New Distribution and Work-Area Categories for Public-Notary Professionals

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (“Minister”) has issued Regulation No. 27 of 2016 on the Distribution and Determination of Work-Area Categories for Public-Notary Professionals (“2016 Regulation”) in response to the country’s growing population and economy, as well as to reflect a growing public understanding and awareness of the public-notary profession, and also the emergence of new regencies and cities across Indonesia. [1] The 2016 Regulation is primarily aiming to ensure that notary services are distributed evenly throughout the country by introducing new distribution and work-area categories for public-notary professionals. Previously, these matters were regulated under Ministry Regulation No. 26 of 2014 , as amended most recently by Ministry Regulation No. 36 of 2015 (collectively referred to as“Previous Regulations”).The 2016 Regulation is of relevance to all notaries, as well as to any individuals who are intending to become notaries.New DistributionsThe 2016 Regulation authorizes the Ministry to determine the distribution of notaries as they are needed across certain regions/cities, after it has first received input from various Indonesian notaries’ organizations. The formulation of new notary distributions across the country will become the basis for the appointment of public notaries and for changing their various work areas. [2] This new distribution is to be determined for the next four years (i.e.from 2016 to 2019), based on the following factors: [3]