Legalization of Moslem marriage in Indonesia is strictly governed by the Islamic Law for Moslem couples. This proceeding may only be carried-out under special and very limited conditions, among others, to legalize the previous performed Moslem marriage without any registration at the Moslem Marriage Registry (so called KUA/Kantor Urusan Agama).

You may also to conduct the legalization of Moslem marriage, if you meet one of the requirements, as follows:

1. You need to get divorce, but you can't prove the legality of the marriage because you didn't receive any marriage book;
2. You've lost your marriage book. The KUA will not issue another copy because each couple only entitles to a set of marriage book;
3. You have any doubt regarding the legality of the marriage;
4. The marriage took place before the 1974 Marriage Law enacted;
5. To legalize the marriage of a couple with no legal impediment to marry, as governed by the 1974 Marriage Law. This is applicable when you're religiously married without any proper registration. No marriage book presented as proof of your marriage.  

This proceeding is very important when you're processing a probate case. The legalization of the Moslem marriage shall be used as a mirror order in any country where the probate is taking place.

Consider the following issues in order to establish the legality of the Moslem marriage  through a legal proceeding carried-out by our firm:

1. Experienced family law attorneys;
2. High success rates in previous similar cases handled by our attorneys that will also contribute to your success;
3. Conclusive legal binding;
4. World-wide legal recognition. The product of the proceeding may be used as a mirror order anytime anywhere in the world.

Call or email us to find out how you can move forward with the proceeding of the Moslem marriage legalization with the assistance of passionate family law practitioners in Indonesia.

Foreign divorce for all-foreign spouses in Indonesia is possible. This usually happens to couple who live in Indonesia long enough and both of them are expats. Certain situation must be met before you can access our legal system. First, minimum contact of the spouses in Indonesia. This is to see if the court in Indonesia has jurisdiction. Second, reporting/registration of the foreign marriage. Three, how Indonesian law can rule in your divorce case. Divorce in Indonesia must meet at least one of the legal grounds.  

How Long is Long Enough?

In order to secure your access to the Indonesia's legal system, you need to have a minimum contact of at least one (1) year. You and your wife must maintain 12 (twelve) months residency before the court in Indonesia may be able to consider your divorce case. Having a child born or school in Indonesia is even better. You have better connection and stronger contact with our legal system. If you're employed by the the company in Indonesia, the chance of getting your marriage dissolved by the court here is even higher.

The fact that either of you can't access the court system in your home country is a bummer. I have a US client in Jakarta filed for a divorce in Washington court. They spent time and money just to see the court did not have any jurisdiction in their case. What a waste!

Dissolving a Foreign Marriage

Having your marriage performed outside of Indonesia, doesn't mean you have to report or even register your marriage in Indonesia. You or your wife doesn't have to do that. Some laws in Indonesia requires the parties in the marriage to report the marriage to government authorities, but it only applicable in the event one of you is an Indonesian citizen, or both of you are Indonesian.

Since both of you are non-Indonesian, the reporting obligation is not applicable to you. Article 56 of the 1974 Marriage Law, it is not for you and your wife. This is the proceeding to dissolve a foreign marriage between two foreign spouses, in Indonesia. If either of you is an Indonesian citizen, you don't have to report or register your marriage. So, don't bother!

Your Law is Our Law

Dissolving a marriage in Indonesia, we have the legal grounds to do that. It's not really printed on the Marriage Law. It's in the 1975 Government Regulation. You know, the legal instrument implementing the Marriage Law in more details. You can't have it dissolved by mutual consent. It's not legal here. There are factual situations that must be met with the legal grounds. Your domestic situation at least must meet one of the legal grounds for dissolving a marriage. They have been regulated in the 1975 Government Regulation, which are, in the event one of the parties:

1. has committed adultery, is an alcoholic, is addicted to drugs, is a gambler or exhibits other vices which are difficult to cure;

2. has left the other spouse for two consecutive years, without consent and without legitimate reasons or the absence of reasons beyond his control;

3. has been sentenced to imprisonment for five (5) consecutive years or a longer period;

4. has resorted to cruelty or severe ill treatment, endangering the life of the other spouse;

5. has developed a disability or disease, preventing from fulfilling the duties of husband or wife; or

6. has irreconcilable differences.

So, those legal grounds, at least one of them, must be recognized in your law. Well, I have nothing further on this one. Your law, is not really my department.

Be Nice to Your Friends!

You have to present witnesses to the court. Well, at least two. Unfortunately, it's not one of the CSI movies where you can supply scientific evidence, without any single human being taking a stand at the court room. They want a person, in a flesh and blood, supplying information and describing what happened to your marriage. They want to have a conversation with your witnesses. They want to talk to them. So, let them talk about your marriage in front of you. There's nothing to hide. Just make sure you give them interesting subject to discuss with. 

Yes, I know. It's a conventional civil procedures law we have been using for more than one millennium. It's our legal system, and you have to work with it if you want them to dissolve your foreign marriage in Indonesia. You will have to start looking for them. Your witnesses. They can be anyone. Your domestic staffs, colleagues, common friends, and whoever knows anything about your domestic background. Foreign witnesses are also welcome. They will have to do you a quite simple job: to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The most sacred job of being a human, and they will have to do it on a witness bench. The loneliest place on earth. 

Custody and maintenance of children, like other family matters in Indonesia such as divorce, and inheritance; is governed by religious affiliation of the respective spouses. Some of you may find it absurd, but this relates to the belief that religion plays an important role in the family environment.

Child Custody for Moslem

The questions regarding who is entitled to custody or maintenance of children in the event of a divorce between a husband and wife who are Moslems, are subject to the provisions of the Compilation of Islamic Law, and also subject to the principles contained in the Religion of Islam. In the event of divorce, the maintenance of children who have not yet mumayyiz(under 12 year old) is their mother’s. In the case of mothers has died, then the position of woman as the holder of the rights can be replaced by the following persons: a). the women in a straight line upward from the mother, b). father, c). the women in a straight line upwards of the father; d). sister of the child concerned; or e). Blood relatives of women by the side line of the father. So, under normal circumstances, the law prioritizes custody to the mother of the child. Please take a note, under normal circumstances! If you think your particular situations are not even close, please continue reading.

For children who already mumayyiz, it is up to the child to choose between his father or mother as the holder of the right of maintenance. Nevertheless, the father of the child has the responsibility to provide child support according to his ability regardless who holds the custody.  He should provide child support at least until the child is able to take care of him/herself or have aged 21 years. This provision relates to the principle in Islam that the father is the bread-maker in the family. The fact that in this modern world where women are also working and making good career, it does not forbid the obligation of a father to provide the child support. Something we must realize is that other than as husband and wife, we all have other capacity that is as father and mother for children born in our marriage.

Child Custody for Non-Moslem

Child custody and maintenance for Non-Moslem is applicable for children under the age of 18 years old or unmarried. In case of divorce to both parents, the provision of child custody and maintenance can be found in 1974 Marriage Law, Child Protection Law, and Indonesia’s Civil Code.

The 1974 Marriage Law stipulates that in case of divorce, both parents are still obliged to maintain and educate their children until the child marries or able to support themselves. In the event of disputes, they are still obliged to maintain and educate their children until the child marries or able to support themselves. A district court may enter into a verdict on the disputes. The provision sends a message that child custody and maintenance in the event of divorce is still a part of the obligations and responsibilities of spouses. Furthermore, Child Protection Law provides that parents are obliged and responsible for caring, nurturing, educating, and protecting children, fostering the children in accordance with their abilities, talents, and interests, and should prevent the occurrence of early marriage.

The Civil Code stipulates that the legal consequences of a divorce may end the parental authority (ouderlijke macht) and turns into guardianship (voogdij). When the marriage dissolved by the court, there should also be regulated on the guardianship of the underage children. The guardianship shall be determined after the judge hears family from both parents with close relationship with the child.  Determination guardian also may be reviewed by a judge at the request of the father or the mother based on changing circumstances.

How Can You Lose the Custody?

Being a holder of child custody and maintenance is not permanent. A father or a mother could lose child custody and maintenance in the event he/she cannot guarantee the child’s physical and spiritual safety.

If You’re Moslem

At the request of child’s relatives concerned, the religious court may transfer the custody rights to other relatives who have rights of custody as well. Although child custody is a right of a mother, but sometime she could lose the rights due to special factors. There are factors that can impede her rights in obtaining child custody, among others, are:

1. Ar-Riqqu. Literally, it means that the person concerned has status as a slave. I believe this is no longer applicable as we recognized equal status to all human being. Nevertheless, this can be further interpreted that the person has no freedom at her will. Don’t get me wrong! For example, you are working abroad and you cannot attend the child on daily basis in Indonesia. You need help from your family in Indonesia to take care of the child. On the other hand, your husband resides in Indonesia. Instead of giving the custody to you as the mother of the child, or giving a way the custody to wife’s parent; the father of the child will prevail and shall be the most appropriate parent to hold the custody and maintenance of the child.
2. The Fasiq. She conducts immoral behaviors such as having an affair with other man, or even worse, committing adultery. Can we trust her with the responsibility of parenting?  When the court found her committing adultery, she will no longer entitle to child custody. How come? If she still has the custody, she will educate the child in accordance with her bad habits. Remember, our children learning by examples of their parents. The Islamic Law finds that the Fasiq will give negative impact to the children.
3. The Kafir, means Non-Moslem person. The Islamic Law finds that they should not be entrusted with the parenting right of a Moslem child. Furthermore, the Islamic Law finds that they have the possibility in deceiving the child and removing it from the religious beliefs of Islam.
4. A woman re-married with another man. On the issues of parenting, a mother holds primary rights to child custody and maintenance. However, the right will be automatically revoked when she married to another man with no family relationship with the child (ajnabi). On the other hand, if she married to a man with ties of kinship with the child, the mother custody is not lost.  The revocation of the custody right shall be on the ground of religious court’s order.  In this particular situation, I would like to refer to the Hadits of Prophet of Muhammad:

أَنْتِ أَحَقُّ بِهِ مَا لَمْ تَنْكِحِي

“You have more right to nurture him/her as long as you are not married.”

