Journal of Law and Legal Reform
Vol. 6 No. 3 (2025): July, 2025

Legal Reform in Customary Marriage Law in Indonesia and South Africa for Inclusive Justice

Febrianty, Yenny (Unknown)
Ryendra, Nadya Restu (Unknown)
Ahmad, Asmida (Unknown)
Ariyanto, Ariyanto (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Jul 2025

Abstract

Customary law shapes South African and Indonesian culture and society. However, adopting customary marital law into national legal systems is difficult. These include value conflicts between regional traditions and positive law’s universal principles, such as recording marriages, protecting children, and ensuring gender equality. Within Indonesia’s legal system, customary law practices are not well accommodated. Customary law is acknowledged under South Africa’s constitution, however its application is fraught with difficulties. This study aims to (1) comprehend positive law and its correlation with customary marriage law, (2) analyze the difficulties of integrating customary marriage law with positive law in South Africa and Indonesia, and (3) evaluate the future prospects of this domain. The study’s findings and suggestions might foster a more equitable society and promote legislation that honors universal ideals and traditional customs. This comparative and qualitative study use normative legal techniques to analyze pertinent literature, legal concepts, and norms. This paper highlights the main barriers to merging positive and customary marriage legislation. Examples are administrative obstacles like marriage registration and customary norms that conflict with human rights. The proposed framework respects traditional values to uphold human rights and social fairness. Keywords include normative marriage law, positive law, social justice, gender equality, and legal integration.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jllr

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

The Journal seeks to disseminate information and views on matters relating to law reform, including developments in case and statute law, as well as proposals for law reform, be they from formal law reform bodies or from other institutions or ...