ABSTRACT THE USE OF MINUTE MEETING ON THE SECOND PHASE OF CITY PARTNERSHIP (SISTER CITY) BETWEEN BANDA ACEH (THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA) AND HIGASHI-MATSUSHIMA (JAPAN) ON THE ACCELERATION OF RECONSTRUCTION Faculty of Law, Syiah Kuala University (iv,73)., pp., bibl., app. M. Putra Iqbal, S.H., LL.M. Banda Aceh (Indonesia) and Higashimatsushima (Japan) both are cities that experienced Earthquake & Tsunamis, therefore these two cities made a sister city cooperation agreement in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), but the formation of this agreement in the first phase did not follow the established procedure. On the second phase of this sister city agreement, the cooperation agreement between the two cities was made in the form of minute of meeting instead of MoU. This research aims to find out why the parties decided to use minute of meeting as their legal document instead of a MoU and to find out whether or not the 2nd phase of this sister city has followed the regulation. In order to obtain the data, the research used normative legal approach and empirical legal approach. The data in this study were obtained through both library and field research. The library research is to acquire secondary data by way of studying the legislation, books, the internet and other scholarly works related to the problems of the research and fieldwork conducted for obtaining primary data by interviewing respondents or informants. The research showed that the use Minute of Meeting in the Phase II as the basis for sister city between Banda Aceh and Higashimatsushima. It was due the MoU formed in the Phase I were satisfied the parties upon its implementation and wish to proceed to Phase II. Both parties wanted to extend the collaboration and with a process that was not too long. It was found that the formation of a sister city legal document between Banda Aceh and Higashimatsushima not yet following the regulation of the Indonesian Republic's Foreign Minister Number: 09 / A / KP / XII / 2006/01 on the General Guidelines for Foreign Relations and Cooperation Procedures by Local government. It is suggested to the foreign ministry to shorten the process of forming sister city cooperation and for the local government should send initial information to the ministry related to the existence of a plan of cooperation with the government / foreign agency.