Rights Holders (A Study of the Pontianak Administrative Court and Mempawah District Court Decisions)”. Jurnal Nestor Magister Hukum, Vol 13 no. 1 (2017).