Seminar on Access to Indonesian Religious Court

Religious Court and Gender Equity: Chief Justice, the Hon. Harifin A. Tumpa, delivering keynote speech at the seminar on access to religious court.

Jakarta | badilag.net/english

Chief Justice, the Hon. Harifin A. Tumpa, opened and delivered a keynote speech at a seminar on access to religious court, Tuesday (16/11) at Nikko Hotel Jakarta. The seminar was held by Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI), a research institute managed by Leiden University, the Netherlands.

Chief Justice said that providing justice should be interpreted in a broader meaning. In the context of religious court which mostly deals with marital cases, Harifin hoped gender equity can also be given to justice seekers.

“I’m just worried the administration of justice (would be) interpreted narrowly, only on the judicial process,” Chief Justice said. .

Ward berenschot from the VVI said the Institute spent 2.5 years working on a research project on access to justice in religious court. The research project was supported by the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia, UNDP, World Bank and Bappenas.

"The goal of the project is to give contribution in improving access to justice through religious court," said Berenschot.

So far, Van Vollenhoven Institute sees Indonesian religious courts have demonstrated their vital role in providing justice, especially to women. Religious courts are deemed to defend women's rights, ranging from divorce cases, finance for children, to marital property.