Constitutional Legality of Administrative Island Transfers by Indonesia’s Minister of Home Affairs from a Constitutional Law Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62193/da1vv553Keywords:
administrative legality, ministerial authority, regional autonomy, territorial boundariesAbstract
This study examines the legality of Minister of Home Affairs Decree No. 300.2.2‑2138 of 2025, which administratively transferred four islands from Aceh Singkil Regency (Aceh Province) to Central Tapanuli Regency (North Sumatra Province). The research focuses on assessing the decree’s compliance with key principles of administrative law, particularly legality, normative hierarchy, and administrative justice in territorial governance. Employing a normative approach and document analysis method, the study finds that the ministerial decision potentially exceeds administrative authority, as it was not based on a statutory revision or government regulation and lacked consultation with affected local governments and communities. These findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen legal oversight over strategic administrative acts to safeguard regional autonomy and jurisdictional certainty. The study recommends judicial review through the Administrative Court and calls for a comprehensive reform of inter-agency coordination mechanisms in resolving inter-provincial boundary disputes
Downloads
References
A, Gardner, James. Comparative Election Law. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022.
———. Comparative Election Law. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022.
Agnew, John. Globalization and Sovereignty: Beyond the Territorial Trap. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2017.
Ali, Safitri. “Juridical Analysis of the Position of PTUN in Resolving State Administrative Disputes.” Estudiante Law Journal 7, no. 2 (9 April 2025): 317 330. https://doi.org/10.33756/eslaj.v7i2.31026.
Amarini, Indriati, Noorfajri Ismail, Yusuf Saefudin, Zeehan Fuad Attamimi, dan Astika Nurul Hidayah. “Exploring the Effectiveness of Mediation in Resolving Disputes in the Indonesian Administrative Court.” Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies 9, no. 1 (9 Mei 2024): 353–84. https://doi.org/10.15294/jils.vol9i1.4632.
Arban, Erika. “Federalism, Regionalism, Sub-State Nationalism: Some Theoretical Insights.” Dalam Italian Regionalism and the Federal Challenge: Reconciling Economic Regionalism and Solidarity, disunting oleh Erika Arban, 1–33. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31543-5_1.
Bamforth, Nicholas, dan Peter Leyland. “Public Law in a Multi-Layered Constitution.” Judicial Review, 1 September 2003. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10854681.2003.11427265.
Benz, Arthur, dan Jörg Broschek. Federal Dynamics: Continuity, Change, and the Varieties of Federalism. OUP Oxford, 2013.
Brenner, Neil. New State Spaces: Urban Governance and the Rescaling of Statehood. OUP Oxford, 2004.
Busch, Peter André, dan Helle Zinner Henriksen. “Chapter 6: AI Technologies and the Reconfiguration of Discretion in Street Level Bureaucracy,” 2024. https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781803922171/book-part-9781803922171-12.xml.
Cananea, Giacinto della. The Common Core of European Administrative Laws: Retrospective and Prospective. BRILL, 2023.
Choudhry, Sujit, Madhav Khosla, dan Pratap Bhanu Mehta. The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Craig, Paul P. “Legality, Five Views of the Cathedral.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 13 Januari 2019. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3314924.
———. “Natural Justice in English Administrative Law: Continuity and Change from the 17th Century.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 7 Maret 2022. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4051341.
Daly, Tom Gerald. “Democratic Decay: Conceptualising an Emerging Research Field.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 11, no. 1 (1 April 2019): 9–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-019-00086-2.
Desai, Deval. Expert Ignorance: The Law and Politics of Rule of Law Reform. Cambridge University Press, 2023.
Döring, Matthias. “How-to Bureaucracy: A Concept of Citizens’ Administrative Literacy.” Administration & Society 53, no. 8 (1 Septembe 2021): 1155–1177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399721995460.
Dyzenhaus, David. “The Rule of (Administrative) Law in International Law.” Law and Contemporary Problems 68, no. 3/4 (2005): 127–66.
Ebi, Ebi Achigbe Okeng. “Post-1996 Service Delivery in South Africa: Constitutional and Social Contract Perspectives,” 2022. https://hdl.handle.net/10566/20174.
Efendi, A’an, dan Sudarsono Sudarsono. “TINDAKAN ULTRA VIRES ORGAN PEMERINTAHAN DAN KONSEKUENSI HUKUMNYA.” Masalah-Masalah Hukum 53, no. 2 (31 Juli 2024): 145–54. https://doi.org/10.14710/mmh.53.2.2024.145-154.
