Akibat Putusan Cerai Pengadilan terhadap Pasangan Penganut Agama Katolik dalam Hubungannya dengan Hukum Perkawinan Agama Katolik ( Suatu Kajian Akibat Hukum dan Sosial)

Abstract

Indonesia's positive law on marriage provides an opportunity for a husband or wife to file for divorce in a court. A problem arises when the divorce is filed by either a husband or wife who is Catholic. According to Catholic marriage law, marriage shall not be annulled. Therefore, a divorce ruling issued by a Court has its own legal and social consequences for a Catholic married couple. The research delves into how marriage law is ruled in Catholic, how marriage and dissolution of marriage are regulated in Marriage Law, and how about the legal and social consequences for a Catholic couple in a divorce ruling issued by a district court. This descriptive research employs normative juridical research type, conducted by examining laws and regulations. Data collection is carried out through library research and also supported by interview results. The results indicate that firstly, a marriage that has been carried out legally according to Catholic law cannot be terminated/annulled by human authorities (either by individual or any institutions); secondly, the Marriage Law authorizes courts (judges) to examine, adjudicate and terminate a marriage. However, to perform this task, the Law of Judicial Power requires judges to explore, abide and understand the living values in society (the living law), including the values embraced by catholic communities; thirdly, the divorce ruling issued by the court creates legal uncertainty because the Catholic couple who get divorced in court are still religiously bound by the marriage. Therefore, they cannot marry another person. The research result offers a solution to the legal uncertainty. One of the solutions that can be used is to update the law in terms of examining, adjudicating and terminating a marriage for Catholic couple. The formal law is formulated in such a way that both Catholic husband and wife are obliged to first attend the trial process of marriage annulment at the Ecclesiastical Tribunal. The decision of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal is then affirmed in the district court. In this way, religious law and state law can be aligned so as to provide a sense of justice, certainty and legal benefits for both parties.