Bojonegoro Religious Court Decision No. 23 of 2016: Child Adoption Granted

The applicants submitted an application for child adoption to the court stating that:

  1. they were married on 3 January 2001;
  2. they wished to adopt their neighbour's child, Muhammad Hashif Hasbullah;
  3. they had already cared for the child since 10 January 2016;
  4. their primary motivation for wanting to adopt the child was that the child was still their neighbour, and that they also wanted the child to maintain a connection with his mother;
  5. the child's biological parents had already transferred temporary custody of the child to the applicants; and
  6. their other motivation being that the child was their nephew.

The court cited art 39 of Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection, stating that:

  1. child adoption can only be carried out if it serves the child's best interests, and meets local customs and norms and current legislative regulations;
  2. child adoption does not sever the child's blood connection with its biological parents; and
  3. the prospective adoptive parents must be of the same religion as the child.

The court also acknowledged that these legislative requirements accorded with the Qur'an, Surat An-Nisa', verse 144, and a fatwa issued by the Indonesian Council of Ulama (U-335/MUI/VI/1982).

The court acceded to the applicants' request, finding that the applicants had met the legislative requirements to adopt the child in question.

FirstPreviousPage 1 of of 12NextLast