DIVORCE CLAIM

1. An applicant (wife) or her authorities must take the following steps:

• Filing a divorce application written or orally to religious court;
• The applicant is advised to seek information from religious court on how to make a divorce application;
• The divorce application can be changed except for bases of the application and demands. The changes of an application must be with respondent’s approval if the respondent has responded to the application.

2. The divorce application is to be filed to the religious court :

3. The divorce application must include:

4. Divorce-related lawsuits such as children custody, children expenses, wife expenses and marital property can be filed together with divorce application or after judgment of divorce has a final and binding force.

5. Paying the court fees. Yet, the poor can file their cases with prodeo (courts fees are waived).

6. The applicant and the respondent or their authorities attend court hearings upon summons from religious court.

HEARING STAGES

 1. Lawsuit granted. If the respondent is not satisfied with the judgments, he can file an appeal to the appellate court through the religious court handing down the judgments;

2.  Lawsuit dismissed. If the claimant is not satisfied with the judgments, she can file an appeal to the appellate court through the religious court handing down the judgments;

3.  Lawsuit unaccepted. The claimant can file a new claim (application);

4. After a judgment has a final and binding force, the registrar of the religious court provides divorce certificates for both parties at most 7 (seven) days after the judgment has been officially and legally notified to both parties.

DIVORCE PETITION

1. An applicant (husband) or his authorities must take the following steps:

1.   Filing a divorce application written or orally to religious court;

2.   The applicant is advised to ask for information from religious court on how to make a divorce application;

3.   The application can be changed except for bases of the application and demands. The changes of an application must be with respondent’s approval if the respondent has responded to the application.

2. The application is to be filed to:

1.   The religious court whose jurisdiction covers the respondent’s residential address;

2.   If the respondent leaves the residency without the applicant’s approval, the application must be filed to the religious court whose jurisdiction covers applicant’s residency;

3.   If the respondent resides abroad, the application must be filed to the religious court whose jurisdiction covers the applicant’s residency;

4.   If both the applicant and the respondent reside abroad, the application must be filed to the religious court whose jurisdiction covers their place of marriage or to the Religious Court of Central Jakarta.

3. The divorce application must include:

• Name, age, occupation, religion and residential address of both the applicant and the respondent;
• Posita (ground facts and legal facts);
• Petitum (demanded things based on ground facts and legal facts).

4. Divorce-related lawsuit such as children custody, children expenses, wife expenses and marital property settlement can be filed together with divorce petition or after divorce decree has been declared.

5. Paying the court fees. However, the poor can file their cases with prodeo (courts fees are waived).

6. The applicant and the respondent or their authorities attend court hearings upon summons from religious court.

CASE FINALIZING PROCESS

1. The applicant registers his divorce application to the religious court.

2. The applicant and the respondent are summoned by the religious court to attend court hearings.

3. Hearing Stages

1. At the first hearing, a panel of judges tries to reconcile the two parties and both parties (wife and husband) must come in person (Art. 82 Act. No. 7/1989);
2. If the reconciliation effort fails, judges oblige both parties to follow mediation (Article 3 point 1 Supreme Court Regulation No. 2/2003);
3. If mediation fails, the hearing of the case proceeds to the next steps: reading the application, response, denial, evidencing and conclusion. The respondent can file a rekonvensi (a lawsuit against the applicant) at the response stage before evidencing.

Judgments of religious courts can be as follows:

1.   Petition granted. If respondent is not satisfied with the judgment, she can file an appeal to the High Religious Court through the religious court handing down the judgment;

2.   Petition dismissed. If the applicant is not satisfied with the judgment, he can file an appeal to the High Religious Court through the religious court handing down the judgment;

3.   Petition unaccepted. The applicant can file a new application.

4. If the petition is granted and the judgment has a final and binding force:

1.   The religious court decides the day and date of session in which divorce decree is declared by the applicant (husband);

2.   The religious court summons both applicant and respondent to attend the above session;

3.   If within 6 months after the date of the divorce decree session, the applicant does not attend the session, then the preliminary judgment of divorce is no longer effective and another petition of divorce can not be filed with the same grounds and reasons;

4.  After a divorce decree has been declared by the applicant (husband) the registrar must provide certificates of divorce as a legal and official proof of divorce within 7 days after the decree.

OTHER LAWSUITS

A claimant/applicant must take the following steps:

1. Filing an application written or orally to religious court.

2. The petition/lawsuit is to be filed to:

1.   The religious court whose jurisdiction covers the respondent’s residential address.

2.   If the respondent’s residential address is unknown, the suit must be filed to the religious court whose jurisdiction cover the applicant’s residency.

3.   If the suit is about unmoved properties, the suit is filed to the religious court where the properties are located. If the unmoved properties are located in several religious courts’ jurisdictions, the suit may be filed to one of the religious courts.

4.   If both applicant/claimant and respondent reside abroad, the claim must be filed to the religious court whose jurisdiction covers their place of marriage or to the Religious Court of Central Jakarta.

1.   At the first hearing, a panel of judges tries to reconcile the two parties and both parties.

2.   If the reconciliation effort fails, judges oblige both parties to take mediation (Article 3 point 1 Supreme Court Regulation No. 2/2003).

3.   If mediation fails, the hearing of the case proceeds to the next steps: reading the claim, response, denial, evidencing and conclusion. The respondent can file a rekonvensi (a suit against the applicant/claimant) at the response stage before evidencing.

1.   Petition/suit granted. If respondent is not satisfied with the judgments, she can file an appeal to the appellate court through the religious court handing down the judgments.

2.   Petition/suit dismissed. If the applicant/claimant is not satisfied with the judgments, he can file an appeal to the appellate court through the religious court handing down the judgments.

3.   Petition/suit unaccepted. The applicant/claimant can file a new petition/suit

 4. Both parties can obtain a judgment that has a final and binding force.

5. A party who wins a suit on a property may file an execution petition to the religious court making the first judgment if their rival does not want to obey the judgment voluntarily.