Ensuring Legal Certainty and Notary Liability for Foreign Nationals in Bilingual Notarial Deeds

Abstract

This study examines the adequacy of legal certainty and the construction of notary liability in bilingual notarial deeds involving foreign nationals under Article 43 of the Indonesian Notary Law. It aims to evaluate the extent to which the current regulatory framework fails to ensure substantive legal certainty, to analyze the construction of notary liability in cases of misinterpretation, and to identify structural gaps in legal protection for foreign nationals. This research employs a normative legal method using statute, conceptual, and analytical approaches. The findings demonstrate that the existing framework remains predominantly formalistic, equating legal certainty with procedural compliance, particularly the use of the Indonesian language, without adequately ensuring that foreign parties understand the legal consequences of the deed. The involvement of sworn translators does not eliminate or transfer notary liability, as the notary retains a non-delegable responsibility to ensure that legal consent is genuinely informed. Furthermore, the study reveals a structural protection gap arising from the absence of clear standards for verifying comprehension and allocating responsibility in bilingual notarial practice. In response, this study proposes a reconstruction of Article 43 through the introduction of a duty to ensure understanding, requiring notaries to actively verify that foreign nationals comprehend the substance and legal implications of the deed. This reconstruction repositions legal certainty as an integration of formal validity and substantive understanding, thereby strengthening legal protection and accountability in cross-border notarial transactions.