•  
  •  
 

Abstract

There are 14 marriages that occurred between the Rohingyas and Indonesian citizens carried out in 2017. Only nine of them were reported to the refugees handling agency. Some have been made before coming to Indonesia and some after arrival. These situations resulted in legality problems of the marriage and its implications. The right to marry is fundamental in the life of human and is protected as human rights. However, Indonesia is not a signatory to the Convention on the Status of Refugees 1951 and has no legal mechanism to govern their marriages. Consequently, life for both asylum seekers and refugees is a relentless struggle and one of the significant challenges for them is in the area of marriage and family. This paper will discuss how Indonesian private international law provisions and the marriage law accommodate and protect the rights to marry stateless refugees in Indonesia. This paper primarily discusses the legal status of stateless persons and refugees amidst the lacuna in Indonesia. Noting the shift from the principle of nationality evident in case laws, this paper explores the possibility to use lex domicili as a surrogate connecting factor in determining the law applicable to stateless refugees’ personal status. In relation to marriage, subsequent validation (isbat nikah) could be the solution to ensure family unity. As the lack of valid documentation remains a challenge, the goodwill of the couple to enter into marriage and establish a family become the most important element.

References

Legal documents Council of Europe, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, 4 November 1950, ETS 5. Dutch East Indies. Algemene Bepalingen van Wetgevingvoor Indonesie (AB). Staatblad 1847. Dutch East Indies. Regeling op de Gemengde Huwelijken (GHR). Staatsblad 1898 No. 158 Indonesia. Compilation of Islamic Law. Indonesia. Constitutional Court. Decision R. v. Aisyah Mochtar, [2010] No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010 Indonesia. Distric Court of Muara Belian, Decision No. 0129/Pdt.P/2017/PA.Mbl, 2017. Indonesia. District Court of Cianjur. Decision No. 20/Pdt.P/2018/PN.Cjr. Indonesia. District Court of Tanjung Pinang. Decision No. 205/Pdt.P./P/N/FPAT dated 20 May 1989. Indonesia. District Court of Tanjung Pinang. Decision No.205/Pdt.P./P/N/FPAT dated 20 May 1989. Indonesia. Law regarding Citizenship. Law number 12 year 2006, LN. 2006-63. Indonesia. Law regarding Civil Administration. Law number 24 year 2013, LN. 2013-124. Indonesia. Law regarding Human Rights. Law number 39 year 1999, LN 1999-165. Indonesia. Law regarding Immigration. Law number 6 year 2011, LN. 2011-52. Indonesia. Law regarding Marriage. Law number 1 year 1974, LN.1974-1. Indonesia. Law regarding Ratification of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Law number 12 year 2005, LN. 2005-119. Indonesia. President Regulation regarding Handling on Refugees. Regulation number 125 year 2016, LN. 2016-368. Indonesia. Religious Court of Jakarta Barat. Decision No. 62/Pdt.P/2016/PA.JB dated 2016, Indonesia. The 1945 Constitution. No. 23 UN General Assembly. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 28 July 1951, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, p. 137. UN General Assembly. Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 28 September 1954, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 360, p. 117. UN General Assembly. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 31 January 1967, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 606, p. 267. UN General Assembly. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171. UN General Assembly. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, 217 A (III). United States. Trop v. Dulles, 356 US 86, 102 (1958). Books and book chapters Allagan, Tiurma M. Pitta. International mixed Marriage in Indonesia and ASEAN: international mixed marriage and its recognition in Indonesia towards one ASEAN community. Groningen: University of Groningen, 2019. Basuki, Zulfa Djoko. Dampak Perkawinan Campuran terhadap Pemeliharaan Anak (Child Custody). Jakarta: Badan Penerbit Fakultas Hukum Universitas Indonesia, 2007. Clark, Sally. “Reconstructing the Transit Experience: A Case Study of Community Development from Cisarua.” in Places of Privilege Interdisciplinary: Perspectives on Identities, Change and Resistance edited by Nicole Oke, Christopher Sonn and Alison Baker, 36-71. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2018. Djubaidah, Neng. Pencatatan Perkawinan & Perkawinan Tidak Dicatat menurut Hukum Tertulis di Indonesia dan Hukum Islam. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 2010. Gautama, Sudargo. Hukum Perdata Internasional buku II buku ke-3. 