This statute, as stated in art 272, repeals and replaces Law No. 18 of 2001 on the Special Autonomy of Aceh. The statute regulates the governance of Aceh at all levels (provincial, regency/municipality, sub-district, residential and village). It defines the powers of the People's Representative Council of Aceh, as well as those of the People's Representative Councils for the respective regencies/municipalties (kabupaten/kota), and provides limits on the powers of the personnel therein. The statute also defines the authority and responsibilities of the Governor and regents/mayors, as well as other apparatus such as the Aceh Provincial Secretariat. The statute guarantees the rights of the Acehnese people to own land, to education, health, security, to protect their own culture, as well as to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to collectivise, freedom of movement, freedom to take industrial action, and freedom to truth and reconciliation, among others. The statute states that breaches of these human rights can be investigated and tried before a Human Rights Court in Aceh.
Importantly, art 129 states that Acehnese criminal law (hukum jinayah) applies to: