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ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN BANYUMAS REGENCY: 
IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CULTURAL STUDIES  

 
Singkir Hudijono1, I Nyoman Sirtha2,  
I Gde Parimartha3, I Made Suastika 3  

 
1Postgraduate Program, Udayana University 

2Faculty of Law, Udayana University 
3Faculty of Letters, Udayana University 
Email: hud_poer_undana@yahoo.com 

 
 

ABSTRACT 
 
This study discusses about an Alternative Dispute Resolution in Banyumas 

Regency as a non-litigation dispute resolution. The problem observed was a breakthrough 
taken by the Society in Banyumas Regency in overcoming the so far deadlock of law 
enforcement and the attitude of not trusting the justice enforcement. It has been a public 
secret that the dispute resolutions employing the legal centralism paradigm have been 
dominated by the judicial network. This has caused the acknowledgement of the state law 
to decrease, being a commodity that can be traded. The research aims at finding out and 
describing how the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) emerges as an alternative 
mechanism in deconstructing the legal centralism; interpreting and describing what is 
meant by the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the development of progressive law. 

This research was conducted employing qualitative method. In this context, the 
researcher explored various pieces of related information with the reason that the society 
in Banyumas Regency has chosen the alternative dispute resolution mechanism as the 
mechanism in deconstructing the legal centralism. The research was conducted as 
follows:  the problems were identified, the theories for analyzing the data were selected, 
the primary and secondary data were collected, the collected data were analyzed and 
interpreted, and finally, the results of the research were written and constructed. The 
theories employed were critical legal studies, deconstruction, and large narration criticism 
theories. 

The results of the research show that: firstly, the alternative dispute resolution has 
emerged because of the awakened local knowledge, as the form of anticipation to the 
ineffective formal law domination. With regard to the effect of global intercourse, the 
alternative dispute resolution has emerged because of the refusal against the cultural 
homogeneity. Secondly, the implementation of the alternative dispute resolution has 
become the preferred mechanism in deconstructing the law centralism because it can be 
implemented effectively and efficiently, and ensures the win-win solution. Thirdly, 
denotatively, the alternative dispute solution reduces the confronting and antagonistic 
conceptions. Connotatively, the alternative dispute resolution is the legal culture of 
Banyumas society. It has functioned as the legal dynamisator creating and implementing 
law.  

 
Key words: dispute, local knowledge, non litigation 



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INTRODUCTION 

 

This dissertation is concerned 

with the Alternative Dispute Resolution 

in  Banyumas Regency. The study 

observes the breakthrough taken by the 

society in  Banyumas Regency in 

overcoming the deadlock of justice 

enforcement using the legal centralism 

paradigm. The legal paradigm 

intentionally or unintentionally practiced 

has made the attempt to look for justice 

in a simple, quick and cheap process 

difficult to conduct. In its daily life, the 

society observes that the legal 

enforcement done by the government 

has been dominated by a judicial 

network, making the law enforcement 

complicated, take a longer time, cost 

much, and not completely reliable. 

Related to this, several items are 

necessarily observed. Firstly, construc-

ting a law-based country cannot only be 

delegated to the legal professionals, 

because what is encountered is not solely 

a “legal project”, but “a human and 

humanity project”. Secondly, an existing 

law is not part of script that the court 

recognizes as the binding provision 

when a sentence is imposed in a juridical 

dispute, but only part of life that is really 

referred to by the parties involved in a 

dispute. The observation above indicates 

that the judicature institution and the 

other formal legal enforcers are not the 

only sources of normative messages.  

There are three main problems in this 

research. Firstly, how the alternative 

dispute resolution (ADR) has emerged 

as the preferred mechanism; secondly, 

why the implementation of the 

alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has 

become the preferred mechanism in 

deconstructing the legal centralism; 

thirdly, what the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) means in the 

progressive legal development. 

