Legal Standing of Woman as Witness in Evidentiary System of Legal Procedure in The Court of Religion

Abstract

The legal standing of women in the procedural law on evidentiary in the Court of Religion according to general civil law court by Herziene Inlandsch Reglement (HIR) and Rechtreglement Voor De Suitengewesten (RBg) is equal to that of male witnesses. Unlike the authentication system based on Islamic law, woman’s legal standing as witness in specific cases is different from man as witness because it is required a number of two female witnesses to be equal to one male witness. This difference gets a reaction from the movement that considers gender discrimination against women. The legal standing of woman as witness on evidentiary procedure by the Islamic law in the view of Justice in theory from the version of Islamic justice is a rule that contain justice. Because of Justice in the version of Islam is justice in equality, not justice in equation according to the version and the demands of gender theory thinkers.

The differences in perspective about the position of woman as witness on the legal procedure in the Court of Religion was due to the provisions of Article 54 in the Act No. 7 of 1989. The provision of Article 54 in the Act No. 7 of 1989 does not embody the principles of Islamic personality who became the philosophical basis of the Act.

Keywords : Legal Standing of Woman as Witness, Evidentiary System, Court of Religion.