Constitutional Transformation of Indonesian Family Law: A Comparative Analysis of Constitutional Court Decisions on Marriage

Constitutional adjudication plays an important role in shaping Indonesian family law through the interaction of constitutional principles, state regulations, and religious norms. This study aims to identify and explain distinct patterns of constitutional transformation through a comparative analysis of Constitutional Court Decisions Nos. 22/PUU-XV/2017, 46/PUU-VIII/2010, and 24/PUU-XX/2022. Employing normative juridical research with statutory and case approaches, the study applies qualitative comparative and deductive analysis across five dimensions: constitutional issues, statutory provisions, judicial reasoning, operative rulings, and normative consequences. The findings reveal three patterns of transformation: reconstructive transformation, represented by the reform of minimum marriage-age regulation; expansive transformation, reflected in the extension of civil-law protection to children born outside marriage; and preservative transformation, demonstrated by the maintenance of the religious basis of marital validity in interfaith marriage. These patterns show that constitutional intervention does not follow a uniform trajectory but varies according to the legal issues and the Court's reasoning. The study proposes differentiated constitutional transformation as a context-specific analytical framework, with maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah serving as a normative instrument for evaluating legal consequences and legal pluralism providing the contextual perspective for understanding the interaction between constitutional and religious norms.