In general, the research aims at 

identifying, describing, analyzing, and 

understanding the alternative dispute 

resolution phenomenon in Banyumas 

Regency as a dispute resolution 

tradition, which is an integral part of 

other cultures and daily reality 

performed by the society. In particular, 

this research aims at firstly finding out 

and describing the emergence of the 

alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a 

preferred mechanism. Secondly, it aims 

at understanding and describing the 

implementation of the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) as the preferred 



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mechanism in deconstructing the legal 

centralism. Thirdly, it aims at interpret-

ting and describing the meaning of the 

alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in 

the progressive legal development. 

In theory, this study is useful for 

solidifying the scientific tradition 

developed by Post Graduate Program of 

Cultural Studies of Udayana University, 

which is full of critical discourse 

prioritizing interdisciplinary and multi-

disciplinary approaches as to the human 

life along with the cultural value of his 

environment that advocates the minority 

and marginal people. In practice, this 

study is expected to be able to eliminate 

the confronting and antagonistic 

conception in the dispute resolution 

through the court based on the 

centralistic state hegemony. This 

research is expected to develop a 

meditating, negotiating and conciliating 

conception responding to the disputing 

parties’ interests so that the social 

relationship can be maintained. The 

alternative dispute resolution developed 

through this study also has more access 

to the justice, because it is an answer to 

the society’s dissatisfaction with the 

court’s performance. This study will 

expand the non-confronting dispute 

resolution learning that always criticizes 

the large narrations influencing the 

society. 

 

MATERIAL AND DISCUSSION 

 

This research was conducted 

employing qualitative method. In this 

context, a variety of relevant information 

was explored with the reason that the 

society of Banyumas  has chosen the 

alternative dispute resolution mechanism 

in deconstructing the legal centralism, 

and the meaning of the alternative 

dispute resolution in the progressive 

legal development. The research was 

conducted as follows:  the problems 

were identified, the theories for 

analyzing the data were selected, the 

primary and secondary data were 

collected, the collected data were 

analyzed and interpreted and finally the 

results of the research were written and 

constructed. The theories employed were 

Roberto Unger’s critical legal, Derrida’s 

deconstruction, and Lyotard’s large 

narration critical. 

The results of the research can be 

described as follows. Firstly, from the 

analysis on why the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) has emerged as the 



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preferred mechanism, many factors have 

been identified. The local influential 

factors include (1) the awakened local 

collective awareness; (2) the develop-

ment of indigenous knowledge; (3) the 

role of the traditional institutions has 

returned back to the old “memory”, 

meaning that there is an inspiration to 

act more smartly in exploring the 

creative ideas which have already 

disappeared so far. Meanwhile the 

influential global factors include (1) 

governmental hegemony, the court 

dictatorship and less effective formal 

law; (2) ease of access to  information 

has made the society feel a higher 

autonomy and gets a wider room to 

express what they wish; (3) the change 

of socio cultural, political, economic, 

scientific and technological aspects so 

that all the society members should have 

social responsiveness and awareness of 

the nation’s and state’s problems; (4) the 

realization of peaceful life. The society 

needs certain culturally shared rooms in 

creating peace.  

Secondly, from the analysis on 

alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as 

the preferred mechanism in decons-

tructing the legal centralism, the results 

can be explained as follows. As the 

preferred mechanism in deconstructing 

the legal centralism, the alternative 

dispute resolution can be implemented in 

certain ways and patterns. Such ways 

are: (1) emphasizing effectiveness and 

efficiency; and (2) mitigating the 

obstacles blocking the dispute 

resolution. The patterns employed are: 

(1) consultation; (2) negotiation; and 

mediation. The alternative dispute reso-

lution is a small narration constituting 

the postmodern element to deconstruct 

the large narration that is in the form of 

legal centralism that refuses diversity. 

The alternative dispute resolution 

deconstructs (1) power “absolutism”; (2) 

juridical power game ideology; (3) state 

centralism in law ; (4) legal simulacrum; 

and (5) justice demon. 

