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No authorization for interfaith marriages, Supreme Court says
The Supreme Court issued a circular on Monday prohibiting lower courts from granting any request to legalize interfaith marriage.
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The Supreme Court building in Central Jakarta. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court/-)
T
he Supreme Court has prohibited lower courts from granting any request to legalize interfaith marriage as a requirement for registration at the civil registry office, quashing hope that the state will allow and facilitate interfaith marriages.
The prohibition was stipulated in a circular issued on Monday. The letter, signed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Muhammad Syarifuddin, ordered judges to uphold Article 2 of the 1974 Marriage Law. The law mandates that a marriage can only be considered legitimate if it is done according to a religion the bride and groom follow.
“The court can’t grant any request for registration of marriages between people of different religions and beliefs,” the court wrote in the circular.
According to the 2006 Civil Administration Law, married couples can register their marriage at the religious affairs office (KUA) for Muslims and the civil registry office for non-Muslims. The law stipulates that interfaith couple can also register their marriage with the registry office after obtaining authorization from the court.
Read also: Court upholds status quo on interfaith marriage
The Supreme Court issued the circular several months after a district court in Jakarta made headlines for granting a marriage registration request from a Christian man and Muslim woman.
A panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court ruled in June and granted the couple’s request to register their marriage. Presiding judge Bintang AL then argued that interfaith marriage is reasonable and likely to happen given the country’s geographic condition and heterogeneity of the population, as written in the ruling.