Ferejohn, John, dan Pasquale Pasquino. “Constitutional Adjudication: Lessons from Europe.” Texas Law Review 82 (2004 2003): 1671.
Fisher, Elizabeth, Jeff King, dan Alison Young. The Foundations and Future of Public Law: Essays in Honour of Paul Craig. Oxford University Press, 2020.
French, Max, dan Ali Mollinger-Sahba. “Making Performance Management Relevant in Complex and Inter-Institutional Contexts: Using Outcomes as Performance Attractors.” International Journal of Public Sector Management 34, no. 3 (17 Februari 2021): 377–91. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2020-0071.
Gardner, John. Law as a Leap of Faith: Essays on Law in General. OUP Oxford, 2012.
Gargarella, Roberto. The Legal Foundations of Inequality: Constitutionalism in the Americas, 1776–1860. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Ginsburg, Tom, dan Aziz Z. Huq. How to Save a Constitutional Democracy. University of Chicago Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226564418.
Graver, Hans Petter. “Judicial Independence Under Authoritarian Rule: An Institutional Approach to the Legal Tradition of the West.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 10, no. 2 (1 Oktober 2018): 317–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-018-0071-8.
Halberstam, Daniel. “Comparative Federalism and the Role of the Judiciary.” Dalam The Oxford Handbook of Law and Politics, disunting oleh Gregory A. Caldeira, R. Daniel Kelemen, dan Keith E. Whittington, 0. Oxford University Press, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199208425.003.0009.
Hertogh, Marc. Nobody’s Law: Legal Consciousness and Legal Alienation in Everyday Life. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60397-5.
Holgado, Benjamin Garcia, dan Raúl Sánchez Urribarri. “The Dark Side of Legalism: Abuse of the Law and Democratic Erosion in Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela.” American Behavioral Scientist 68, no. 12 (1 November 2024): 1578 96. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642241268332.
Humas. “Presiden Prabowo Putuskan Empat Pulau Menjadi Milik Provinsi Aceh.” Sekretariat Kabinet Republik Indonesia (blog), 17 Juni 2025. https://setkab.go.id/presiden-prabowo-putuskan-empat-pulau-menjadi-milik-provinsi-aceh/.
Huscroft, Grant, dan Paul Rishworth. Litigating Rights: Perspectives from Domestic and International Law. Hart Publishing, 2002.
Hutchinson, Terry. “The Doctrinal Method: Incorporating Interdisciplinary Methods in Reforming the Law.” Erasmus Law Review 8 (2015): 130.
Ip, Eric C., dan Eric Chi Yeung Ip. Hybrid Constitutionalism: The Politics of Constitutional Review in the Chinese Special Administrative Regions. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Khosla, Madhav. India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy. Harvard University Press, 2020.
Kincaid, John. A Research Agenda for Federalism Studies. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.
Kochenov, Dimitry, dan Laurent Pech. “Monitoring and Enforcement of the Rule of Law in the EU: Rhetoric and Reality.” European Constitutional Law Review 11, no. 3 (Desember 2015): 512–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1574019615000358.
Kuo, Ming-Sung. “Inter-public legality or post-public legitimacy? Global governance and the curious case of global administrative law as a new paradigm of law.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 10, no. 4 (1 Oktober 2012): 1050–1075. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/mos025.
Kureshi, Yasser. Seeking Supremacy: The Pursuit of Judicial Power in Pakistan. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
Landau, David. “Transitional Norms in Constitutions.” Yale Journal of International Law 50 (2025): 1.
Loughlin, Martin. Foundations of Public Law. OUP Oxford, 2010.
Marzuki, Prof Dr Mahmud. Penelitian Hukum: Edisi Revisi. Prenada Media, 2017.
Möllers, Christoph. The Three Branches: A Comparative Model of Separation of Powers. OUP Oxford, 2013.
Pech, Laurent. “The Rule of Law as a Well-Established and Well-Defined Principle of EU Law.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 14, no. 2 (1 Desember 2022): 107–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-022-00176-8.
Peters, B. Guy, dan B. Guy Peters. The Politics of Bureaucracy: An Introduction to Comparative Public Administration. 7 ed. New York: Routledge, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315813653.
Petoft, Arian. “The Concept and Instances of General Principles of Administrative Law: Towards a Global Administrative Law.” Cuestiones Constitucionales. Revista Mexicana de Derecho Constitucional, 12 Februari 2020, 309 355. https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24484881e.2020.42.14345.
Pratiwi, Diyah Eka, Suartini Suartini, dan Zuhad Aji Firmantoro. “Resolution of Inter-District/City Boundary Disputes in Indonesia (Study on Constitutional Court Decision Number 71-PS/PUU-XXI/2023).” Eduvest - Journal of Universal Studies 4, no. 11 (20 November 2024): 9990 10002. https://doi.org/10.59188/eduvest.v4i11.1519.
Putra, Tandang Yuliadi Dwi, Yoshihide Sekimoto, dan Ryosuke Shibasaki. “Toward the Evolution of National Spatial Data Infrastructure Development in Indonesia.” ISPRS International Journal of Geo Information 8, no. 6 (Juni 2019): 263. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8060263.
Rooney, Eilish, Rory O’Connell, Fidelma Ashe, Cathy Gormley-Heenan, Colin Harvey, Aoife O’Donoghue, Conor O’Mahony, dkk. Deliberating Constitutional Futures, 2020.
Rose-Ackerman, Susan, dan Peter L. Lindseth. Comparative Administrative Law. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010.
Rundle, Kristen. “Revisiting the Rule of Law.” Elements in Philosophy of Law, Desember 2022. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009000512.
Salmon, Hendrik. “Construction of The Distribution of Government Authorities.” SASI 29, no. 2 (2023): 368–80.
Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah. “Decentralisation, Intergovernmental Coordination, and Response to Extreme Events in Southeast Asia.” Regional Studies 59, no. 1 (31 Desember 2025): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2024.2319716.
Somek, Alexander. The Legal Relation: Legal Theory after Legal Positivism. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Stack, Kevin M. “An Administrative Jurisprudence: The Rule of Law in the Administrative State.” Columbia Law Review 115 (2015): 1985.
Storey, David. Territories: The Claiming of Space. 3 ed. London: Routledge, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003501794.
Sugiarti, Eni, Kisho Tsuchiya, Mochamad Kevin Romadhona, Lina Puryanti, Edi Dwi Riyanto, dan Gayung Kasuma. “Contesting Sovereignty: The State-Indigenous Relations at the Indonesia - Timor-Leste Borderlands.” JAS (Journal of ASEAN Studies) 12, no. 2 (29 April 2024): 439 460. https://doi.org/10.21512/jas.v12i2.11467.
Sunyowati, Dina, Pradnya Paramitha Putri Ariadhi, Mochamad Kevin Romadhona, dan Alaa Basil Baqer Alfadhel. “Indonesia-Timor Leste Maritime Boundaries on Exclusive Economic Zone: Equitable Principle.” Lex Scientia Law Review 7, no. 1 (31 Mei 2023): 347–72. https://doi.org/10.15294/lesrev.v7i1.66126.
Tilt, David. Patents and Global Administrative Law: Values, Principles, and Challenges. Taylor & Francis, 2025.
Tushnet, Mark. “Taking the Constitution Away from the Courts.” Dalam Taking the Constitution Away from the Courts. Princeton University Press, 2000. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400822973/html.
Weiss, Avi. “Binding the Bound: State Executive Emergency Powers and Democratic Legitimacy in the Pandemic.” Columbia Law Review 121 (2021): 1853.
Widiatedja, I. Gusti Ngurah Parikesit, Ni Gusti Ayu Dyah Satyawati, dan Mohammad Qadam Shah. “Can the Job Creation Law Solve the Lack of Public Participation in Indonesia’s Spatial Planning?” Lentera Hukum 9, no. 2 (31 Juli 2022): 237–62. https://doi.org/10.19184/ejlh.v9i2.30635.
Xiaolong, Tian, dan Tom and Christensen. “Leading groups: public sector reform with Chinese characteristics in a post-NPM era.” International Public Management Journal 26, no. 1 (2 Januari 2023): 66 86. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2022.2046665.
Young, Alison L. Unchecked Power?: How Recent Constitutional Reforms Are Threatening UK Democracy. Policy Press, 2023.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mirza Sahputra, Yuriy Vitaliyovych Garust (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
