THE URGENCY OF PROTECTING CHILD VICTIMS OF DIVORCE IN THE RELIGIOUS COURT SYSTEM: LEGAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Parental divorce always places children in the most vulnerable position to the loss of their basic rights. In Indonesia, the Religious Courts hold absolute authority in deciding divorce cases for Muslims, which includes the responsibility for legal protection for children after the divorce (hadhanah and nafkah). However, at the empirical level, the execution of child protection decisions often reaches a dead end due to the weakness of legal instruments for coercion against ex-husbands. This study aims to analyze the urgency of strengthening legal protection for child victims of divorce in the Religious Court system through a normative, psychological, and philosophical Islamic juridical approach (maslahah mursalah). The results of the study indicate that reform of Religious Court procedural law through the implementation of integrated administrative sanctions such as automatic salary deductions, suspension of public services for negligent fathers and optimization of the principle of the best interests of the child is an urgent need. From the perspective of maslahah murrasa, the protection of children who are victims of divorce is a core instrument for preserving the soul  and preserving offspring, so that a weak premiere regulation is categorized as a legal gap that harms sharia justice.