Indonesia: adoption, child custody, inheritance and IVF

Adoption

Indonesia allows adoption only by court order, for a child under 18 who is neglected or abandoned, by adopters aged 30 to 55 who have been married at least five years and share the child's religion (Government Regulation No. 54 of 2007, arts. 12 and 13); the adoption does not cut the child's blood ties with the birth parents (art. 4).

Full detail: Adoption

Assisted reproduction

Assisted reproduction is open only to a lawfully married couple with a medical finding of infertility, using the spouses' own sperm and egg and implanting the embryo in the wife from whom the egg came (Health Law 17/2023, art. 58; Government Regulation 28/2024, art. 111); implanting an embryo in another woman's womb is expressly forbidden (art. 112(3)).

Full detail: Assisted reproduction

Childcare

Child custody and maintenance after divorce are governed by arts. 41 and 45 to 49 of the Marriage Law (Law No. 1 of 1974), by the Child Protection Law as amended in 2014 and, for Muslims, by arts. 98 to 106 and 156 of the Compilation of Islamic Law. Under Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975 the competent court is the religious court (Pengadilan Agama) for Muslims and the district court (Pengadilan Negeri) for everyone else, and the 2006 amendment of the Religious Courts Law lists child custody among the matters of marriage that the religious courts decide.

The Marriage Law says that after a divorce both mother and father keep the duty to maintain and educate the children, solely on the basis of the children's interests, and that the court decides if they dispute custody (art. 41(a)). The father is responsible for all costs of the children's upkeep and schooling, and if he is in fact unable to meet them the court may decide that the mother bears part (art. 41(b)); the court may also order the former husband to provide a living allowance or another obligation to the former wife (art. 41(c)). The parents' duty lasts until the child marries or can stand on his or her own, and continues even if the parents' marriage has ended (art. 45(2)). A child under 18, or never married, is under the parents' authority and is represented by them in legal acts (art. 47), and parents may not sell or mortgage the child's immovable property unless the child's interest requires it (art. 48).

Parental authority can be withdrawn for a fixed time by court decision, at the request of the other parent, relatives in the ascending line, adult brothers or sisters or an authorised official, where a parent grossly neglects his or her duties or behaves very badly; the parent must still pay maintenance (art. 49). If a child is not under parental authority, a guardian is appointed, who may be named by a dying parent in a will or orally before two witnesses (arts. 50 and 51). The elucidation of art. 49 of the Religious Courts Law lists among the religious courts' powers custody of children, an order that the mother bears the costs where the father defaults, withdrawal of parental power and the appointment of guardians.

For Muslims the Compilation adds more detail. On divorce, the care (hadhanah) of a child who is not yet mumayyiz, that is under 12, belongs to the mother; a child who is mumayyiz chooses between father and mother; the costs are borne by the father (art. 105). Art. 156 repeats this and lists who takes over if the mother has died: the women in the ascending line from the mother, then the father, then the women in the ascending line from the father, then the child's sister, then the father's female blood relatives on the side line. If the holder of custody cannot secure the child's physical and spiritual safety, even though the costs are paid, the religious court may on a relative's request transfer it to another entitled relative (art. 156(c)). The father pays the costs of care and maintenance according to his means, at least until the child can stand alone as an adult, put at 21 (art. 156(d)), and the court may set the amount having regard to his means (art. 156(f)). Art. 98(1) also sets adulthood at 21 for a child without physical or mental disability who has never married, whereas the Marriage Law counts under 18 (arts. 47 and 50).

The Child Protection Law, as amended in 2014, says every child has the right to be raised by his or her own parents unless a valid reason or legal rule shows that separation is in the child's best interests and a last resort. If a child is separated from a parent, the child keeps the right to meet both parents directly and regularly, to receive care, upbringing, education and protection from both, and to receive living costs from both (art. 14). Parents are bound to raise, maintain, educate and protect the child and to prevent child marriage, and where parents are absent or unable these duties may pass to the family (art. 26).

Key points

In practice

• File in the right court: the religious court if the parties are Muslim, the district court otherwise (Government Regulation 9/1975, art. 1(b)); the religious court also decides custody, the mother's share of costs, withdrawal of parental power and guardianship.
• For a Muslim claim, work from the child's age: art. 105(a) places a child under 12 with the mother, while a child from 12 chooses, so bring the child's birth certificate and any evidence on the child's wishes and on each parent's ability to ensure safety (art. 156(c)).
• State the costs you ask for: art. 41(b) of the Marriage Law and art. 156(d) and (f) of the Compilation tie the amount to the father's means, and the court may also fix a living allowance for the former wife (art. 41(c)).
• If a parent grossly neglects the children, a relative in the ascending line, an adult sibling, the other parent or an official may ask the court to withdraw parental authority for a fixed time (art. 49); the parent's maintenance duty continues.

Cost and coverage

The sources opened for this page give no court-fee schedule and no standard amount of child maintenance.

Where to go

• The religious court (Pengadilan Agama) for custody, maintenance and guardianship between Muslims; the district court (Pengadilan Negeri) for other parties (Government Regulation 9/1975, art. 1(b)).
• The court that decides withdrawal of parental authority and the appointment of a guardian on request of relatives or an authorised official (Marriage Law, arts. 49 and 51).

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage (Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan), official PDF text on the BPK legal database — arts. 41 to 51
• Compilation of Islamic Law in Indonesia (Kompilasi Hukum Islam, Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991), scanned book (262 pages) hosted on Wikimedia Commons (unofficial copy of the published book) — arts. 98, 104 to 106 and 156
• Law No. 35 of 2014 amending Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection (Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2014), PDF on the Ministry of Finance legal database (JDIH Kemenkeu) — arts. 14 and 26 of the Child Protection Law as printed in the amending law
• Law No. 3 of 2006 amending Law No. 7 of 1989 on Religious Courts (art. 49 and its elucidation), official PDF on the BPK legal database — art. 49 and elucidation, items 11 to 18 on matters of marriage within religious-court jurisdiction
• Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975 implementing the Marriage Law (art. 1(b)), official PDF on the BPK legal database — art. 1(b): court competent for Muslims and for others

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Inheritance

Indonesia has no single inheritance code: for Muslims the religious courts apply the Compilation of Islamic Law, under which a lone daughter takes half the estate and a son takes twice a daughter's share (art. 176), whereas the Civil Code gives children equal shares without distinction of sex or birth order (art. 852) and protects a forced share (arts. 913 to 914).

Full detail: Inheritance