Notarial Reform in the Digital Age

Addressing Legal Certainty and Document Authenticity

Abstract

Within the ongoing digital transformation of legal services, the notarial profession in Indonesia encounters a fundamental tension between statutory formalism and technological practice. This study examines the problem of legal uncertainty arising from the partial recognition of cyber notary functions, where notarial authority is conceptually acknowledged yet procedurally constrained by requirements of physical presence and manual authentication. The research is limited to assessing whether Indonesia’s existing legal framework—namely the Law on Notary Position (UUJN-P), the Limited Liability Company Law (UUPT), the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law), and Financial Services Authority (OJK) Regulations No. 15/2020 and No. 16/2020—provides a coherent and adequate basis for digitally mediated notarial acts. Using a normative juridical and descriptive-analytical approach, this study analyzes statutory provisions and regulatory practices related to electronic transactions and remote corporate governance. The findings reveal a regulatory paradox in which cyber notary authority operates within a hybrid legal model that lacks full legal certainty due to fragmented regulation and inconsistent procedural standards. This article offers a novel conceptual contribution by framing Indonesia’s cyber notary as a distinct legal construct rather than a mere technological tool, emphasizing the need to redefine legal concepts of presence, authenticity, and evidentiary force to support regulatory harmonization and the sustained relevance of notarial functions in the digital era.