CONFISCATED STATE ASSETS FOR DISASTER RELIEF IN INDONESIA: A LEGAL-DOCTRINAL MAQĀṢID AL-SHARĪʿAH ANALYSIS

Abstract

Indonesia experiences recurrent natural disasters requiring rapid, equitable, and accountable relief. At the same time, the state controls confiscated and forfeited assets originating from criminal conduct—particularly economic crimes—which are legally transformed into state property and governed through administrative asset management frameworks. Although asset recovery is commonly framed as a mechanism to restore public losses and strengthen deterrence, the potential of confiscated state assets to support disaster relief remains underexplored, especially from the perspective of Islamic legal doctrine. This study addresses this gap by examining the legal feasibility and shariah legitimacy of allocating confiscated state assets for disaster victims in Indonesia. The study employs a qualitative legal-doctrinal analysis by systematically interpreting and mapping the normative structure of key Indonesian regulations on confiscated asset management and disaster governance. The findings are then assessed through a Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah-based normative framework, emphasizing ḥifẓ al-nafs (protection of life) and ḥifẓ al-māl (protection of public wealth), supported by classical Islamic legal doctrines on public property (al-māl al-ʿāmm), maslaḥah, and governance ethics. The analysis demonstrates that once confiscated assets are lawfully transferred into state ownership, they may be conceptually treated as public wealth eligible for humanitarian redistribution, provided that distribution mechanisms comply with shariah parameters and governance safeguards, including transparency, accountability, and the prevention of moral hazard and institutional abuse. This study contributes an integrated legal–maqāṣid model for disaster-oriented redistribution of confiscated assets, offering policy implications to harmonize asset recovery objectives with humanitarian urgency while maintaining shariah legitimacy and public trust.