PENERAPAN DISPENSASI PERKAWINAN ANAK DAN DAMPAKNYA TERHADAP PERLINDUNGAN HAK ANAK DI PENGADILAN AGAMA JAYAPURA: TINJAUAN UU NO. 16 TAHUN 2019 TENTANG PERKAWINAN

Abstract

This study is entitled "The Application of Marriage Dispensation for Children and Its Impact on the Protection of Children's Rights at the Jayapura Religious Court: A Review of Law Number 16 of 2019 on the Amendment to Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage." This research employs a normative-empirical method conducted at the Jayapura Religious Court. This method examines legal norms and their implementation in specific legal events along with the resulting outcomes.The findings reveal that the application of marriage dispensation for children at the Jayapura Religious Court is carried out by giving primary consideration to the best interests of the child, as stipulated in Supreme Court Regulation Number 5 of 2019 concerning Guidelines for Adjudicating Marriage Dispensation Petitions. The regulation governs general provisions regarding the parties entitled to file petitions, submission procedures, criteria and judicial considerations, the rights and obligations of the parties involved, and the implementation of marriage dispensation rulings. Child marriage occurs as a result of several factors, stemming both from personal desires and external pressures influenced by environmental, educational, and cultural conditions. Child marriage carries serious consequences across multiple dimensions, including economic, reproductive health, psychological, and developmental impacts on children born of such unions. Nevertheless, child marriage continues to occur within society, with a portion carried out without filing a dispensation petition to the court commonly known as nikah siri (unregistered marriage) which has the potential to create new legal and social problems for both the couple and any children born from the marriage.