When the impediment factors are disappearing, for example the mother divorced again, she will get her custody right back. Some women don’t know about these rules when they got divorce. When our firm work for a case in a religious court in Bali, we advised our client to resign from her employment abroad to avoid her losing the custody. Nevertheless, such decision sometimes cannot always be accepted by everyone. Having a custody means that you have a responsibility to raise the child. When you and your ex do not cooperate, you will face difficulties in doing the job. After all, it’s not easy being a single parent.

If You’re Non-Moslem

Every child has the right to be taken care of by their parents, unless there is a reason and/or valid legal rules indicate that the separation with the parent is in the best interests of the child and should be taken as the final consideration. However, court decisions remain to decide custody of parents against children when one of their parents behave poorly and neglect their obligations towards the child. Nevertheless, someone who holds child custody and maintenance must be of the same religious affiliation with the child. The existence of this provision will ensure the parent will provide religious education for the child properly.

The Child Protection Law further stipulates that parental authority of one or both parents may be revoked at the request of the other parent or adult siblings or authorized officer based on the court verdict due to neglecting the duty towards the child and behave badly. Let me be more specific on the definition of other parent. It can be either grandmother of the child from the father’s line, grandfather of the child from the mother’s line, and the child’s family in straight line upward (grandfather or grandmother of the child). The first one is being prioritized in the event both parents are being revoked by the court.

In view of the above and regardless who have the custody, I believe you and your ex must work together in raising the child. Both of you still have obligations and responsibilities even if you’re not married anymore. Set aside the ego, and work side by side for your flesh and blood’s upbringing. I know it is easier said than done, but it is worth to try.

Well, I hope you get the whole picture about this issue and most important is that you have enough access to the legal system that protects your rights.  At Wijaya & Co, we are helping people with their legal issues and assisting them to have access to the legal system in Indonesia. This information is to help them to gain the access and please feel free to forward it to others who might need the information. I’m Asep Wijaya, and thanks for helping Wijaya & Co spreads the access to the legal system in Indonesia.

Our thanks to Asep A. Wijaya, Managing Director of Wijaya & Co for sharing this information with us!

Child custody is the most crucial issues in a family law disputes in Indonesia. It involves emotional and psicological matters that can affect the child well-being and future. The way I see it, the children must stick to you, and they must stay in a very safe environment: your house. Nevertheless, things don't go the way we expect. This is why I write about child custody. When things get rough, you should the one who gets tough, for the sake of the children. If you’re suffering from the situation, can you imagine how they feel about it? It’s a living hell!

You know what will happen to your children according to the laws in Indonesia in the event your marriage dissolved by divorce? We have a very specific laws about it. It's Article 29 of Law number 23 of 2002 as amended by Law Number 35 of 2014 regarding the Children Protection Law. They will have your children to choose who she/he will physically live with, or so ordered by the court, to be brought-up by one of the two parents. This is the legal reality in Indonesia. They want your children to choose. It's their call, if you get divorce. Do you think they are fit to make a choice? The choice that will determine their life forever? The law-makers in Indonesia had to do this because parents fight about child custody. They use the children to hurt the other parent for getting what they want. Parental child abduction, limited access to the children, among others, are issues that often rise during the family disputes  

I have seen two parents fighting over child custody in Indonesia. They took the case all the way to the Supreme Court. You know what, it's hard not to let your ego takes the control. So you want it for yourself. You leave it to the judges to decide. They must do it because they have to do it. Just because it’s their job, doesn’t mean it’s easy for them. Even for the judges and the law-makers in our parliament. It's killing them, as well as it's killing the two of you too. So, that's why they leave it to your child who she/he will physically leave with it. You know what? It's killing the children too to choose between mom and dad. My next question to you is, do you love your children? This is the reason why I write about child custody. Because I love my children, as much as you love your children. You might want to start thinking not to do this to the children. By not making them choose between either of you, their parents. 

Our thanks to Asep A. Wijaya, Managing Director of Wijaya & Co for sharing this information with us!

Child born out of wedlock in Indonesia has legal relationship with her/his mother and her family only. This is because she/he was born outside the legal marriage of the parents. The biological father's name will not be printed on the child's birth certificate. But the child may have her/his legal relationship with the alleged father and his family as well, as long as a legal proceeding is being carried-out separately. It's called legalization of the child born out of wedlock. This is where the father voluntarily enter into a Paternity Affidavit, and the mother consent to it.

Nowadays, you need to conduct a DNA test to scientifically prove the relationship between the child and the alleged father. This proves the laws in Indonesia keep-up with the scientific developments. The end results of legalization born out of wedlock is to give the child entitlements as if she/he was born into the parents' legitimate marriage. The child is also entitled to use her/his father's family name. So, this proceeding is about giving your child the best they deserve.

Our lawyers at Wijaya & Co have successfully assisted our clients in getting their child legalized into their marriage. Cases we handled have contributed to the portfolio of the firm, and therefore our significant experience is a remarkable asset to the proceeding of out of wedlock child legalization with high success rate.

Consider the following issues in order to establish legal relationship between you and your  child born out of wedlock with child legalization proceeding carried-out by our firm:

1. Experienced family law attorneys;
2. High success rates in previous similar cases handled by our attorneys that will also contribute to your success;
3. Conclusive legal binding;
4. World-wide legal recognition.

Call or email us in getting your child the best they deserve legally with the assistance of passionate family law practitioners in Indonesia.

Child custody rights in Indonesia governed in a very specific manner so you and the child you love are protected, whenever and wherever you are. The legal relationship between the child and you as the parent must be proven by a legitimate document. Indonesia has very specific laws regarding child custody.

You need to make sure the child custody certificate you have is enough to prove the rights comply with the prevailing laws and regulations in Indonesia. This is very important to the child's future as the documents will be used as a mirror order by any court or any government institution wherever you and the child may live.

The good custody certificate gives you the authority as a parent in guardianship as well as custodianship. It gives you, for the best interests of the child, the authority to represent her/him in-court and out-of-court matters. The certificate also to authorize you to live physically with the child, to nurture her/him, and to provide the best possible needs you may provide. Some custody certificate also serves as a immigration clearance to travel overseas. 

At Wijaya & Co, we have succeeded to assist many of our clients in getting their child custody certificate. We lodge their child custody applications, and present their cases as well as supplying the facts and legal grounds why they entitle to the rights of child custody. 

Consider the following issues in order to establish legal relationship between you and your step child with the adoption proceeding carried-out by our firm:

1. Experienced family law attorneys;
2. High success rates in previous similar cases handled by our attorneys that will also contribute to your success;
3. World-wide legal recognition.

Call or email us in getting the custody rights of your child, and retrieve its certificate with the assistance of passionate family law practitioners in Indonesia.

This is the proceeding that certifies the origin of a child in Indonesia. This may be applicable to the couples married in Moslem without any proper registration, and when you don't see your name on the child's birth certificate as the father.

On one hand, the proceeding certifies that the child  is the offspring of the parents. A DNA test is one of the statutory requirements. We need medical technology to support this. On the other hand, the father of the child will be legally recognized, and therefore the child will not be considered born out of wedlock. After all, the terms is not applicable to the child in this matter. You and your wife are required to enter into a paternity affidavit, and a consent from the biological mother. This is imposed by the laws in Indonesia, and therefore it serves as another statutory requirements that you need to comply with.

The prevailing laws and regulation on certifying the offspring of a child in Indonesia also imposed a provision of information supplied by the witnesses. They can be either family members, common friends, co-workers, colleagues, or even your parents. 

Wijaya & Co is very familiar with this proceeding. Our attorneys are highly dedicated legal practitioners working to get you to your goals. It is our passion to secure your child with legal recognition  Indonesia's legal system can provide.

Consider the following issues in order to establish the certification  of your child  through a legal proceeding carried-out by our firm:

1. Experienced family law attorneys;
2. High success rates in previous similar cases handled by our attorneys that will also contribute to your success;
3. Conclusive legal binding;
4. World-wide legal recognition. The product of the proceeding may be used as a mirror order anytime anywhere in the world.

Call or email us to find out how you can initiate the proceeding of the origin of a child in Indonesia with the assistance of highly dedicated family law attorneys in Indonesia.

Guardianship of a child in Indonesia is applicable when the marriage of the parents is still intact. It is transferable to a certain parties, but not to a company. It seems a simple thing, but there’s far more to it than that. 

Guardianship may be transferable to grand father, grand mother, or other family members within four vertical degrees. The surviving spouse, by law, is the guardian of his/her child. This happens automatically. By law, being a father or a mother, you can't say no for being a guardian of a child. This is a compulsory guardianship. 

As a parent, you may appoint a guardian for your child. This may only happen if you can't perform your job as a parent, for example due to your work commitment overseas. Therefore, you may be released as the holder of your child's guardianship. But, this is only temporary, and your authority may be reinstated according to your inquiry. Nevertheless, someone may reject your guardianship request. Therefore, you need to make sure he/she is available to entertain your request.

Wijaya & Co handles this case as part of our scope of practice. Our attorneys are familiar with the legal procedures in civil law regarding child's custody and guardianship. You need to make sure you are being advised by the right attorneys specializing in this area of law in Indonesia.

Consider the following issues in order to transfer the custody and guardianship of your child through a legal proceeding carried-out by our firm:

1. Experienced family law attorneys;
2. High success rates in previous similar cases handled by our attorneys that will also contribute to your success;
3. Conclusive legal binding;
4. World-wide legal recognition. The product of the proceeding may be used as a mirror order anytime anywhere in the world.

