Assessing Judges’ Considerations of Urgent Grounds in Marriage Dispensation Decisions

Marriage Dispensation is a permit granted by the court to prospective brides or grooms who have not yet reached the age of 19 to enter into marriage. Consideration of the minimum age of marriage is a highly crucial matter, particularly to ensure a child’s growth and development, readiness to assume marital responsibilities, psychological pressure, disruption of education, and potential health problems arising from physical immaturity for engaging in sexual relations, as well as various other relevant factors. This study focuses on the considerations of judges at the Jantho Sharia Court in Case Number 97/Pdt.P/2023/MS.Jth, which granted a marriage dispensation to a prospective groom aged 17 years to marry a prospective bride aged 32 years, with the status of a divorced widow. Data were obtained through a documentary study of the judicial decision using a conceptual analysis approach. The findings indicate that, in examining the child involved in the application for marriage dispensation, the judges applied Supreme Court Regulation (PERMA) Number 5 of 2019. In granting the application, the judges considered the existence of very urgent grounds as stipulated in Article 7 paragraph (2) of Law Number 16 of 2019, with reference to the principle of the best interests of the child, as well as the potential negative and positive impacts of the marriage. The judges also heard the child’s testimony during the hearing, identified the child’s desire to marry, and assessed the child’s mental and physical readiness.