Quasi Dualism in Batam's Land Governance: Harmonizing Managing Rights and National Land Registration
Published:
2026-11-04Downloads
Abstract
Batam, Indonesia's principal free trade zone, is governed by a quasi-dualistic land regime in which the Managing Right (Hak Pengelolaan/HPL) held by the Batam Business Entity (BP Batam) operates alongside the national land registration system administered by the Land Office under the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN). This administrative overlap generates disharmony in land allocation, the grant of derivative rights, extension and renewal, transfer of rights, and land-data synchronization, undermining legal certainty for citizens and eroding investor confidence in a zone designed to attract foreign capital. This study asks how the legal construction of quasi dualism in Batam's land governance is formed, what forms of normative disharmony arise between BP Batam's HPL and the national registration system, and what harmonization model would best reconcile the two regimes. Using normative-juridical legal research with statutory, conceptual, and analytical approaches, the study examines primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials, supplemented by an inventory of case-level administrative practice in Batam. The findings show that disharmony is most acute at the stages of land allocation, derivative-rights issuance, right renewal, rights transfer, and spatial-data integration, producing higher transaction costs, service delay of up to 180 days, and stalled certification for more than 1,100 Building Use Right applications. The study's contribution lies in conceptualizing Batam as a quasi special land regime and proposing a One Gate Land Administration model, integrated digital land databases, clarified institutional boundaries, and reformed annual authority-obligation payments (UWTO) as a coherent reconstruction agenda for special-zone land governance in Indonesia and comparable jurisdictions.
Keywords:
Quasi Dualism Managing Rights (Hak Pengelolaan) National Land Registration Legal Certainty Batam Free Trade ZoneReferences
Aidonojie, Paul Atagamen, Yusuf Abass Aleshinloye, Ogoma Sunday Ani, Obieshi Eregbuonye, and Ismaila Hassan. "Legal Informatics and Digital Land Governance in Indonesia and Uganda." Indonesian Journal of Agrarian Law 4, no. 1 (2027): 425-464. https://doi.org/10.15294/jal.v4i1.58510.
Ali, Daniel Ayalew, Klaus Deininger, and Markus Goldstein. "Environmental and Gender Impacts of Land Tenure Regularization in Africa: Pilot Evidence from Rwanda." Journal of Development Economics 110 (2014): 262-275.
Anggriani, Gita. "Peran Badan Pengusahaan Batam dalam Pengelolaan Lahan untuk Meningkatkan Investasi Penanaman Modal Asing di Kota Batam." Jurnal Trias Politika 5, no. 1 (2021): 62-73.
Ardiansyah, M. Filusi, and Faisal Santiago. "Judicial Interpretation of Land Registration and Legal Protection in Indonesia Between Administrative Evidence and Substantive Justice." Greenation International Journal of Law and Social Sciences 3, no. 4 (2026): 1565-1575. https://doi.org/10.38035/gijlss.v3i4.705.
Asruddin, Fajar Aswad, and David Efendi. "National Strategic Project (Rempang EcoCity): Indigenous Peoples' Resistance in Responding to the Grabbing of Customary Land in Rempang Island." Journal of Law, Politic and Humanities 4, no. 6 (2024): 2145-2159. https://doi.org/10.38035/jlph.v4i6.578.
Besley, Timothy. "Property Rights and Investment Incentives: Theory and Evidence from Ghana." Journal of Political Economy 103, no. 5 (1995): 903-937.
Chaisse, Julien, and Georgios Dimitropoulos. "Special Economic Zones in International Economic Law: Towards Unilateral Economic Law." Journal of International Economic Law 24, no. 2 (2021): 229-257. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgab025.
Charda, Ujang. "Typology of Legal Research Methods in Normative and Sociological Thinking." Fiat Justisia: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 12, no. 1 (2021): 113-120. https://doi.org/10.58471/justi.v12i1.769.
Dalla, Andi Yusran. "Problematika Tata Kelola Kawasan Perdagangan Bebas dan Pelabuhan Bebas Batam." Matra Pembaruan 2, no. 3 (2018): 145-160.
De Soto, Hernando. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York: Basic Books, 2000.
Doly, Denico. "Kewenangan Negara dalam Penguasaan Tanah: Redistribusi Tanah untuk Rakyat." Negara Hukum: Membangun Hukum untuk Keadilan dan Kesejahteraan 9, no. 1 (2018): 91-107.
Elena, Novita. "Analisis Yuridis Legalitas Kepemilikan Hak atas Tanah di atas HPL Batam." Jurnal Tora 6, no. 2 (2024): 115-132.
