National Halal Certification: A Juridical and Practical Study on the Balance between Administrative Compliance and Consumer Protection from the Perspective of Sharia Economic Law

Abstract

The mandatory halal certification requirement in Indonesia serves as a legal instrument aimed at ensuring legal certainty, protecting consumers, and enhancing the competitiveness of halal products at both national and international levels. However, the policy's implementation faces various challenges, particularly the gap between business operators' fulfillment of administrative obligations and the actual realization of substantive consumer protection. This study aims to analyze the balance between administrative compliance in halal certification and the effectiveness of consumer protection from the perspective of Sharia Economic Law. It employs a normative-juridical method utilizing statutory, conceptual, and analytical approaches. Data were gathered through a literature review of legislation, scholarly works, and documents related to Indonesia's Halal Product Assurance system. A descriptive-qualitative analysis was conducted by integrating consumer protection principles with the values ​​of *maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah* (the objectives of Sharia). The findings indicate that halal certification implementation tends to focus heavily on administrative procedures, whereas aspects such as oversight, sustainability, information transparency, and law enforcement have yet to fully guarantee effective consumer protection. From the perspective of Sharia Economic Law, consumer protection encompasses not only the rights to safety and information but also the spiritual right to consume products that are halal, safe, and compliant with Sharia principles. Therefore, a reconstruction of the halal certification policy is necessary; this policy should move beyond a mere focus on administrative legality and instead integrate values ​​of justice, public interest (*maslahah*), transparency, and accountability to establish a halal product assurance system that is more effective, equitable, and comprehensively protective of consumers.