DIGITAL INHERITANCE AND LEGAL VACUUMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR LEGAL CERTAINTY IN INDONESIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18592/jils.v9i2.17835Abstract
The advancement of digital technology has generated new forms of wealth known as digital assets, which possess economic value and can be inherited such as cryptocurrency wallets, monetized accounts, and cloud-based data. However, the legal system in Indonesia, both in Islamic law and in national positive law, has yet to explicitly regulate the inheritance mechanisms of these digital forms of property. This paper addresses the central issue of how digital assets are positioned within inheritance law from the perspectives of Islamic jurisprudence and Indonesian positive law, and how the absence of legal regulation affects legal certainty and the protection of heirs. This research employs a qualitative methodology with a normative and conceptual approach, incorporating the study of classical Islamic legal texts, national legislation, and global digital platform policies. The findings indicate that digital assets can be classified as māl mutaqawwim, lawfully inheritable wealth based on the objectives of Islamic law (maqāṣid al-syarīʿah), particularly within the framework of ḥifẓ al-māl (protection of property). Nonetheless, the absence of technical provisions in the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), the Civil Code, and the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law) creates legal uncertainty, impeding access and execution of digital inheritance by heirs. Therefore, a responsive and adaptive legal formulation is urgently needed to ensure justice and legal certainty in the inheritance of digital assets.Downloads
Published
2025-07-23
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Saila Salsabila, Rahmat Sholihin

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.