Progressive Legal Hermeneutics for Adjudicating Tacit Agreements in Contemporary Indonesian Contract Law Disputes

Abstract

Tacit agreements continue to create doctrinal and judicial uncertainty in Indonesian contract law because many consensual transactions are established and performed without formal written instruments. This article examines the legal validity of tacit agreements and formulates an interpretive framework for judges handling evidentiary ambiguity. Using normative legal research, the study applies statutory, conceptual, and philosophical approaches to the Civil Code, legal doctrine, and relevant case law. The findings indicate that tacit agreements are legally enforceable when consent, capacity, a defined object, and lawful cause are fulfilled, with contractual terms inferred from conduct, trade usage, good faith, and propriety. However, mechanical rechtsvinding tends to privilege formal evidence and may underprotect substantive justice in asymmetric relationships. The article proposes Progressive Legal Hermeneutics, which integrates Gadamerian interpretation with progressive law to support context-sensitive adjudication while maintaining doctrinal coherence, legal certainty, and fairness in both digital and conventional transactions within contemporary Indonesian private-law dispute resolution.

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