PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM HAK KEPERDATAAN ANAK DALAM DISPENSASI KAWIN KARENA KEADAAN MEMAKSA

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the legal regulation regarding marriage dispensation due to pressing circumstances based on Law Number 16 of 2019 and Supreme Court Regulation Number 5 of 2019, as well as to examine the form of legal protection for the civil rights of children born from such underage marriages. The research method employed is normative juridical with a statute approach and a conceptual approach. Data collection techniques were carried out through document studies of primary and secondary legal materials, which were subsequently analyzed qualitatively. The results indicate that the revision of the minimum marriage age to 19 years shifts the philosophy of marriage dispensation into a strict emergency route or ultimum remedium (last resort), whose authority resides absolutely within the court institution. However, a sharp gap exists in the field, where the phrase "highly pressing reasons" triggers a legal loophole resulting in a sharp surge of cases with an approval rate reaching 97–99 percent. Furthermore, approximately 95 percent of child marriages actually occur outside the court through administrative leniency and data manipulation at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA) level. On the other hand, children born from marriages validated through dispensation receive full legal protection as legitimate children who possess a complete civil relationship with their parents, including rights to identity, maintenance, and inheritance. Nonetheless, the long-term fulfillment of these civil rights remains vulnerable due to the high prevalence of early divorce as well as the psychological and economic unreadiness of the parents, who biologically are still categorized as children.