Indonesian Minority Justice Review
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): January, 2026

The Minority Child Before the Law: Best Interests, Religious Identity, and Custody Disputes in Indonesia

Muhammad Ilyasa (Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Jan 2026

Abstract

Family disputes involving parents from different religious backgrounds create complex legal questions concerning children's religious identity, parental authority, and the best interests of the child. This article investigates how Indonesian law addresses children situated at the intersection of competing parental religious claims. The research seeks to assess whether existing legal frameworks adequately protect children from being treated merely as objects of parental or religious contestation. Employing a normative juridical and case-based approach, the study examines constitutional guarantees, child protection legislation, family law, relevant judicial decisions, and selected custody disputes involving interreligious families. The analysis applies the principle of the best interests of the child alongside freedom of religion, parental rights, and the child's emerging autonomy. The article argues that Indonesian legal reasoning tends to emphasize parental authority and religious affiliation while insufficiently recognizing the child's independent rights and evolving capacity. Such an approach may create situations in which religious identity becomes determined through litigation rather than through a child-centered process. The study proposes a more consistent interpretive framework that places children's dignity, psychological well-being, and developing autonomy at the center of judicial decision-making. It concludes that minority justice in family law requires courts to move beyond binary religious classifications and adopt child-centered adjudication capable of protecting children from the consequences of interreligious legal conflict.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

minority

Publisher

Subject

Description

Indonesian Minority Justice Review (e-ISSN: 3164-581X) is a peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal published by COLLEGIUM JUSTICIA INDONESIA in online format (electronic journal). First published in 2024, the journal is issued quarterly in January, April, July, and October. It provides an ...