Again Rejected, the Constitutional Court Consistently Does Not Recognize Nikah Beda Agama
JAKARTA - The hope of a couple of different religions to be able to marry legally has again been extinguished. The Constitutional Court (MK) rejected the lawsuit filed by Henoch Thomas and friends (et al), Monday, February 2.
Case number 265/PUU-XXIII/2025 tested Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Marriage Law which states that a marriage is valid if it is carried out according to the law of each religion and belief. The applicants asked that the rule be reinterpreted so that interreligious marriages can still be recognized by the state.
However, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Suhartoyo, stated that the application could not be accepted. According to him, the material of the lawsuit was considered unclear and difficult to understand.
"This application more elaborates on the administrative difficulties of registration at the Civil Registry, not testing the constitutionality of the legality or illegality of marriage according to religion. The application is the wrong address," said Suhartoyo when reading the verdict.
The Constitutional Court considered that the issues raised by the applicant were related to the technical aspects of civil registration, not the legal norms that were tested. Therefore, the court did not get into the substance of the case.
The issue of interfaith marriage itself is not the first time it has been brought to the Constitutional Court. Since 2014, at least five similar lawsuits have been filed and all of them have been rejected. The Constitutional Court has consistently held that the validity of marriage still refers to the provisions of each religion as regulated in the Marriage Law.
Data from the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP) submitted by the applicant states that there are approximately 1,655 interfaith couples married from 2005 to July 2023. The number continues to increase even though regulations are limiting.
The situation is getting tighter after the Supreme Court issued a Circular Letter of the Supreme Court (SEMA) Number 2 of 2023 which prohibits the judges of the district courts from granting applications for interreligious marriages, so that the legal loopholes that previously existed are now closed.
With this ruling, Henoch and his friends' legal efforts failed before entering the discussion of the substance.
"Amar's verdict, tried, declared the application inadmissible," said Suhartoyo.