Thirdly, from the analysis on the 

meaning of the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) in the progressive 

legal development, the results can be 

explained as follows. The progressive 

law is the power refusing and having 

desire to break the status quo. Therefore, 

denotatively, related to the development 

of progressive law, the alternative 

dispute resolution refers to (1) law in 

action that updates the law; (2) the 

improvement of the public role in law; 



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and (3) the peace maintenance. 

Connotatively, related to the develop-

ment of progressive law, the alternative 

dispute resolution refers to (1) mainte-

nance of harmony, conformity and 

fairness; (2) strength of multiculturalism 

root ; (3)sturdiness of  national identity ; 

and (4) truth and justice. 

 

NOVELTIES 

 

The novelties that can be 

revealed include: (1) the alternative 

dispute resolution producing substantial 

truth and justice within the society 

emerges because of the convergence of 

two elements: the effect of local/global 

culture and the need for an alternative. 

This finding can be conceptualized and 

understood using Roberto Unger’s 

critical legal studies theory; (2) the 

alternative dispute resolution is a 

disorganization of a condition in which 

the society feels no harmony between 

the formal legal rules (less effective state 

law, dishonest law enforcers) and their 

legal needs. When the expected new 

norms have not been institutionalized 

while the formal legal values cannot be 

trusted completely, the society renego-

tiates the norms constituting the process 

of establishing values regulating the 

relationship among them. Such values 

are the combination of the formal law 

and the traditional values (local policy). 

This can be conceptualized and 

understood using the deconstruction 

theory developed by Derrida; (3) the 

alternative dispute resolution is the 

dispute resolution that is able to build 

the local spirit. Because of its cultural 

approach, however, in physical level it 

will improve the awareness of pluralism, 

precluding the society from “any action 

permitted”. The cultural approach makes 

the alternative dispute resolution not 

constitute legal reformation, a radical 

legal deconstruction. This is relevant to 

the Lyotard’s large narration critical 

theory. 

 

CONCLUSION 

 

The conclusions that can be 

drawn are: (1) the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) emerges as the 

preferred mechanism because of the 

awakened local collective awareness, in 

which the justice referred to by the 

society is derived from the ethnic 

cultural spirit that can give a cool 

solution when the members of society 



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encounter various problems. In the 

dimension the effects of  global 

intercourse, the alternative dispute 

resolution emerges due to counter trend 

against the cultural homogeneity; (2) the 

implementation of the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) has become the 

preferred mechanism in deconstructing 

the legal centralism because it is the 

dispute solution that can be implemented 

effectively and efficiently and with the 

patterns ensuring the win-win solution; 

(3) denotatively, the alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) reduces the 

confronting and antagonistic conceptions 

in solving the dispute through the 

judicature institutions based on the state 

centralistic hegemony. Connotatively, 

the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 

means maintenance of harmony, 

conformity and fairness; strength of 

multiculturalism; national identity 

sturdiness; and truth and justice. 

 

Acknowledgement  

In this occasion, the author 

expresses her great gratitude to the 

honorable Prof. Dr. I Nyoman Sirtha, 

SH., M.S., as the promoter, Prof. Dr. I 

Gde Parimartha, M.A., as the first co-

promoter, and Prof. Dr. I Made Suastika, 

SU., as the second co-promoter, who 

with their sincerity and patience have 

guided her from the start up to the end of 

dissertation report writing. The author 

also says gratitude to the Directorate of  

Higher Education  of the Department of 

National Education through the 

Doctorate Program Management Team 

who has granted her study tuition in the 

form of BPPS, the Rector of Kupang 

Nusa Cendana University and the staff, 

Rector of Udayana University and the 

staff, Director of Udayana University 

Postgraduate Program and the staff, and 

the Chief of Cultural Studies Doctorate 

Program of Udayana University and the 

staff.