Pasal

Pasal is a term used in Indonesian and Malay legal texts to denote an article or section of a statute, regulation, or treaty. It serves as the basic unit of legal text, organizing provisions into discrete, referable blocks. The term is typically translated into English as article or section.

In practice, a pasal is numbered sequentially (for example, Pasal 1, Pasal 2) and may contain further subdivisions called ayat, which are clauses within the pasal, designated as ayat (1), ayat (2), and so on. Together, pasal and ayat structure the rights, obligations, and prohibitions that a law intends to establish. Some laws also use subpoints or letters within ayat to refine specifics.

The concept is common in Indonesia and Malaysia and is a fundamental element of statutory drafting and interpretation. Pasal numbering allows precise citation and reference to particular provisions, facilitating legal discussion, enforcement, and adjudication. While the exact formatting may vary by jurisdiction, the general idea—dividing legal text into numbered articles or sections for clarity and enforceability—remains consistent across many civil-law-inspired legal systems.