Fahmi, Muhammad Wildan Aulia, and Dian Latifiani. "Overlapping Land Ownership Certificates." Indonesian Journal of Agrarian Law 4, no. 1 (2026): 121-154. https://doi.org/10.15294/jal.v4i1.57821.
Feder, Gershon, and David Feeny. "Land Tenure and Property Rights: Theory and Implications for Development Policy." The World Bank Economic Review 5, no. 1 (1991): 135-153.
Fitzpatrick, Daniel. "Evolution and Chaos in Property Rights Systems: The Third World Tragedy of Contested Access." Yale Law Journal 115, no. 5 (2006): 996-1048.
Gafuraningtyas, Dewi, Raldi Hendro Koestoer, Hafid Setiadi, and Mohammad Ridwan Lessy. "Transformative Pathways of Agrarian Reform: Comparative Bibliometric Insights of Southeast Asia and Indonesia Cases." The Journal of Indonesia Sustainable Development Planning 5, no. 1 (2024): 38-53. https://doi.org/10.46456/jisdep.v5i1.534.
Hadiyati, Nurul. "Memahami Problematika Hak Pengelolaan Tanah Kota Batam." Yurispruden 2, no. 2 (2019): 145-162.
Hadjon, Philipus M. Pengantar Hukum Administrasi Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press, 2019.
Hariri, Achmad, and Basuki Babussalam. "Legal Pluralism: Concept, Theoretical Dialectics, and Its Existence in Indonesia." Walisongo Law Review 6, no. 2 (2024): 146-170. https://doi.org/10.21580/walrev.2024.6.2.25566.
Harsono, Boedi. Hukum Agraria Indonesia: Sejarah Pembentukan UUPA, Isi dan Pelaksanaannya. Jakarta: Djambatan, 2008.
Hasibuan, Betric, Lubna Salsabila, and Timbul Dompak. "The Free Trade Zone Policy: A Pathway to the Development of a Special Economic Zone in Batam City." International Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 2, no. 3 (2025): 49-57. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijsw.v2i3.420.
Iskhan, Heru, I. Gusti Ayu Ketut R.H., and Hartiwiningsih. "The Current State of Legal Governance in the Batam Free Trade Zone: Opportunities for Improvement." International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science 9, no. 5 (2025): 454-468. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90500039.
Kementerian Keuangan Republik Indonesia. "Kekhususan Lelang Tanah/Bangunan di Pulau Batam." Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Kekayaan Negara, 2025.
Mahfud, Muh Afif, Naufal Hasanuddin Djohan, and Muhammad Fahad Malik. "Land Bank in Indonesia: Disoriented Authority, Overlapping Regulations and Injustice." Jambura Law Review 6, no. 2 (2024): 240-263. https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v6i2.24166.
Mohamed, Ahmad Hamidi, Noorfajri Ismail, and Kamilah Wati Mohd. "Land Administration in Supporting Digital Era: An Experience and Effect to the Land Acquisition." International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science 9, no. 2 (2025): 4172-4180. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.9020326.
Negara, Tunggul Anshari Setia. "Normative Legal Research in Indonesia: Its Origins and Approaches." Audito Comparative Law Journal 4, no. 1 (2023): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.22219/aclj.v4i1.24855.
North, Douglass C. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Nurkhotijah, Siti, Soerya Respationo, and Khairul Riza. "Digitalization Reform of Land Certification in the Batam Free Trade Zone and Free Port Area." International Journal of Educational Review, Law and Social Sciences (IJERLAS) 5, no. 6 (2025): 1022-1035. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21633217.
Ombudsman Republik Indonesia. "BP Batam Belum Kantongi Sertifikat HPL Rempang." Jakarta: Siaran Pers Ombudsman RI, 2023.
Pardede, Bottor Erikson, and Pristika Handayani. "Dualism of Land Management Authority between BP Batam and the Batam Municipal Government: Its Impact on Building Use Right Certificates." Journal of Judicial Review 27, no. 2 (2025): 607-630. https://doi.org/10.37253/jjr.v27i2.11162.
Parlindungan, A. P. Pendaftaran Tanah di Indonesia. Bandung: Mandar Maju, 2016.
Radbruch, Gustav. "Legal Philosophy." Translated by Kurt Wilk. In The Legal Philosophies of Lask, Radbruch, and Dabin, 43-224. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1950.
Rahman, Aulia Nur. "Hak Pengelolaan Lahan dalam Pembangunan Kawasan Investasi Rempang Eco-City." Review of Law Studies 2, no. 1 (2023): 1-15.
Resa, Muhammad. "Tinjauan Hukum Agraria dalam Implementasi Surat Hak Guna Bangunan di Batam." ASH Jurnal Hukum 1, no. 2 (2024): 98-106.
