<![CDATA[This study examines the legal protection of children born from unregistered marriages (nikah siri) in Indonesia through the framework of the Compilation of Islamic Law (Kompilasi Hukum Islam/KHI) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Employing a normative juridical method with statutory, comparative, and conceptual approaches, this research identifies significant normative gaps between formal legal protection and the lived reality of children born outside registered unions. The findings show that such children face systemic legal discrimination, including denial of civil registration, restricted inheritance rights, and limited access to education, health, and social welfare services. Constitutional Court Decision Number 46/PUU-VIII/2010 marks an important step in recognising the civil relationship between a child born outside marriage and their biological father, yet its implementation across religious courts remains inconsistent and places a disproportionate evidentiary burden on mothers and children. This study argues that the maqasid al-shari'ah framework, particularly hifz al-nasl (protection of lineage) and hifz al-nafs (protection of life), offers a normative foundation for reconstructing Indonesian Islamic family law so that child protection no longer depends on the marital status of the parents. The article concludes with recommendations for legislative reform of the KHI, technical regulation to standardise judicial practice, and harmonisation between Islamic family law and international child-rights standards.]]>
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