Introduction

S. Irianto

This study aims to provide an analysis of the position of women in inheritance law and practice in contemporary Indonesia. Inheritance cases provide a window through which we can see the contestation and negotiation over jurisdiction of courts and other dispute settlement forums in Indonesia, yet there is relatively little research on inheritance law.

For the present research, I collected a set of Indonesian Supreme Court decisions in inheritance cases from 2000-2009. All of them can be accessed at the Supreme Court website. They show that some debates have never changed since the early years of Indonesia’s independence. They are all about how women—widows and daughters—are treated in inheritance law, whether they are perceived as inheritors or not, and how big their share is.

In addition, I carried out observations in the Islamic courts in Depok and Cianjur, both located in West Java, in order to learn more about the context in which decisions are made and about the accessibility of the court for women. I also interviewed judges, disputing parties, and their lawyers. By using ethnography of law, an inheritance dispute can be explained comprehensively (Griffiths 2002), as it sheds light on the social implications of the inheritance law.

Furthermore, field research among religious leaders (ulama) in Cianjur, West Java, helped me in understanding how Islamic authorities outside the court play an important role in re-shaping and re-defining inheritance law and the settlement mechanisms outside the court. I also carried out small surveys, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews among women in Depok as well as in Cianjur.

The research shows that there is pluralism in inheritance law and practice, rooted in the co-existence of different inheritance laws, overlapping court jurisdictions, and diverse interpretations among religious court judges, religious authorities—such as ulamas in pesantren (Islamic boarding schools)—and village officials.

In settling inheritance disputes, the religious court judges have to choose whether to base their decisions on the state law, i.e., the Compilation of Islamic Law, or on Faraid (Islamic inheritance law) and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). When did the judges use Shariah as a reference? In which context did they prefer the Compilation of Islamic Law? Similarly, the ulamas have to choose between Shariah or “living Islamic inheritance law.” How are the interpretations of Islamic inheritance law negotiated between the principles of Shariah and common practices in society? Which authorities are strictly oriented towards the traditional Faraid and which ones prefer a progressive interpretation?

This work is part of a larger research project which focuses on the development of inheritance cases filed before the court: how the position of women has changed between 1950-1960 (Dan Lev's period of study) and the present. Inheritance issues do not attract much interest from an Indonesian legal audience, although there are many progressive Supreme Court decisions which provide interesting insights. These decisions have promoted the status of women as widows as well as daughters in Indonesian court history.