COMMUNITY LEGAL CULTURE IN MEDIATION-BASED DISPUTE RESOLUTION: A QUALITATIVE SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL: COMMUNITY LEGAL CULTURE IN MEDIATION-BASED DISPUTE RESOLUTION: A QUALITATIVE SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Muhenri Sihotang

doi:10.56107/penalaw.v4i2.334

Authors

Muhenri Sihotang Universitas Mpu Tantular, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56107/penalaw.v4i2.334

Keywords:

legal culture; mediation; dispute resolution; legal pluralism; local wisdom; restorative justice

Abstract

Mediation is widely institutionalised in Indonesia, from court-annexed mediation rooms to village halls and customary institutions, yet its success varies sharply across these arenas. This article examines community legal culture as an explanation for that variation. It describes legal culture in mediation practice, analyses the factors shaping mediation success, identifies the values and local wisdom that support or hinder the process, and formulates a conceptual model. This qualitative socio-legal study combines document analysis of nine legal instruments (the 1945 Constitution, six statutes, and two Supreme Court Regulations) with a thematic synthesis of 56 Scopus-indexed studies (41 Indonesian and 15 comparative) retrieved through a structured search and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis and the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. Four themes emerge: deliberation (musyawarah) and local wisdom as cultural capital; trust in and legitimacy of the mediator as the linking mechanism; synergy among state, customary, and religious law as a source of legitimacy for settlements; and barriers including low legal awareness, power and gender asymmetries, opposing interests, and procedures that equate success with the number of settlement deeds. These themes form a Legal Culture–Mediation Model with five testable propositions. Mediation success depends more on the fit between procedural design and the parties' legal culture than on the formal obligation to mediate. Policy reform should strengthen the legitimacy of community mediators, screen cases marked by severe power imbalances, and measure success beyond the mere reaching of an agreement.

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COMMUNITY LEGAL CULTURE IN MEDIATION-BASED DISPUTE RESOLUTION: A QUALITATIVE SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL