REFORMULATING PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY IN CHILDREN’S CASH ON DELIVERY(COD) TRANSACTIONS UNDER INDONESIAN LAW

Abstract

This article aims to examine and address various legal issues concerning online transactions conducted through the Cash on Delivery (COD) system, which have increasingly been carried out by minors and have resulted in losses for business actors. This situation arises due to the absence of age-verification features on e-commerce platforms, thereby allowing minors to place orders without parental supervision. The analysis demonstrates that transactions conducted by minors give rise to legal consequences in the form of voidable contracts and are deemed invalid for failing to meet the requirement of legal capacity, as stipulated in Articles 1320 and 1330 of the Indonesian Civil Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata). This position is consistent with the Shāfiʿī school of Islamic jurisprudence, which holds that transactions conducted by a child who has not yet attained puberty (baligh) are legally invalid. Similarly, Malaysian law recognizes the doctrine of vicarious liability, although there is currently no specific regulation governing COD transactions. Nevertheless, in order to prevent such practices and to provide legal protection for all parties involved, Indonesia, as a welfare state, is obligated to address this legal vacuum by formulating specific regulations on parental responsibility in relation to online COD transactions. This approach is in line with Article 1367 of the Indonesian Civil Code, Islamic legal principles, and comparative insights from Malaysian law, which impose parental liability for the legal consequences arising from the acts of their children. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to establish a clear standard of legal capacity based on age for engaging in digital transactions, to impose parental responsibility for acts committed by minors, and to affirm the obligation of all e-commerce platforms to implement consumer age-verification systems.