Religious Norms as State Law: Qanun, Special Autonomy and the Differentiation of Acehnese Law: Norma Keagamaan sebagai Hukum Negara: Qanun, Otonomi Khusus, dan Diferensiasi Hukum Aceh

Ahmad Fauzan (Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan)
Mrahmatullah Afiat (Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan)

Averroes: Journal for Science and Religious Studies
Vol. 2 No. 02 (2025)

Background: Aceh is the only Indonesian province authorized to translate Islamic religious norms into binding regional legislation through qanun. Existing scholarship has largely examined qanun as an instrument for implementing Islamic law and has focused on the legal basis of Aceh’s authority. Less attention has been given to how this differentiated regulatory authority is controlled and how its relationship with Indonesia’s national legal system has evolved.  Methods: This study employs normative legal research using statutory, case, and conceptual approaches. It analyses the legal framework governing Aceh’s special autonomy, particularly the Aceh Governance Law, Law No. 1 of 2023, and relevant decisions of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court concerning the formation, review, and substance of qanun.  Key Findings: The study finds that Article 235(4) of the Aceh Governance Law initially placed qanun concerning the implementation of Islamic law in a distinctive position by limiting their annulment to judicial review by the Supreme Court. Following the Constitutional Court’s removal of the executive’s authority to annul regional regulations, this procedural distinction between Aceh and other regions diminished. Judicial review of qanun, however, has remained limited, with Supreme Court Decision No. 60 P/HUM/2015 constituting a significant example concerning the Qanun Jinayat. The implementation of the 2023 Criminal Code also presents a further challenge concerning the substantive relationship between Aceh’s qanun and national criminal law.  Contributions: This study contributes to the literature by reframing the analysis of Aceh’s legal exceptionalism from the question of legislative authority to the relationship between differentiated regulatory substance and mechanisms of legal control. It demonstrates that Aceh’s distinctiveness cannot be adequately explained by its review mechanism alone, particularly after the convergence of regional regulatory control mechanisms.  Conclusion: Aceh’s special legal status is best understood as differentiated regulatory authority within Indonesia’s unitary legal system rather than as a separate legal order. Its continuing distinctiveness therefore depends primarily on the substantive scope of qanun and their compatibility with the national legal framework.