Legal Status and Inheritance Rights of Wives and Children from Unregistered Polygamous Marriages: A Socio-Legal Study at the Religious Court
Keywords:
unregistered marriage, polygamy, inheritance rights, Religious Court, Islamic law.Abstract
Marriage registration is a legal requirement in Indonesia to ensure legal certainty and the protection of civil rights, including inheritance rights. However, unregistered polygamous marriages continue to occur, resulting in legal uncertainty, particularly for wives and children. This study aims to examine the legal status and inheritance rights of wives and children from unregistered polygamous marriages and to analyze judicial considerations in resolving such cases at the Religious Court. This research employs an empirical legal (socio-legal) approach with a conceptual and juridical-empirical perspective. Data were obtained from secondary legal materials and semi-structured interviews with a Senior Judge at the Religious Court of Bukittinggi conducted on January 26, 2026. The data were analyzed qualitatively through data editing, thematic classification, and interpretative analysis. The findings indicate that marriage registration is the primary factor determining inheritance rights. Wives from unregistered marriages have weaker legal standing due to the absence of formal legal recognition. In contrast, children receive stronger legal protection through lineage recognition and legal mechanisms such as wasiat wajibah. Judges play an important role in ensuring justice by applying both formal legal provisions and substantive justice principles based on Islamic law and child protection. This reflects the Religious Court’s function in balancing legal certainty and justice.
References
G. Maksum, Hukum Perkawinan di Indonesia. Bogor: Abdi Fama, 2025.
E. Prastini, “Implementasi pencatatan perkawinan Pasal 2 ayat (2) Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan,” Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pengajaran, vol. 4, no. 2, 2024.
R. F. Ardhian, “Poligami dalam hukum Islam dan hukum positif Indonesia serta urgensi pemberian izin poligami di Pengadilan Agama,” Privat Law, vol. III, no. 2, 2015.
W. Azani, “Hak waris anak dari perkawinan poligami yang tidak tercatat berdasarkan Kompilasi Hukum Islam,” Jurnal Ilmiah, vol. 4, 2019.
V. Lusiana, “Hukum kewarisan di Indonesia (studi komparatif antara Kompilasi Hukum Islam dengan Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata),” Jurnal Alwatzikhoebillah, vol. 8, no. 2, 2022.
H. M. Aminuddin, “Penetapan ahli waris dan pembagian warisan,” Jurnal Binawakya, vol. 13, no. 6, 2018.
A. Maulana, “Poligami dalam hukum Islam dan hukum perkawinan,” Journal of Education Research, vol. 4, no. 4, 2023.
F. Faisal, “Hak harta bersama dan waris janda dari perkawinan poligami yang tercatat tanpa izin dari Pengadilan Agama,” Unes Law Review, vol. 7, no. 3, p. 1262, 2025.
D. D. Khasanah, Hukum Kewarisan Islam. Bogor: Sada Kurnia Pustaka, 2024.
Zainuddin, Metode Penelitian Hukum. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 2021.
Soerjono Soekanto, Pengantar Penelitian Hukum. Jakarta: UI Press, 2014.
Soerjono Soekanto and Sri Mamudji, Penelitian Hukum Normatif: Suatu Tinjauan Singkat. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, 2015.
Amir Syarifuddin, Hukum Perkawinan Islam di Indonesia. Jakarta: Kencana, 2014.
Eman Suparman, Hukum Waris Indonesia dalam Perspektif Islam, Adat, dan BW. Bandung: Refika Aditama, 2018.
Zainuddin Ali, Metode Penelitian Hukum. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 2016.
Republik Indonesia, Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan. Jakarta: Pemerintah Republik Indonesia, 1974.
Republik Indonesia, Kompilasi Hukum Islam. Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Pembinaan Kelembagaan Agama Islam, 1991.
M. Yahya Harahap, Kedudukan Kewenangan dan Acara Peradilan Agama. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 2016.
Abdul Manan, Penerapan Hukum Acara Perdata di Lingkungan Peradilan Agama. Jakarta: Kencana, 2017.
Ahmad Rofiq, Hukum Islam di Indonesia. Jakarta: RajaGrafindo Persada, 2019.
