A village is at the forefront of development and service to the community. A village aims to improve the village community welfare, the quality of human life and poverty alleviation by providing basic needs, development of facilities and infrastructure, development of local economic potential and sustainable use of natural resources and the environment.

According to Article 1 Paragraph 1 of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village, a village is a legal community unit with territorial boundaries authorized to regulate and manage government affairs. The local community's interests are based on community initiatives, origin rights and/or traditional rights recognized and respected in the government system of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village gives authority to Village to be more independent in managing their resources to develop the village economy with the aim of community welfare.

One of the management of village assets mentioned in the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 1 of 2016 Article 11 concerning the management of village assets is in the form of utilization. The utilization of village assets includes lease, borrow-to-use, joint utilization, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) or Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) [1].

Optimizing the utilization of village assets in the form of village treasury lands is one of the efforts to increase Village Original Income. Based on Article 1 Paragraph 11 of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village, village assets are village property originating from the Village's original wealth, purchased or obtained at the expense of the Local Government Budget (LGB) or other legitimate rights acquisitions.

In utilizing village treasury lands, legal action is required and formulated in the form of an agreement. According to Article 1313 of the Civil Code, an agreement is an act by which one or more people bind themselves to one or more other people. Based on the name, the agreement is divided into two parts, namely, named agreement and unnamed agreement. One of the named agreements is the lease agreement. Lease is regulated in Book III of the Civil Code Article 1548-Article 1600. Article 1588-1600 of the Civil Code contains rules for land leases. A lease is a reciprocal agreement. According to The Great Indonesian Dictionary, lease means the use of something by paying rent.

According to Book III of the Civil Code Article 1548, a lease is an agreement whereby one party binds himself to give the other party the enjoyment of an item for a certain period of time and with the payment of a price which the latter party is willing to pay.

For example, the lease agreement for village treasury lands is made in a written agreement. This is because legal action can lead to legal consequences, so it needs to be regulated clearly to prevent problems in the future. The important thing in preparing the village treasury lands with lease agreements is community participation. In the context of community participation, Law number 6 of 2014 concerning Village mandates various roles of village communities in village administration, both in government, development and other fields [2].

Village communities are given the right to obtain information and monitor the running of village administration and other aspects in it [3]. In essence, the Village is a form of a community association autonomously or "self-governing community [4]." runs its social system. Even the autonomy of the Village makes the Village resemble a "small republic" the government is built on the principle of popular sovereignty, which is a form of leadership that is in the hands of the people with community participation as the main principle. In other words, people's participation is the main thing in village governance. The decision-making process in this village community, from the start, used the village deliberation system or village meeting.

Based on the description above, the researcher is interested in conducting a study entitled “Community Participation in Optimizing the Utilization of Village Treasury Land with Lease Agreements.” The researcher wants to examine and analyze a research question about “How is community participation in optimizing the utilization of village treasury land with lease agreements?”

In conducting this study, the researcher employed a normative law, also known as doctrinal legal research. It was research conducted by examining library materials which were primary legal materials and also known as library law research. This study used library research or document study because it was mostly done on secondary data in the library [5].

Primary legal materials included:

• Civil Code

• Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages

• Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 1 of 2016 concerning Village Asset Management

Secondary legal materials were all publications on a law that were not official documents [6]. The publications on law included textbooks, legal dictionaries and legal journals. The secondary legal materials used were textbooks, legal journals related to leasing agreements, village treasury lands, community participation and other secondary legal materials related to research.

Based on the legal materials mentioned above, this study used qualitative analysis techniques. The technique of collecting legal materials was carried out by a literature study. Furthermore, it used a qualitative descriptive analysis that explained or described the applicable regulations and then associated with problems in the community to be analyzed and drawn conclusions [7].

According to (The Great Indonesian Dictionary, 2001), participation means community involvement (supervising, controlling and influencing) in an activity to form legislation, from planning to evaluating the implementation of regulations.

According to Law number 6 of 2014 Article 3 letter j, the principle of participation is to take an active role in an activity. The embodiment of the principle of participation is also contained in the rights and obligations of village communities in Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village, as stated in Article 68, which regulates the rights and obligations of village communities so that they are able to support a participatory community unit. It aims to protect and empower villages to become strong, advanced, independent and democratic to create a strong foundation in implementing governance and development towards a just, safe and prosperous society.

Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village provides a large portion for village communities in managing and developing their villages, including the role of the community in village government and village development. In general, the purpose of accommodating community participation as stated in Article 4 letter d and i of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village, has the same view as the purpose of regulating villages in general, namely to realize mutual prosperity in village communities and make village communities as subjects in village development.

Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village gives authority to Village to be more independent in managing their resources to develop the village economy with the aim of community welfare. Community welfare is created when Village Original Income also increases. One of the efforts made by the village government is to rent out village assets as outlined in the agreement. Of course, in the preparation of the agreement, community participation is needed.

According to Article 76 paragraph 1 of Law number 6 of 2014 concerning Village, village assets can be in the form of village treasury lands, communal lands, village markets, animal markets, boat moorings, village buildings, fish auctions, agricultural product auctions, village-owned forests, village-owned springs, public baths and other assets belonging to the Village.

Good and proper management of village assets is a step that must be implemented by the village government. One of the management of village assets mentioned in the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 1 of 2016a Article 11 is in the form of utilization. Utilization of village assets 1 lease 2 borrow-to-use 3 joint utilization 4 Build Operate Transfer (BOT) or Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO).

One of the examples of village assets often used to increase Village Original Income is village treasury lands by entering into lease agreements with third parties. The utilization of village treasury lands as village potential because village treasury lands is a very potential village asset. According to Law No. 1 of 2016 concerning Management of Village Assets Article 1 paragraph 26, Village Land is land controlled and/or owned by the Village Government as a source of Village Original Income and or for social purposes. Meanwhile, according to Fattahillah Fahmi, “village treasury lands are state land handed over by the village government and used for the benefit of the village" [8].

According to Law No. 1 of 2016 concerning the management of village assets, Article 18, village income must be fully deposited or entered into the village treasury account. Village assets in the form of village land are not allowed to relinquish ownership rights to other parties unless necessary for the public interest. The release of village land ownership rights to the public is carried out after receiving compensation in the form of money, which must be used to buy another better land allocated in the local Village. A village head decision determines the relinquishment of village land ownership rights [9].

Village head decisions are issued after obtaining Village Consultative Board approval and obtaining written permission from the Regent/Mayor and Governor. The procedure for managing village assets is regulated by a Regent/Mayor regulation. The Village Head submits a report on the results of village asset management to the Regent/Mayor through the Head of District at the end of every fiscal year and/or at any time if necessary. The report on the results of village asset management is a part of the accountability report. The Regent/Mayor shall provide guidance and supervision of the management of village assets. Guidance is carried out by establishing technical policies for managing and protecting village assets. The Regent/Mayor supervises the management of village assets by conducting audits.

Widayanti stated that optimizing the utilization of regional assets affect the inventory and identification of assets. It means that the optimization of asset utilization can increase regional income by conducting an inventory and identification using a good system. In order to increase the Village's original income, professional management of village assets is needed, followed by optimizing the utilization of assets owned by the Village. This is considered capable of significantly increasing Village Original Income.

Optimizing the utilization of village assets positively affects increasing Village Original Income. This means that assets in the Village must be used optimally with the orientation of increasing Village Original Income so that the Village is increasingly able to lead towards an independent village. Therefore, professional asset management is very much needed in increasing village income and utilizing productive village potential that will be able to increase village income [10].

Considering the importance of managing village-owned assets, it has become imperative for the village government to manage village-owned assets in a professional, effective manner and prioritize the economic aspect so that the utilization of village assets can achieve the economic welfare of the village community [11]. However, the management of village treasury lands in each Village is different because the potential, culture and level of welfare of human resources in each Village are also different.

The implementation of village governance and village asset management is expected to foster community creativity and encourage community participation in developing villages by utilizing village treasury land and available potential.

Article 7 paragraph 1 of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages states that the basic principle in managing village assets is the principle of public interest. The principle of public interest is the management of village assets based on the wider community's interests above the interests of certain individuals, groups, or classes. The wider community's interests in its implementation are guaranteed and protected by laws and regulations.

In general, the implementation of the village treasury lands with lease agreements can be carried out in 3 (three) stages, namely, the pre-agreement stage, the agreement-making stage and the post-agreement stage. However, community participation is still very limited and needs to be improved.

In the agreement-making stage, it must fulfil the conditions for the agreement's validity, where a valid agreement is an agreement that meets the conditions determined by law so that it has binding legal force. In accordance with Article 1320 of the Civil Code, the conditions for a valid agreement include:

• There is an agreement between those who bind themselves

• Ability to make agreements

• A certain thing

• A lawful cause

In making an agreement, there are several elements of the agreement that must be fulfilled, namely the essential element (means a part of an agreement that must exist), the natural element (means an element that must exist in a certain agreement) and the accidental element (means a complementary element in an agreement) [12].