4th edition. Bandung: ALUMNI Press, 2007. Gautama, Sudargo. Hukum Perdata Internasional Djilit II Bagian I, 4th edition. Jakarta: Knta, 1972. Hathway, James C. The Rights of Refugee under International Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Rachmah, Rizka Argadianti and Zico Pestalozzi. Barely Living: Research on Living Conditions of Rohingya Refugees in Indonesia. Jakarta, JKT: LBH Jakarta, 2016. Journals and periodicals Allagan, Tiurma M. Pitta. “Indonesia Private International Law: the development after more than a century.” Indonesian Journal of International Law 14, no. 3 (2017): 381-416. Gautama, Sudargo and Hanifa Wiknjosastro. “Some Aspects of Indonesian Private International Law.” Malaya Law Review 32 no 2 (December, 1990): 417-432. Kassim, Azizah. “Transnational Marriages among Muslim Refugees and Their Implications on Their Status and Identity.” Islam and Cultural Diversity in Southeast Asia (2015): 175-201. Missbach, Antje. “Accommodating Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Indonesia: From Immigration Detention to Containment in ‘Alternatives to Detention.” Refuge 33, no. 2 (2017): 32-44. Mohajan, Haradhan Kumar. “History of Rakhine State and the Origin of the Rohingya Muslims.” IKAT: The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 2, no.1 (July 2018): 19-46. Pompe, S and C. de Waaij-Vosters, “The End of Hukum Antar Golongan.” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 145 (1989): 365-369. Sampsona, Robyn C., Sandra M. Gifforda and Savitri Taylorb. “The myth of transit: the making of a life by asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia.” Journal of Ethnic And Migration Studies 42. no. 7 (2016): 1135-1152. Ullah, A. A. “Rohingya Refugees to Bangladesh: Historical Exclusions and Contemporary Marginalization.” Journal of Immigrant & Refugees Studies 9, no. 2 (2011): 139-161. Verhellen, Jinske. “Cross-Border Portability of Refugees’ Personal Status.” Journal of Refugee Studies 31, no. 4 (2018): 417-443. doi:10.1093/jrs/fex026. Web sources Blakemore, Erin. “The Rohingya People - facts and information.” National Geographic, 8 February 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/people/reference/rohingya-people/ Nuramdani, Muhammad. “14 Wanita Medan Menikah dengan Pengungsi Rohingya [Fourteen Medanese Women marry with Rohingya Refugee.” Liputan 6, accessed 15 October 2018, https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/3088850/14-wanita-medan-menikah-dengan-pengungsi-rohingya. Missbach, Antje and Wayne Palmer. “Indonesia: A Country Grappling with Migrant Protection at Home and Abroad.” Migration Policy Institute, 19 September 2018, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/indonesia-country-grappling-migrant-protection-home-and-abroad. Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. “Turning back boats.” 26 February 2015, https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/publication/turning-back-boats. Others Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. “Factsheet: Australia’s Refugee Policy.” April 2019. https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/Factsheet_Australian%20Refugee%20Policy_Apr2019.pdf. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. “APRRN Indonesia Fact Sheet.” March 2017, http://aprrn.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Indonesia-Factsheet_MAR-2017.pdf. Hammarberg, Thomas. “Viewpoint: No One Should Have to Be Stateless in Today’s Europe.” Human Rights Commissioner, Council of Europe, 9 June, 2008. https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/no-one-should-have-to-be-stateless-in-today-s-europe. Missbach, Antje, et. al. “Stalemate: Refugees in Indonesia — Presidential Regulation No 125 of 2016.” Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society: Policy Paper, no 14 (2018). Nicholson, Frances. “The ‘Essential Right’ to Family Unity of Refugees and Others in Need of International Protection in the Context of Family Reunification.” UNHCR, Division of International Protection, January 2018. PPLA/2018/02. Purwanto, Edi. “Kompleksitas Kemiskinan Tionghoa Benteng,” (Thesis, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, 2012). Available on https://repository.uksw.edu/bitstream/123456789/728/7/D_902007010_BAB%20VI.pdf Refugees International. “Nationality Rights for All: A Progress Report and Global Survey on Statelessness.” March, 2009, https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/49be193f2.pdf. Saputra, Jaya. Head of Sub-Directorate of Immigration Detention and Deportation, Interview on Thursday, 25 October 2018. SHEEP Foundation Indonesia. “Rohingya Refugees Drama in Aceh.” SHEEP Foundation, 2016. UNHCR. “Rohingya emergency.” July 2019, https://www.unhcr.org/rohingya- emergency.html UNHCR. “UNHCR Indonesia: Country Fact Sheet.” UNHCR, January 2020, http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Indonesia%20Country%20Fact%20Sheet%20%20-%20November%202019.pdf. UNHCR. “UNHCR Monthly Statistical Report Indonesia.” UNHCR, May 2015, https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20Indonesia%20Monthly%20Statistical%20Report%20-%May%202015.pdf. Warzone Initiatives. “Rohingya Briefing Report.” October 2015, https://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/Rohingya%20Briefing%20Report.pdf.

Download

Share

COinS