From Wasīlah to Natījah

Consistency of the Application of Sadd al-Dzarī'ah in the Judge's Ratio Decidendi on the Dispensation of Child Marriage

Abstract

This study examines how consistently the principle of Sadd al-Dzarī'ah is applied in judges' ratio decidendi in child marriage dispensation cases, by tracing the chain of reasoning 'illat-wasīlah-natījah that ideally underpins every preventive ruling. The object of study is four cases decided by the Kolaka Class IB Religious Court in 2024. This research is normative legal research of the library research type, employing a statute approach and a conceptual approach, and analyzed descriptively and analytically against operational indicators of consistency. The results show that the petitioners' grounds were dominated by concerns about very close relationships, including premarital sexual relations and out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Of the four cases, two were granted, one was withdrawn, and one was dismissed because the petitioners did not appear; only the two granted cases reached an examination of the merits, so the analysis of ratio decidendi rests on them. The judges' reasoning formally complied with Articles 12 and 13 of Supreme Court Regulation No. 5 of 2019, but its substantive consistency differs: only one decision (No. 205) explicitly cited the maxim dar'u al-mafāsid muqaddam 'alā jalb al-maṣāliḥ and set out a fully traceable chain of reasoning, whereas the other (No. 45), despite a higher risk profile, offered a chain that cannot be traced textually. In the withdrawn case (No. 126), the judge's advice shows an indication of misdirected application, because it addressed the risks of child marriage rather than the petitioners' primary concern about premarital relations. These findings indicate that the application of Sadd al-Dzarī'ah in marriage dispensation practice remains reactive and not yet fully substantive and forward-looking; therefore, technical guidelines, professional psychological assessments, and risk mitigation measures that bind in the ruling need to be strengthened.