Uang tutup babah as a customary dispute resolution in gayonese community

Abstract

There are several customary sanctions which are often imposed in customary dispute resolutions in Gayonese community. One of them is uang tutup babah (hush money). It is a payment to resolve customary dispute between parties. However, it is not yet regulated in laws and regulations related to customary law. This paper will discuss the legal strength of decision of uang tutup babah in a customary dispute resolution and its impact. Theory of sociological jurisprudence, theory of harmonization and theory of criminalization were used in this study. In general, uang tutup babah means hush money. It is a customary dispute resolution in some customary communities in Gayo. Although the sanction, uang tutup babah, it is not yet regulated by law on customary institutions, it is often used by parties involved in the dispute to resolve their problem because it has a positive impact on communities. It is also believed that it gives a deterrent effect to the perpetrator. Since this has been done repeatedly and community accept it as a sanction, it should be included in the law to ensure that it gives legal certainty and has legal strength.