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Colonial Law and Racism: Revealing the Hierarchy of Justice in the Colonial Period in Indonesian History

Unnes Law Journal · Vol. 12 No. 1 (2026) · pp. 401–436

DOI
10.15294/ulj.v12i1.49651
ISSN
2252-6536
Published
2026-10-30
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

Abstract

This study examines how colonial law institutionalized racial hierarchy and structured unequal access to justice in the Dutch East Indies. Employing a qualitative legal-historical approach integrated with Critical Race Theory (CRT), the research analyzes colonial legal instruments, judicial arrangements, and historical scholarship to investigate the relationship between racial classification, legal pluralism, and institutional inequality. The analysis focuses on the Regeringsreglement (RR), Indische Staatsregeling (ISR), Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW), Herzien Inlandsch Reglement (HIR), Wijkenstelsel, Passenstelsel, and Intergentiel Recht. The findings demonstrate that colonial racial classification established differentiated legal statuses that shaped applicable law, judicial jurisdiction, procedural arrangements, and administrative regulation. These mechanisms operated as an interconnected institutional system through which racial hierarchy was legally organized and reproduced. Spatial restrictions further regulated residence and mobility, while inter-group law accommodated relationships across legally differentiated populations without dismantling the broader colonial hierarchy. The study also identifies normative and institutional continuities after Indonesian independence, while recognizing that inherited legal structures underwent significant constitutional and institutional transformations. By integrating legal-historical analysis with CRT, this article conceptualizes the colonial hierarchy of justice as an institutional architecture connecting racial classification, procedural differentiation, spatial governance, and inter-group legal relations. It contributes to scholarship on colonial legal pluralism by demonstrating how the recognition of legal diversity could coexist with unequal institutional authority, while highlighting the historical complexities and continuing challenges of legal decolonization in Indonesia.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

21 authors · 48 co-authorship links

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  • Universitas Komputer Indonesia
  • Hasanuddin University
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
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Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Syaiful AminAffiliation unknown3
Hilda RestiawatiAffiliation unknown3
Andromeda AderobenAffiliation unknown2
Wildan Insan FauziAffiliation unknown2
Thalia Natasya SyariefAffiliation unknown1
Ahmad SohabudinAffiliation unknown1
Agus MulyanaUniversitas Komputer Indonesia1
Hany NurpratiwiAffiliation unknown1
Dadan WildanAffiliation unknown1
Annisa'a AmbarnisAffiliation unknown1
ZulkarnainAffiliation unknown1
Muhammad AmirrudinAffiliation unknown1
GunartatiAffiliation unknown1
Nurfadilah NurfadilahHasanuddin University1
Riskawati RiskawatiAffiliation unknown1
Fahrunnisa FahrunnisaAffiliation unknown1
Puan Farah Zahidah Binti Mohd NoorAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/ulj/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 6 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Colonial Law and Racism: Revealing the Hierarchy of Justice in the Colonial Period in Indonesian History</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Darmawan, Wawan</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Pangestu, Dimas Aldi</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Tarunasena, Tarunasena</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Che Dahalan, Shakila</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Colonial Law</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Racial Hierarchy</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Dutch East Indies</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Colonial Justice</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Critical Race Theory.</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">This study examines how colonial law institutionalized racial hierarchy and structured unequal access to justice in the Dutch East Indies. Employing a qualitative legal-historical approach integrated with Critical Race Theory (CRT), the research analyzes colonial legal instruments, judicial arrangements, and historical scholarship to investigate the relationship between racial classification, legal pluralism, and institutional inequality. The analysis focuses on the Regeringsreglement (RR), Indische Staatsregeling (ISR), Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW), Herzien Inlandsch Reglement (HIR), Wijkenstelsel, Passenstelsel, and Intergentiel Recht. The findings demonstrate that colonial racial classification established differentiated legal statuses that shaped applicable law, judicial jurisdiction, procedural arrangements, and administrative regulation. These mechanisms operated as an interconnected institutional system through which racial hierarchy was legally organized and reproduced. Spatial restrictions further regulated residence and mobility, while inter-group law accommodated relationships across legally differentiated populations without dismantling the broader colonial hierarchy. The study also identifies normative and institutional continuities after Indonesian independence, while recognizing that inherited legal structures underwent significant constitutional and institutional transformations. By integrating legal-historical analysis with CRT, this article conceptualizes the colonial hierarchy of justice as an institutional architecture connecting racial classification, procedural differentiation, spatial governance, and inter-group legal relations. It contributes to scholarship on colonial legal pluralism by demonstrating how the recognition of legal diversity could coexist with unequal institutional authority, while highlighting the historical complexities and continuing challenges of legal decolonization in Indonesia.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-10-30</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/ulj/article/view/49651</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/ulj.v12i1.49651</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Unnes Law Journal; Vol. 12 No. 1 (2026): Transforming Law and Protecting Rights: Contemporary Issues in Legal Reform and Governance; 401-436</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6536</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/ulj.v12i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/ulj/article/view/49651/12049</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2026 Wawan Darmawan, Dimas Aldi Pangestu, Tarunasena Tarunasena, Shakila Che Dahalan (Author)</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>