Call or email us to find out how you can transfer the guardianship of your child to the right individual through the right procedures in Indonesia with the assistance of highly dedicated family law attorneys in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, every divorce lawyer will have to refer to the 1974 Marriage Law and its implementing rules for divorce and  marital dissolution. A divorce petition must be filed at the local district court for Non-Moslems, and local Religious Court for Moslems. There are certain marital dissolution reasons according to 1974 Marriage Law and Islamic Law, they are:

Marriage Law

Pursuant to Marriage Law, a marriage may be terminated due to several reasons as follows:

1. Death of either party
2. Divorce
3. Upon court’s decision

Death

The death to either party will automatically terminate the marriage.

Divorce

One of the means to dissolve a marriage is by divorce. Divorce may only be executed before a court session, before the district court for Non-Moslems and before the religious court for Moslems. Therefore, either one of the parties wanting to divorce needs to file a divorce petition to the court.

There are  legal grounds of filing for divorce that every divorce lawyer has to advise his/her clients with, and they have been regulated in the Marriage Law, which are, in the event one of the parties:

1. has committed adultery, is an alcoholic, is addicted to drugs, is a gambler or exhibits other vices which are difficult to cure;

2. has left the other spouse for two consecutive years, without consent and without legitimate reasons or the absence of reasons beyond his control;

3. has been sentenced to imprisonment for five (5) consecutive years or a longer period;

4. has resorted to cruelty or severe ill treatment, endangering the life of the other spouse;

5. has developed a disability or disease, preventing from fulfilling the duties of husband or wife; or

6. has irreconcilable differences.

Annulment to Dissolve Your Marriage

Marriage annulment means that any marriage may be cancelled if both parties cannot fulfill the conditions for the marriage. A marriage annulment can only be decided by a court of law.

Families in a straight line of descent and above the husband or wife (For example: father, mother, grandfather etc of husband or wife.) , an authorized/appointed official, and anyone directly possessing legal interest in the marriage may file a request for marriage annulment.

Any request for marriage annulment may be submitted to a court within the jurisdiction where the marriage was conducted or within the jurisdiction of the residence of the married couple (in accordance with Article 38 (1) Government Regulation No. 9 Year 1975 regarding the Implementing Rules of 1974 Marriage Law) the husband, or the wife. A marriage annulment may be filed for the following reasons:

1. the marriage guardian (so called “wali” ) is illegal; or
2. the marriage was not attended by two witnesses.
3. The marriage was performed in front of unauthorized marriage registrar.

The right to annul a marriage by a husband or wife based on such reasons becomes null and void if they live together as a married couple and can show the marriage certificate issued by the unauthorized officer of the marriage registry. In this instance the marriage has to be conducted again in order to make it legal.

The husband or wife may request an annulment of their marriage, if the marriage was conducted before an unauthorized officer of a marriage registry, or if the marriage was conducted under a threat that violates the law, or if there is a misunderstanding between the husband and wife.

His/her right will be null and void if the threat has stopped or if the misunderstood party? realizes the situation, but doesn’t use his/her right to request for marriage annulment within six (6) months after living together as married couple. Example of a “misunderstood condition” would be if the husband thought the wife was a virgin, but in fact she was not – so I misunderstood about her personal conditions.

Annulment of a marriage commences upon the court decision and is permanent and legal binding and applies as of the time of marriage was conducted. However, such a decision is not retroactively effective to:

1. children born from the marriage;

2. husband or wife acting with good intention, except against joint property, if the annulment is based on a previous marriage. The annulment decision is retroactively effective to the joint property of the parties in the event the marriage was entered and one of the couples was not legally free to marry.

3. a third party, so long as he/she has the rights based on good faith.

Islamic Law

In Islam, a marriage may be terminated due to several reasons, namely:

1. Death of either party
2. Thalak
3. Judge’s Decision
4. Khulu
5. Li’an
6. Ila’
7. Murtad (apostate)

When a husband or wife passes away, their marriage is automatically terminated. When a wife passes away, her husband doesn’t have any legal difficulties in marrying another woman, but can remarry immediately. But, when a husband passes away, his wife has to wait for four (4) months and 10 days before she can marry another man.

Literally, thalak means to release (abandon). Thalak or divorce is the right given to a man and is an action of releasing a woman from the marriage. In Islam, this method of divorce has been stipulated, but it is accompanied by the explanation from the Prophet Mohammad that God doesn’t like divorce.

Divorce through a judge’s decision may be due to several reasons, such as, among others, that the husband is unable to provide the basic necessities of life, the husband commits torture against his wife, the husband vanishes (being far away from or not being near his wife), or that the husband is serving a term in prison.

Fasakh is the cancellation of marriage agreement (akad) and the termination of a marriage between a husband and wife due to damage taking place in the marriage agreement (akad) or due to sudden reasons that may hamper the continuation of the marriage agreement (akad). For instance, it could be due to a problem in the family relationships. Fasakh will cause the marriage agreement (akad) to be annulled.

