Hybrid Autonomous Local Authority: Reconceptualizing the Legal Status of Keuchik in Aceh

Abstract

The current constitutional governance faces a challenge of accommodating institutional diversity within the Indonesia’s structure as a unitary state. While many studies have examined asymmetric decentralization to be a mechanism for reconciling the national integration with regional autonomy, its operation at micro-institutional level remains underexplored. One of such phenomena is the existence of so-called Keuchik in Aceh. This study examines the legal status of the Keuchik within Aceh’s gampong (village) governance, where state administrative authority intersects with custom-based legitimacy. Employing a normative-empirical approach that integrated doctrinal legal analysis, socio-legal perspectives, and qualitative juridical evaluation, the study analyzed the statutory frameworks, legal doctrines, and governance practices that were applicable to the Keuchik’s authority. It was found that the Keuchik possessed dual legitimacy as both a state administrative authority and a customary community leader. This reflected the institutional interaction between constitutional authority and customary norms. Based on these findings, it was conceptualized that the Keuchik was a Hybrid Autonomous Local Authority (HALA), representing a micro-institutional manifestation of asymmetric decentralization and legal pluralism. The HALA framework demonstrated that institutional hybridity could indeed accommodate differentiated local authority without undermining the coherence of the unitary state. This conceptualization contributed to both constitution and decentralization theories. At the same time, it rendered the regulatory harmonization to strengthen the institutional autonomy and adaptive governance of the gampong unnecessary.

Keywords

• Asymmetric decentralization
• legal pluralism
• village autonomy
• hybrid institutional authority.