Constitutional Court Rejects Petition Against Law on Civil Registration Regarding Interfaith Marriage

Jakarta – Indonesia’s Constitutional Court (MK) has rejected a petition filed by E Ramos Petege against Article 35(a) of Law No. 23 of 2006 on Civil Administration (UU Adminduk).

“The petitioner’s application is deemed inadmissible,” declared Constitutional Court Chief Suhartoyo as he read out Decision No. 9/PUU-XXIV/2026 in the Court’s Plenary Session, Monday (2 March 2026).

Although the petitioner demonstrated standing and outlined constitutional rights guaranteed under the 1945 Indonesian Constitution, the court found that the petitioner had not suffered the constitutional injury necessary for judicial review.

“Because the petitioner has not met the requirements of cumulative constitutional injury,” the court stated.

The petitioner had argued that the law created administrative barriers and legal uncertainty for interfaith couples seeking marriage registration. The petitioner further contended that the inability to register interfaith marriages created family relationship ambiguities, particularly regarding the legal relationship between children and their fathers, resulting in children having legal ties solely to their mothers.

This situation, according to the petitioner, resulted in the loss of paternal legal obligations and children’s entitlements to inheritance, legal protection within the family, and social security benefits and other legal entitlements arising from the parent-child relationship.

Ramos, who is Roman Catholic, argued he had suffered constitutional injury because he could not register his marriage to his Islamic partner. In his petition, Ramos asked the Constitutional Court to declare Article 35(a) of Law No. 23 of 2006 on Civil Administration unconstitutional and void insofar as it does not permit the interpretation of “marriages between Indonesian citizens of different religions and/or those following different belief systems” to be registered.