Khulu’ is a divorce given by a husband to his wife with payment to the wife. Khulu’s is required by Islam for balancing the thalak right for a husband when there is a hatred that cannot be settled peacefully.

A marriage may be terminated due to li’an, because the person making the li’an in the fith oath says that God’s curse is upon him/herself if he/she is a liar. As a result of li’an, the marriage is terminated forever. If the accusing husband denies the birth of a child by saying that the child is not his, the child is not the offspring of this husband any longer, but legally becomes an illegitimate child and becomes the child of accused wife. The child cannot inherit from his/her father (the accusing husband). If the child is female, her guardian is a judge of justice, if the child will marry someone else.

Murtad (apostate) is when a Moslem abandons Islam. If a husband or wife is judged apostate, their marriage is terminated due to their action.

Marriage dissolution based on the grounds of thalak, li’an, and khuluk’ shall only valid in the event they are conducted at the religious court.

Annulment according to Compilation of Islamic Law

Compilation of Islamic Law which is enacted under Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1991 also governs marriage annulment under several reasons:

1. Polygamy conducted by husband without the permission from the Religious Court;

2. The bride is not legally free to marry and still in a marriage with other man;

3. The bride in the period of ‘iddah of her previous husband, Iddah means a waiting period where a woman is not allowed to marry other man. The period may vary according to the reason of her previous marriage dissolution i.e. 130 days due to death, and 90 days due to divorce;

4. The marriage is not comply with the minimum of age requirement as governed by the 1974 Marriage Law;

5. Married performed without wali nikah (marriage guardian) or performed with unauthorized one;

6. Marriage performed under threat

Marriage annulment is also known as fasakh is the cancellation of marriage agreement (akad) and the termination of a marriage between a husband and wife due to defect taking place in the marriage agreement (akad) or due to sudden reasons that may hamper the continuation of the marriage agreement (akad). For instance, it could be due to a problem in the family relationships. Fasakh will cause the marriage agreement (akad) to be annulled.

Annulment petition can be filed at the local religious court having jurisdiction over the residence of husband or wife or may be submitted to the local religious court within the jurisdiction where the marriage was conducted. Court decree on marriage annulment shall take effect retroactively since the date of marriage took place.

Parties to authorize for annulment petition are:

1. Family in a upper and lower straight line such as parents, and siblings;
2. Husband or wife;
3. Authorized officers responsible in supervising the performance of marriage as governed by law;

4. Other parties who aware of any marriage defect in terms of marriage requirements as imposed by the prevailing law.

The laws in Indonesia legally recognized marital agreement as a contract entered by a husband and wife, either before or during the course of marriage. Having a marital agreement in Indonesia, there is more to it than meets the eyes. You can see how it redefines your marriage, regardless your nationalities. 

Are You In It for Love?

A marital agreement in Indonesia definitely can protect your assets. When you're considering to marry someone, you need to know if she/he's marrying you for love or for money. One could never tell, but the marital agreement could always do. Take my word for it. If she/she says yes, even after the prenup has been executed, then he/she's the one. No matter what. 

By entering into a marital agreement prior to your marriage, you can protect your assets acquired prior to your marriage to him/her. The assets are legally free from the claim she/he can brought against you as if no marriage has been consummated. You're not legally liable for the debts prior the marriage. So, yes, with the marital agreement in Indonesia, you are in it for love. Not for the money.

Protection against Bigamy

This is sometime, just sometime, happens in countries like Indonesia: your husband is committing bigamy. Ouch! That's not good. Please don't get mad. Get everything! Yes, you read me right. Get everything, literally!

You should insist to enter into a marital agreement between you and your husband in order to protect your financial interest, your children's future, and your assets. Even though, each marriage to each wife and its assets is totally separated, but you never knew. Get yourself a cover. You can't risk yourself and the children exposed to any potential risks. In this case, you should get a postnuptial agreement. This is a type of marital agreement entered into a husband and wife during the course of marriage. With the breakthrough verdict from the Constitutional Court in 2016, the postnup is legally recognized and totally can be upheld in the court of law. 

Using a marital agreement to protect yourself from bigamy is exist long before the Court reach the verdict. The terms and conditions for this type of marital agreement is even exist in the Civil Code. Indonesian socialites have been using this to protect their marital assets, and the laws allow the wife to submit a motion for postnuptial agreement. 

Business as Usual

Practically, in Indonesia, your spouse is your business partner. Not to mention if she/he's actively contributing to the business enterprise on daily basis. Whether he/she is serving as a member of the board or not. Your spouse entitles to half of your share. Lovely, isn't it?

Article 157 Civil Code imposed that the profit you made out of your marital assets, retrieved from the community assets, income derived from joint assets, shall be considered as marital property or community property. Whatever you call it, your spouse entitle to it. Your profit, your income, exchanges of the existing property, among others, are part of the joint assets with your spouse. 

