EMPIRICAL JURIDICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DOMINANT FACTORS REFERRING TO HUSBAND SPOUSES' WIFE ON ANNULMENT OF DIVORCE LAWSUIT (IN THE CITY RELIGIOUS COURT CIREBON)

Abstrak

Background. Divorce is one of the most often filed cases in the Religious Court, but not all divorce lawsuit cases end in a divorce decision, because the procedural law of the religious court provides space for the parties to reconcile and refer before the decision has permanent legal force, so that the case is revoked or canceled. This phenomenon was found during the implementation of the Field Experience Practice at the Cirebon City Religious Court, where a number of divorce lawsuit cases ended in cancellation due to referral, both at the mediation stage and during the case examination.

Aims. This study aims to analyze the dominant factors that encourage married couples to make a referral so that the divorce lawsuit case is canceled, as well as analyze its juridical implications on the status and continuation of the case process.

Methods. This study uses an empirical juridical method with a descriptive qualitative approach, through document studies of case archives, interviews with judges, mediators, clerks, and litigants, and direct observation at the Cirebon City Religious Court. Data were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model of qualitative analysis.

Result. The results of the study showed that the dominant factors causing referrals included consideration of children's interests, family intervention, economic factors, and legal and religious awareness to maintain the integrity of the household. Juridically, the referrals that occurred during the trial caused the loss of the plaintiff's legal interests, so the judge determined the revocation or cancellation of the case.

Conclusion. This study concluded that strengthening the mediation function in the Religious Court is important as a preventive effort to encourage reconciliation between married couples before the case is decided.