KONSTRUKSI PERTIMBANGAN HUKUM HAKIM DALAM PENETAPAN DISPENSASI KAWIN PASCA-ENAKMEN UU NO. 16 TAHUN 2019

Pengadilan Agama Jember dan Pengadilan Agama Lumajang

Abstract

Indonesia has established a minimum marriage age for Muslim communities, which was amended through Law Number 16 of 2019. Previously, the minimum age was 19 for men and 16 for women; the amendment raised the minimum age to 19 for both men and women. This study aims to analyze the implementation of the revised minimum marriage age at the Jember Religious Court and the Lumajang Religious Court. This research employs a qualitative method using interviews and observations. Data were collected through documentation and analyzed using content analysis techniques.

The findings indicate that both religious courts experienced an increase in applications for marriage dispensation following the amendment. The increase was driven by various reasons considered strategic by the applicants. Judges’ legal considerations included the prospective spouses’ readiness for marriage, the urgency of the marriage, concerns about the possibility of committing adultery (zina), mutual consent without coercion, the attainment of puberty (baligh), and the absence of legal impediments to marriage. To address the growing number of applications for marriage dispensation, the Lumajang Religious Court implemented a preventive policy through cross-sectoral cooperation with the local Health Office and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This collaboration introduced an additional administrative requirement in the form of a health clearance certificate. Furthermore, judges adopted stricter criteria by granting applications only when emergency or urgent circumstances were adequately demonstrated and rejecting those that did not meet these criteria. This policy represents a preventive effort to control underage marriage and strengthen the protection of prospective spouses.

Keywords: Judicial Legal Reasoning; Marriage Dispensation; Law Number 16 of 2019.