Respationo, Soerya. "Land Registration and Certificate Issuance in a Free Trade Zone Perspective (FTZ)." Law and Human Behavior 48, no. 3 (2022): 1-12. https://www.doi-i.org/journals/view/27.
Respationo, Soerya. "Constructive Analysis of Agriculture/Land Policy Land Object of Agrarian Reform on the Settlement Dimensions Land Tenure in Forest Area." Journal of Positive School Psychology 6, no. 8 (2022): 10307-10318. https://journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/view/10307.
Respationo, Soerya. "The Mayor of Batam Ex-Officio as Head of the Batam Concession Agency: Cross-Jurisdictional Authority and Legal Problems." Jurnal Pena Justisia: Media Komunikasi dan Kajian Hukum 23, no. 1 (2024): 1-14. https://jurnal.unikal.ac.id/index.php/hk/article/view/3591.
Respationo, Soerya, and Nar Yan Thapa. "Optimizing Regional Governance in Batam City Government-Business Entity Institutional Dualism." SASI 30, no. 1 (2024): 87-99. https://doi.org/10.47268/sasi.v30i1.1869.
Rosyadi, Kartika. "Kewenangan BP Batam pada Pengelolaan Lahan di Pulau Batam, Rempang dan Galang." Jurnal Law and Policy Transformation 1, no. 1 (2016): 1-15.
Salim, M. Nazir, Diah Retno Wulan, and Sukmo Pinuji. "Reconciling Community Land and State Forest Claims in Indonesia: A Case Study of the Land Tenure Settlement Reconciliation Program in South Sumatra." Forest and Society 5, no. 1 (2021): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v5i1.10552.
Santoso, Urip. Pendaftaran dan Peralihan Hak atas Tanah. Jakarta: Kencana, 2017.
Santoso, Urip. Hak Pengelolaan atas Tanah: Perspektif Hukum Agraria Nasional. Jakarta: Kencana, 2021.
Sihotang, Hasyim Simon L. "Kedudukan Izin Alokasi Lahan Otorita Batam dalam Sistem Pertanahan Indonesia." Jurnal Kenotariatan Indonesia 5, no. 1 (2022): 44-60.
Soekanto, Soerjono, and Sri Mamudji. Penelitian Hukum Normatif: Suatu Tinjauan Singkat. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, 2015.
Suriyani, Lilis, H. M. Soerya Respationo, and Erniyanti. "Juridical Analysis of Legal Certainty Regarding the Role of the Batam Business Entity and the Land Office in the Land Certificate Transfer System in Batam City." Annals of Justice and Humanity 4, no. 2 (2025): 99-112. https://doi.org/10.35912/ajh.v4i2.3416.
Susilo, Eko. "Integration of the Estoppel Principle as a Complement to Good Faith in Indonesian Private Law." De Jure Law Policy Review 3, no. 1 (2026): 1-15.
Sutanto, Hermawan, and Zudan Arief Fakrulloh. "Legal Uncertainty Due to Dualism in Land Regimes and the Urgency of Integrating the National Agrarian System." Journal Customary Law 3, no. 3 (2026): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.47134/jcl.v3i3.1.5868.
Sutaryono, Rohmat Junarto, Sukmo Pinuji, Jamaluddin Mahasari, and Dian Aries Mujiburohman. "Land Rights and Agrarian Reform in Forest Areas: A Basis for Sustainable Development." International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 19, no. 1 (2024): 237-245. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.190122.
Wardhana, Yoga Satria. "Perlindungan Hukum bagi Pemegang Hak atas Tanah di atas Hak Pengelolaan yang Berakhir Masa Berlakunya di Pulau Batam." Thesis, Universitas Islam Sultan Agung, 2024.
Widiyono, Try, and Md Zubair Kasem Khan. "Legal Certainty in Land Rights Acquisition in Indonesia's National Land Law." Law Reform 19, no. 1 (2023): 128-147. https://doi.org/10.14710/lr.v19i1.48393.
Widyani, Rima, Li Wei, and Wang Jun. "Empirical Legal Research Methods: Applications in Legal Research in Indonesia." Rechtsnormen Journal of Law 3, no. 2 (2025): 135-145.
Yudithia, Wahyo Yuniartoto, Suryahadi, Augusto Soares, and Luh Komang Candra Dewi. "SWOT-Based Governance Assessment of BP Batam: Addressing Institutional, Regulatory, and Investment Barriers." International Journal of Social and Political Sciences 2, no. 1 (2025): 96-106. https://doi.org/10.69812/ijsps.v2i1.100.
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Soerya Respationo, Khairul Riza
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