Moreover, community participation in village treasury land lease agreements is very much needed. Cohen and Uphoff, divided participation into several stages, namely [13]:

• The decision-making stage is realized by community participation in meetings. The decision-making stage is in the planning and implementation of a program

• The implementation stage is the most important in development because its core is its implementation. The real form of participation at this stage is classified into three, namely, participation in the form of ideas, material contribution and action as a member of the project

• The evaluation stage is considered important because community participation is the feedback that can provide input for improving the implementation of the next project

• The stage of enjoying the results can be used as an indicator of the success of community participation in the planning and implementation stages of the project. In addition, by looking at the community's position as the subject of development, the greater the project's benefits. It means that the project has succeeded in hitting the target

Community participation is needed to support village officials' performance in village management. However, in practice, the level of community participation is still low. Without community participation, the optimization of village asset utilization will not be maximized. Community participation is needed to comply with applicable regulations. Community participation is basically a habit of living, growing and developing in the community itself as a form of legal culture which means human attitudes towards the law, values, thoughts and expectations.

Community participation plays an important role in optimizing the utilization of village treasury lands. Good and proper management of village assets is a step that must be implemented by the village government. Optimizing the utilization of village assets, especially Village Cash Land, is one of the efforts to increase Village Original Income. As stated in the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 1 of 2016 Article 11, the management of village assets is in the form of utilization. One of the forms of village asset utilization is a lease. In the village treasury land lease agreements, community participation is very necessary. However, community participation in village treasury lands with lease agreements is currently still very limited. Village communities are given the right to obtain information and at the same time supervise the operation of village government and other aspects in it. This aims to protect and empower villages to become strong, advanced, independent and democratic to create a strong foundation in implementing governance and development towards a just, safe and prosperous society.

This study recommends that the additional role for the community needs to be improved again in the procurement of village treasury lands with lease agreements starting before the agreement until after the agreement. Additionally, for the management of village treasury lands to run well, the provisions that have been set are further disseminated to the community so that there is no public misunderstanding regarding the terms and conditions for the utilization of village treasury land. Therefore, there is transparency and democracy in managing village assets for optimizing Village Original Income. The community always has and is responsible for living together as villagers. There will also be a check and balance between the village government and the village community.

1. Linda, O. et al. “Pemanfaatan aset desa dalam upaya meningkatkan pendapatan desa.” Jurnal Suara Keadilan, vol. 18, no. 2, 2017.

2. Zamzam, R.F.D. et al. “Kajian yuridis partisipasi masyarakat dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2014 tentang desa.” Artikel Ilmiah Universitas Brawijaya, 2015.

3. Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 of 2014 concerning Village.

4. Hanif, N. Pertumbuhan dan penyelenggaraan pemerintahan desa. Erlangga, 2011.

5. Suratman et al. Metode penelitian hukum. Alfabeta, 2013.

6. Mezak, M.H. “Jenis, metode dan pendekatan dalam penelitian hukum.” Jurnal Law Review, Fakultas Hukum Universitas Pelita Harapan, vol. 5, no. 3, 2006.

7. Ashshofa, B. Metode penelitian hukum. Rineka Cipta, 2013.

8. Fahmi, F. “Penyalahgunaan fungsi tanah kas desa di Kecamatan Banguntapan Kabupaten Sleman Kabupaten Bantul.” Jurnal Lex Renaissance, vol. 1, no. 2, 2016.

9. Marshaliany, E.F. “Pengelolaan aset desa oleh pemerintah desa di Desa Utama Kecamatan Cijeungjing Kabupaten Ciamis.” Scientific Journal of State Administration, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019.

10. Natalia, Y.S. et al. “Pengaruh profesionalisme pengelolaan aset desa, optimalisasi pemanfaatan aset desa dan pemberdayaan masyarakat terhadap pendapatan asli desa.” E-Journal Akuntansi Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, vol. 3, no. 2, 2017, pp. 49–67.

11. Kurniawan, K.A. “Dukungan pemerintah daerah dan optimalisasi aset.” Jurnal Riset Akuntansi dan Bisnis Airlangga, vol. 4, no. 1, 2019, pp. 607–622.

12. Miru, A. Hukum perjanjian dan perancangan perjanjian. PT Raja Grafindo Persada, 2008.

13. Friedrich, C.J. Filsafat hukum perspektif historis. Nuansa dan Nusamedia, 2004.