Reconstructing the Legal Status of Indigenous Peoples as Rights-Holders in Indonesian Law
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Abstract
The legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia does not necessarily guarantee their effective position as holders of rights. Although the Indonesian Constitution recognizes Indigenous Peoples and their traditional rights, the exercise and protection of these rights remain affected by conditional recognition, administrative identification, and fragmented regulations. This article aims to reconstruct the legal status of Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders within the Indonesian legal system by examining the relationship between recognition, legal subjectivity, and rights-holding. This study employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and case approaches. Primary legal materials include the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, relevant legislation, and Constitutional Court decisions, supplemented by recent scholarly literature on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and legal protection. The analysis finds that the existing recognition-oriented framework tends to make the effective exercise of Indigenous rights dependent upon formal recognition mechanisms. The study argues that recognition should not constitute the existence of Indigenous Peoples’ rights but should function as a mechanism for establishing legal certainty and facilitating their protection. Reconstructing Indigenous Peoples as collective legal subjects and rights-holders strengthens the State’s position as a duty-bearer and provides a basis for developing a more rights-based framework for Indigenous Peoples’ protection in Indonesia.
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