GATEKEEPERS OF AUTHENTICITY THROUGH NOTARIAL DUE DILIGENCE, GOVERNANCE AND INVESTOR PROTECTION

Minister of Law Regulation No 10 of 2026 rewrites the duty of Indonesian notaries to know the people who sit across their desks. This article dissects that instrument against the Law on the Office of Notary as amended in 2014, the anti-money laundering statute and the capital market regime, and reads it through juridical, philosophical, sociological and economic lenses. The doctrinal method applies the maxim lex posterior derogat legi priori to identify the operative text of each notarial provision, and the maxim lex superior derogat legi inferiori to test the reach of a ministerial regulation. The analysis finds that the Regulation brings notarial practice into close alignment with the FATF Recommendations on beneficial ownership, politically exposed persons, targeted financial sanctions and reliance on third parties. It also finds a misdirected cross-reference, a clause borrowed from banking regulation, an overbroad termination trigger, a blocking power that precedes any hearing, and silence on personal data protection and on substitute notaries. The article argues that notarial due diligence operates as hidden infrastructure of corporate governance, because the authentic deed fixes who owns, who controls and who decided. For issuers listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the notarial record of articles of association and shareholder meetings becomes a public good that lowers information asymmetry and agency costs for minority investors. The article closes with targeted proposals for correction and harmonisation.