Adoption in Adat Law (2)

In the last posting, I said that Indonesian has been familiar with adoption since centuries ago. There are some reasons why a couple or family taking one else’s child.

In Adat community, purposes of adoption are:

• to continue family lineage
• as a friend
• to fish for the foster parent can have the blood child.

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Some people believe that by adopt one else’s child they will get their own blood-child. How can? As a religious-traditional community, they believe in reward and sin. If someone make a kindness he/she will get reward from God. The form of reward can be the born of child. On the contrary, if someone make a mistake (criminal), she/he will get a sin. The sin can be difficulty to pregnant.

As a religious-traditional community, adoption in Indonesia results in probabilities:

• Private relationship between foster child and his/her blood parent and blood family is broken. Here, foster child is given status as blood child
• Foster child still has private relationship with his/her blood parent.

In Adat Law, adoption proceed doesn’t need written proof. It’s enough by certain actions, the child has been assumed as adopted child. These certain actions are:

• care for the child and give education until adult
• circumcite the child (if male)
• to give the adopted child (after adult) in marriage.

Adoption in Adat Law (1)

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Adoption is an action to take somebody else’s child into one’s family, making him/her legally one’s child. Adoption term is not strange in a community. Since thousands years ago, community of Indonesia has known adoption. It’s done by a couple or family that has no child.

Indonesia is a country that consist of thousands islands with thousands ethnics. Every ethnic has its own law. That’s Adat Law. So Adat Law or Adat in a region may be different from the others. For example, Balinese Adat is different from Javanese Adat, including about adoption.

In Bali, adoption process must be done clearly (terang). It’ s done by religious ceremony, by announcement, and witnessed by public figure and religious figure, in order that status of child is clear. After ceremony, the adopted child become full member of foster family. So his/her private relationship with his/her blood parent and blood family is broken.

In South Sulawesi, foster child still has private relationship with her/his original parent (blood parent) and original family. So she/he can inherit from her/his blood parent. She/he has no right to inherit from foster parent. But foster child can get property/goods from foster parent by hibah (gift) or wasiah (testament). That’s Adat Law in South Sulawesi about adoption that influenced by Islamic values.

Adoption stipulation in Java is different from Bali and South Sulawesi. According to Javanese Adat Law, foster child still can inherit from his/her blood parent and foster parent too. Alhtough can inherit from foster parent but there is limitation over there. The foster child only can inherit from foster parent limitated on harta pencarian, no harta pusaka (heritage). Harta pencarian is property that get husband and wife as long as marriage. Harta pusaka is property from husband’s family or wife’s family. Harta pusaka is just for blood lineage.

So in Java, foster child called ngangsu 2 sumur, take water from 2 wells. Mean, foster child get 2 advantages, can inherit from his/her blood parent and foster parent too.

B. Ter Haar said that right to heir of foster child in Java that limitated only on harta pencarian, because in Java adoption is not family’s business, and implementation of adoption is not terang (clear). It’s done without ceremony, without witnessed by public figure and religious figure.

Human Trafficking with Guise of Adoption

In Bogor, an adopted parent from Kalimantan was forced to return the baby they adopted. The returning must be done because police suspects there is trafficking case behind the adoption process from Yayasan PH. While Rohani, the blood mother’s baby, said that she was compelled to release her twin babies for Yayasan PH because she had no money to bear.

In Gunung Kidul, Sarimin and Suparti also were compelled one of their twin babies to bought by somebody else, because they could not cost hospital for bear’s fee.

Cases like Rohani or Sarimin-Suparti often happen in this country. Poor life sometimes results in someone make wrong decision, include submit her child for the other. Unfortunately, unresponsible people will always be there to take advantage from the poor. They also take advantage from the rich that has no child. They take the child from the poor by giving much money or something as compensation, then submit the child for be adopted by the rich by taking compensation.

Of course it’s a crime. It’s a human trafficking with guise of adoption…. I think this case will not happen or at least can be reduced, if there is care (much more care) from government, society, and related parties.

What’s your opinion?

Can Marriage Contract be Revoked?

Q: A couple made a marriage contract. After some years, they wanna revoke the contract. Can marriage contract be revoked?

A: We must know the material of marriage contract first. If it’s about taklik talak, according to Compilation of Islamic Law in Indonesia, marriage contract can not be revoked. Whereas if the material of contract about good/property, so it can be revoked.

About revocation of contract of marriage, actually Compilation of Islamic Law in Indonesia regulates only about goods/property. It is regulated in article 50 section 2-5.

Contract of Marriage about goods can be revoked based on agreement of husband and wife. The parties obligate to register the revocation in office of Registerer Official of Nikah. And since registration, the revocation locks in husband and wife, but it does not lock in 3rd party immediately. Revocation just locks in 3rd party since date of registration is announced by husband and wife on a newspaper.

How if announcement not done by the couple is? If in 6 months announcement is not done by husband and wife, so registration of revocation is drop automatically and unlock in 3rd party.

Important. Revocation of contract may not cause disadvantage on contract with 3rd party before. So about debt of 3rd party, it must be responsiblilty of the spouses.