The Unregistered Child Marriage on Lumbang Society Norm Perspective Legal Pluralism

Abstract

Unregistered child marriage is still a legal and social problem in Indonesia, legal pluralism in the form of national, customary, and religious legal norms has lived and coexisted for a long time. This research aims to explore the practice of legal pluralism in the case of unregistered child marriage in the Lumbang society, Pasuruan, East Java. This research is important in observing the interaction in legal pluralism. The research method chosen is legal anthropology as a research approach using John Griffiths' theory of legal pluralism. Data collection methods were obtained through interviews, observations, and documents. The results show that unregistered child marriages are carried out for reasons of poverty, community tradition, and flexibility in legal pluralism, especially in religious and customary norms. This practice is considered non-compliant with Indonesia's national law on marriage which logically seeks to provide legal certainty for the protection of every citizen, especially children, but the community has its own choice in following the choice of customary and religious law as a form of non-compliance with national law. In certain circumstances, people will choose national law by registering a marriage when they have children for civil registration. This study contributes to the discourse of legal pluralism that has long lived and coexisted with society while suggesting that state and non-state actors can ensure culturally sensitive interventions while drafting child protection policies