The Petitioner at the preliminary hearing for the judicial review of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage for case No. 212/PUU-XXIII/2025, Wednesday (11/12/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court held the preliminary hearing for the material judicial review of Article 2 paragraph (1) of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage against the 1945 Constitution on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 in one of the Court’s panel courtrooms. The case No. 212/PUU-XXIII/2025 was filed by Muhamad Anugrah Firmansyah. The hearing was presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra alongside Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Asrul Sani.

In the petition, the Petitioner, a Muslim, stated that he has been in a relationship for two years with an Indonesian citizen who is a Christian. They have mutual respect for each other’s faiths, and their families have already met. However, the Petitioner felt aggrieved by the enforcement of Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Marriage Law, which stipulates that “A marriage shall be legitimate if it is performed according to the laws of the respective religions and beliefs of the parties concerned.”

“This provision gives rise to multiple interpretations and legal uncertainty regarding the registration of interfaith marriages,” he said.

The Petitioner argued that the article has been interpreted as a prohibition against registering interfaith marriages, as though only marriages between persons of the same faith could be officially registered. As a result, access to registration for interfaith marriages has effectively been made impossible. The Petitioner also claimed that his loss became more apparent following the issuance of Supreme Court Circular (SEMA) No. 2 of 2023, which essentially prohibits courts from granting registration of interfaith marriages.

Although similar issues have previously been reviewed by the Constitutional Court in Decisions No. 68/PUU-XII/2014 and No. 24/PUU-XX/2022, the Petitioner argued that his petition is different, as it presents a new approach, new grounds for review, and new legal facts (novum). He emphasized that this petition focuses on the ambiguity of the provision that causes legal uncertainty, rather than on religious interpretation per se.

He also argued that population administration laws actually allow for the registration of interfaith marriages through a court ruling. However, practice in the field has been inconsistent—some courts have granted such petitions, while others have rejected them—resulting in legal uncertainty and unequal application of the law.

In response to the petition, Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur advised the Petitioner to include the most recent wording of the Marriage Law, namely Law No. 1 of 1974 as amended by Law No. 16 of 2019. “Do not cite the article partially; it should be complete,” he said.

Justice Ridwan also suggested that the Petitioner study previous Constitutional Court decisions so that the petition could be more systematically structured. “Check the Constitutional Court’s website; there are [petitions] that were granted. Refer to the provisions contained in [Constitutional Court Regulation No.] 7,” he said. He also asked the Petitioner to explain the causal relationship (causal verband) between the alleged constitutional harm suffered and the enforcement of the challenged article.

At the end of the session, the panel of justices give the Petitioner 14 days to revise the petition. The revised petition must be received by the Court no later than Tuesday, November 24, 2025 at 12:00 WIB.

Author         : Utami Argawati
Editor          : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR               : Raisa Ayuditha M.
Translator     : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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