When the marriage ends with a divorce, your spouse gets half of the assets, both now in existence and its profits. So, consider signing a marital agreement in order to prevent that from happening, and list your business enterprise as one of your separate assets.

Preserving Your Inheritance

Say, you're expecting inheritance from your parents. Legally, inheritance and gift from a third party are separate property. Article 35 (2) of 1974 Marriage Law stipulates that if you otherwise determined, the inheritance may become joint property. It means, it may not be free from your spouse's claims. Putting the inheritance into a marital agreement can preserve the inheritance from your parents. It can't be touched legally. You may be clear describing the assets such as location, dimension, and other related description in the marital agreement.

Back-to-Back: Foreign & Indonesian Prenup

Both of you are foreigners. Neither of you is an Indonesian citizen. But you have been residing in Indonesia for quite sometimes. You plan to get marry in one of our beautiful islands such as Bali, or Lombok. It means, you're registering your marriage under the laws of Indonesia. You're submitting yourselves to the legal system in Indonesia. There's a legal term called: "Minimum Contact." You and your husband have a minimum contact with the Indonesian laws because you live in Indonesia. The legal effect is minimum but it’s still a loophole. I am not saying you should get an Indonesian prenup but if you wish to have a safe-precaution, you should get one. Remember, the Indonesian laws on marriage is applicable also to foreigners live in Indonesia. This is the part of the international civil law that may expose you to the risks of having a regime of marital property. Doctrines on the international civil laws are very complicated. We don’t know which one the court will apply to your case. We never know which court will have jurisdiction to your situation. But the last thing you want is to left yourself, and your marriage open to the potential exposures of marital property regime in Indonesia. People spends tens of thousand of dollars fighting in divorce litigations, while they can avoid it with a piece of paper called a prenup. 

But hey! You're signing a foreign prenup. That's cool! You know what? Your foreign prenup is not recognized here. So, from the Indonesia's legal perspective you’re married but with no prenup. Therefore, you have joint property ownership regime. On the other hand, if you have the Indonesian prenup, and/or the Indonesian marriage, and/or you live here on the Indonesian soil, those are legal bonafide to you and your marriage. There’s no question in terms of the legality of your foreign prenup. It will even make things stronger. The Indonesian prenup shall serve as "the bridge" to your foreign prenup. So, everything is connected now. There's no missing link anymore.

In the event of divorce, with the Indonesian prenup, your marriage will still have separation of property regime. This can be used as “mirror” just in case things get ugly, and any court in other country may refer to the Indonesian side.

Preserving the Indonesian

I like the term "preserving" better than "protecting" because your Indonesian spouse is entitled to the freehold property. She/he can own property under hak milik. The best thing about it is that you can keep it for good. You can even inherit to your children. But once you're married to a foreigner, the Indonesian shall be precluded in owning the property in Indonesia. She/he is the same legal position with his/her foreign spouse. The Indonesian prenup comes to preserve the rights of an Indonesian citizen, even though she/he's married to a foreigner. The right or entitlement in owning the property has already been there since the Indonesian spouse was born. So, nothing to be protected. It just a matter of preserving what's already been there.

Do you know any other way how an Indonesian marital agreement can redefine your marriage? Do you have something to discuss with? Please do not hesitate to contact me: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I am Asep Wijaya, Managing Director of Wijaya & Company. Thank you for visiting my blogs and reading my posts.

Disclaimer:

The above is provided for informational purposes only and is NOT to be relied upon as legal advice. This information is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and should not be construed as a solicitation. No attorney-client relationship is established by use of information found anywhere in this article nor in this website. 

Divorce for all-foreign spouses in Indonesia is possible. This usually happens to couple who live in Indonesia long enough and both of them are expats. Certain situation must be met before you can access our legal system. First, minimum contact of the spouses in Indonesia. This is to see if the court in Indonesia has jurisdiction. Second, reporting/registration of the foreign marriage. Three, how Indonesian law can rule in your divorce case. Divorce in Indonesia must meet at least one of the legal grounds.  

How Long is Long Enough?

In order to secure your access to the Indonesia's legal system, you need to have a minimum contact of at least one (1) year. You and your wife must maintain 12 (twelve) months residency before the court in Indonesia may be able to consider your divorce case. Having a child born or school in Indonesia is even better. You have better connection and stronger contact with our legal system. If you're employed by the the company in Indonesia, the chance of getting your marriage dissolved by the court here is even higher.

The fact that either of you can't access the court system in your home country is a bummer. I have a US client in Jakarta filed for a divorce in Washington court. They spent time and money just to see the court did not have any jurisdiction in their case. What a waste!

Dissolving a Foreign Marriage

Having your marriage performed outside of Indonesia, doesn't mean you have to report or even register your marriage in Indonesia. You or your wife doesn't have to do that. Some laws in Indonesia requires the parties in the marriage to report the marriage to government authorities, but it only applicable in the event one of you is an Indonesian citizen, or both of you are Indonesian.

