Southeast Asian Legal Research Guide: Introduction to Indonesia & its Legal system

Indonesia has a civil law system based on the Roman-Dutch model. The Dutch colonial occupation of Indonesia for 350 years left a legacy of Dutch colonial law, which is reflected in the Indonesian Civil Code, Indonesian Commercial Code and Indonesian Criminal Code. Following independence in 1945, the nation started to establish its own modern Indonesian law, modifying existing Dutch legal principles and drawing from the customary law (adat) that existed before Dutch colonisation, as well as Islamic law (sharia) which applies to Muslims. The Indonesian Civil Code regulates all private law matters.