Public Perception of Interfaith Marriage Registration (Across Religions) based on Court Regulations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64420/ijris.v2i1.223Keywords:
Public perception, Interfaith marriage Registration, Court regulationAbstract
Background: In Indonesia’s pluralistic legal framework, interfaith marriage registration remains an unresolved socio-legal dilemma due to regulatory ambiguities between Law No. 1/1974 on Marriage and the Population Administration Law (Law No. 23/2006 jo. Law No. 24/2013). This regulatory gap generates persistent legal uncertainty and polarized societal responses. Objective: This study aims to examine interfaith marriage registration through court orders and analyze public perceptions and societal acceptance regarding the legal validity of such registrations, with a specific focus on the South Jakarta District Court Decision No. 508/Pdt.P/2022/PN Jkt.Sel. Method: This study employs a normative juridical research design using statutory and case approaches, supported by library research of primary legal materials, judicial rulings, and secondary literature analyzed through qualitative descriptive methods. Results: The findings reveal that while Article 2(1) of the Marriage Law predicates validity on religious laws, Article 35(a) of the Population Administration Law serves as a lex specialis permitting the Civil Registry Office (Dukcapil) to record interfaith marriages established by court decrees. Public perception remains deeply divided: human-rights-oriented groups and urban communities support court rulings as an essential mechanism for legal certainty and civil protection, whereas conservative religious groups continue to resist, viewing such decrees as circumventing canonical marriage laws. Conclusion: Judicial rulings function as a crucial pragmatic instrument to fill the legal vacuum (rechtsvacuum) and safeguard the civil rights of interfaith couples and their offspring, though unified legislative harmonization is necessary to eliminate ongoing bureaucratic and socio-religious friction. Originality/Value: This review study provides critical conceptual and socio-legal novelty in the fields of sociology of law, family law, and civil administration by synthesizing evolving literature on public perceptions and the legitimacy of interfaith marriage registration based on court regulations and judicial decrees. It systematically maps existing theoretical and methodological gaps, serving as a strategic benchmark that contributes to steering future research agendas on judicial harmonization and the development of conceptual policy frameworks protecting civil rights in pluralistic legal systems.
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