Legal Responsibilities of the Public Works Agency in Overseeing Land Use in Strategic Areas Under Law No. 26 of 2007

Abstract

Spatial planning and land use in urban strategic areas face significant challenges arising from rapid commercial growth, extensive land conversion, and ecological degradation. In Jayapura City, intensive physical development along commercial corridors, coastal zones, and riverbanks has increased flood vulnerability and resulted in violations of statutory spatial zoning requirements. This study aimed to analyze the legal position and liability of the Public Works Agency in supervising land use in strategic areas under Law Number 26 of 2007 and Law Number 6 of 2023, while evaluating empirical supervisory mechanisms and operational challenges in the field. This research employed an empirical legal research design with a socio-legal approach, combining statutory and doctrinal analysis with semi-structured, in-depth interviews with key municipal officials, spatial planners, and business actors in Jayapura City. The results demonstrated that the legal liability associated with the Public Works Agency encompassed three interrelated dimensions: administrative liability arising from technical verification and the issuance of graduated administrative warnings; civil liability based on the doctrine of onrechtmatige overheidsdaad (unlawful government acts) for negligent omissions resulting in public losses; and individual criminal liability under Article 73 of Law Number 26 of 2007 for the unlawful issuance of permits. In practice, supervision combined digital verification through the Online Single Submission Risk-Based Approach (OSS-RBA), Building Approval (Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung [PBG]), and Certificate of Proper Function (Sertifikat Laik Fungsi [SLF]) systems with field inspections and public complaint mechanisms. However, enforcement remained constrained by the limited availability of Civil Servant Investigators (Penyidik Pegawai Negeri Sipil [PPNS]), the absence of real-time Geographic Information System (GIS)-based auditing systems, and disputes involving customary land rights. This study contributes to the theoretical framework of government liability in spatial governance and provides practical recommendations for developing integrated interagency standard operating procedures.