Jakarta – A group that advocates for the rights of mixed-nationality couples is filing a judicial review on the Marriage Law and the Agriculture Law, arguing that both are discriminatory to Indonesians who marry foreign nationals.
The Indonesian Mixed-Marriage Society (PerCa), which is currently challenging the Marriage Law and the Agriculture Law at court, on Wednesday lambasted the two laws for failing to regulate property rights for Indonesians in mixed marriages.
"The two laws have hindered mixed-marriage Indonesians from owning property in their own country," a member of the group, Ike Farida, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday in Central Jakarta. "Those articles are used by certain parties to limit the rights of mixed-marriage Indonesians to own property."
Articles 21 and 36 of the Agriculture Law stipulate that only Indonesian citizens may own property in Indonesia, while articles 29 and 35 of the Marriage Law regulate marriage contracts and mutual belongings.
"The two articles of the Marriage Law require mixed-marriage Indonesians to provide prenuptial contracts to buy and own property," Ike explained.
"But in most cases, marriages take place without this contract. Most people don't consider getting one unless they're rich or own many properties," she said.
Ike cited her own experience as an example of the difficulties faced by mixed-marriage Indonesians in purchasing and owning property. As she had a Japanese husband, one developer refused to allow Ike to buy a house.
"I had paid all the installments, but the developer did not give me the certificate because I had a foreign husband," she said, recounting her experience three years ago.
"How dare they deny my right to possess the house? I am still an Indonesian and I should have had the right," she said, adding that the "unfortunate experience" had forced her and her friends in the group to file a judicial review challenging the two laws at the Constitutional Court last month.
"It's not just about me. Many Indonesians might have had the same experience. This is a call for social justice," she said.
Arguing that Article 21 of the Agriculture Law failed to give legal certainty, PerCa demanded that the court include "all Indonesian citizens without exception" in the article, which currently only stipulates "Indonesian citizens".
PerCa is now waiting for the second hearing to be conducted on June 24. PerCa head Juliani Luthan said the group needed support from more people to sign petitions to be brought to the court.
"We need more people to support us. We need them to sign petitions to have a legal standing," Juliani told the Post, adding that support could be given through the PerCa website.
On Thursday, the court is scheduled to deliver rulings on other review cases on the Marriage Law, concerning the legal minimum marrying age for women and an ambiguous provision that can hinder interfaith marriages.
Court chief justice Arief Hidayat said recently that the bench needed more time to deliberate rulings on the intricate and high-profile cases.
"These difficult cases need time as we need to consider several aspects, for example, legal facts, scientific studies and the Constitution. We are very careful in handling such cases," he said. (saf)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/18/laws-unfair-spouses-foreigners.html