PENERAPAN ASAS KEPENTINGAN TERBAIK BAGI ANAK DALAM PERKARA DISPENSASI KAWIN PASCA UNDANG-UNDANG NOMOR 16 TAHUN 2019 DI PENGADILAN AGAMA LAMONGAN

Abstrak

Undang-Undang Nomor 16 Tahun 2019 menaikkan batas usia minimal perkawinan menjadi 19 tahun, namun tetap memberikan ruang pengecualian melalui mekanisme dispensasi kawin dengan syarat adanya alasan sangat mendesak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis penerapan asas kepentingan terbaik bagi anak dalam perkara dispensasi kawin di Pengadilan Agama Lamongan serta mengkaji kesesuaian pertimbangan hakim dengan tujuan perlindungan anak dalam undang-undang tersebut. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian hukum normatif dengan pendekatan perundang-undangan dan pendekatan kasus. Bahan hukum dikumpulkan melalui studi dokumen dari Sistem Informasi Penelusuran Perkara (SIPP) Pengadilan Agama Lamongan periode 2023–2025 serta salinan penetapan perkara, kemudian dianalisis secara deskriptif-kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan dua temuan utama. Pertama, hakim menerapkan asas kepentingan terbaik bagi anak secara formal-prosedural, belum substansial. Hal ini tercermin dari pola penetapan massal dalam satu hari, biaya perkara yang sangat rendah (hingga Rp220.000), serta tingkat pengabulan yang nyaris sempurna (100% pada 2023 dan 2025, 97,5% pada 2024) tanpa ada satu pun penolakan. Kedua, pertimbangan hakim belum sejalan dengan tujuan UU No. 16/2019 karena fungsi penyaring (filtering function) pengadilan sebagai ultimum remedium tidak berjalan efektif; dispensasi kawin justru bertransformasi menjadi jalur reguler yang hampir pasti dikabulkan. Kesimpulannya, terdapat kesenjangan lebar antara norma hukum (law in books) dan praktik peradilan (law in action) yang disebabkan oleh interpretasi longgar terhadap frasa "sangat mendesak", tekanan budaya agraris-religius, serta beban kerja hakim yang tinggi. Penelitian ini merekomendasikan penguatan kapasitas hakim dalam menyusun pertimbangan hukum berbasis perlindungan anak dan penyusunan pedoman teknis yang lebih ketat mengenai alasan dispensasi.

Law Number 16 of 2019 raised the minimum age for marriage to 19 years, yet it still provides an exception through marriage dispensation mechanisms on the condition of urgent reasons. This study aims to analyze the application of the best interest of the child principle in marriage dispensation cases at the Lamongan Religious Court and to examine whether the judges' considerations align with the child protection objectives of the said law. This research is normative legal research employing statutory and case approaches. Legal materials were collected through document studies from the Case Tracking Information System (SIPP) of the Lamongan Religious Court for the 2023–2025 period, as well as copies of court determinations, and were analyzed using a descriptive-qualitative method. The findings reveal two main results. First, judges apply the best interest of the child principle in a formal-procedural manner, rather than substantially. This is reflected in the pattern of mass adjudications on the same day, extremely low case costs (as low as IDR 220,000), and an almost perfect grant rate (100% in 2023 and 2025, 97.5% in 2024) with zero rejections. Second, the judges' considerations are not in line with the objectives of Law No. 16/2019, as the court's filtering function as an ultimum remedium has not operated effectively; instead, marriage dispensation has transformed into a regular pathway that is almost certainly granted. In conclusion, there is a wide gap between the law in books and the law in action, caused by a loose interpretation of the phrase "urgent reasons," socio-religious agrarian cultural pressures, and high judicial workloads. This study recommends strengthening judges' capacity to construct child-protection-based legal reasoning and developing stricter technical guidelines regarding dispensation grounds.