Since both of you are non-Indonesian, the reporting obligation is not applicable to you. Article 56 of the 1974 Marriage Law, it is not for you and your wife. This is the proceeding to dissolve a foreign marriage between two foreign spouses, in Indonesia. If either of you is an Indonesian citizen, you don't have to report or register your marriage. So, don't bother!

Your Law is Our Law

Dissolving a marriage in Indonesia, we have the legal grounds to do that. It's not really printed on the Marriage Law. It's in the 1975 Government Regulation. You know, the legal instrument implementing the Marriage Law in more details. You can't have it dissolved by mutual consent. It's not legal here. There are factual situations that must be met with the legal grounds. Your domestic situation at least must meet one of the legal grounds for dissolving a marriage. They have been regulated in the 1975 Government Regulation, which are, in the event one of the parties:

1. has committed adultery, is an alcoholic, is addicted to drugs, is a gambler or exhibits other vices which are difficult to cure;

2. has left the other spouse for two consecutive years, without consent and without legitimate reasons or the absence of reasons beyond his control;

3. has been sentenced to imprisonment for five (5) consecutive years or a longer period;

4. has resorted to cruelty or severe ill treatment, endangering the life of the other spouse;

5. has developed a disability or disease, preventing from fulfilling the duties of husband or wife; or

6. has irreconcilable differences.

So, those legal grounds, at least one of them, must be recognized in your law. Well, I have nothing further on this one. Your law, is not really my department.

Be Nice to Your Friends!

You have to present witnesses to the court. Well, at least two. Unfortunately, it's not one of the CSI movies where you can supply scientific evidence, without any single human being taking a stand at the court room. They want a person, in a flesh and blood, supplying information and describing what happened to your marriage. They want to have a conversation with your witnesses. They want to talk to them. So, let them talk about your marriage in front of you. There's nothing to hide. Just make sure you give them interesting subject to discuss with. 

Yes, I know. It's a conventional civil procedures law we have been using for more than one millennium. It's our legal system, and you have to work with it if you want them to dissolve your foreign marriage in Indonesia. You will have to start looking for them. Your witnesses. They can be anyone. Your domestic staffs, colleagues, common friends, and whoever knows anything about your domestic background. Foreign witnesses are also welcome. They will have to do you a quite simple job: to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The most sacred job of being a human, and they will have to do it on a witness bench. The loneliest place on earth. 

The provisions concerning dissolution of marriage and its legal consequences are generally regulated in Marriage Law, which is further stipulated in Government Regulation Number 9 Year 1975 regarding the Implementation of Marriage Law. As for Moslem-married couples, the divorce proceedings are being regulated further according to the Compilation of Islamic Law.

A marriage may be terminated due to several reasons among others death, divorce, and court decisions. A marriage terminated by a divorce may occur due to talak or divorce suits. The last two were regulated under Compilation of Islamic Law. If you're a husband, and you're thinking to divorce your wife, you have a talak right. So you may submit a divorce application to the court in order to set-up a talak hearing. On another hand, if you're a wife, and you're thinking to divorce your husband, you may also file a divorce against him under divorce suit. We call it "Gugatan." Basically, this is pretty much the same thing, and has equal position in front of the law. A talak must be performed in front of the court of law in order to have effect in dissolving your marriage. Otherwise, it won't take legal binding. 

As for talak, it's the divorce oath of a husband before a court session at the Religious Court. The oath is being recited by the husband to his wife, by requesting both verbal and written to the Court in the jurisdiction of the wife in order to request for a court session for the purpose of reciting the divorce oath or talak. The legal term for this is talak divorce application. As a husband, you're the Petitioner, and your wife serves as the Respondent. You see, your titled changed as soon as you file your divorce. You're no longer a loving husband and wife. You're opponents. This is what the law said about it: "Talak is the oath of a husband before a court session in the Religious Court, which is one of the reasons for terminating a marriage..." The law is Article 117 Compilation of Islamic Law. Therefore, with reference to the law, divorce by talak must be conducted in front of the Religious Court. You just can't say "talak" for three times to get divorce. It won't take legal effect in a country like Indonesia. You've got to do it formally by registering a case to a court clerk, and obtain a case number.

The proceeding for divorce, both under talak or under legal suit carried-out by a wife, are the same. They use national Civil Procedures Code, which takes approximately ten sessions. You're looking at five to six months processing time. Both of them are implementing mediation to stall the process. This is imposed by our Supreme Court in order to reduce the number of litigation cases in our court system. Yes, it takes time to get divorce in Indonesia, but when you have a case number, step by step it'll take you there. They implement strict time frame under the principles of simple, costs-effective and speedy trials. Some experts said mediation is not applicable for divorce cases, because you can't stop people for getting divorce. I would say you can. You can give each other a chance. A second chance. A third chance. Whatever. It takes two to tango. The thing is, you have to keep on trying. Never give up. Don't ever quit for your marriage. Because you're only fail when you stop trying.