Criteria for Success of Mediation in Religious Courts Should be Reviewed

Jakarta | badilag.net/english

The success of mediation in Religious Courts should not properly be measured by the only number of divorce. There are many divorce connected problems waiting to mediate, such as child custody, division of joint property, and determination of iddah. Among many, these three areas are necessarily needed to recognize in measuring the success of mediation in Religious Courts.

This idea raised in the first night discussion of the Workshop on Mediation Module Preparation: Responding the Needs of Women and Children, held at the Millennium Hotel, Jakarta, November 30 to December 3. The workshop was collaborating program between DG Badilag, The Asia Foundation and the Center for Women's Studies (PSW) UIN Yogyakarta.

"It is completely not fair measuring the success of mediation in Religious Courts due to solely on how many divorce cases are successfully reconciled. In fact, divorce connected problems such as child custody, division of joint property, iddah determination, and mut’ah have been successfully solved through mediation." said Director General during the discussion.

DG also demonstrates divorce case in other countries, stating that the point to be mediate is not divorce itself, but the impact of the divorce. If the focus is not divorce itself to reconcile, but how to manage property, children living cost and custody, the success of mediation in Religious Courts suppose to satisfying.

In line with DG, Siti Ruhaeni from PSW UIN Yogyakarta, underlined the fact of how many parties who have successfully reconciled through mediation in a short time back to the court asking for a divorce again. This fact suggests the criteria for successful mediation should be reviewed.

Moreover, Dr. Jazimah Muqoddas, from PTA Jakarta acknowledged the difficulty of mediating a divorce since it is all about heart. She pinpoints 'tasrihun bi ihsaan' as a barometer for divorce mediation. The measurement is not whether the case to be withdrawn or continued.

However, other things that are not less important to be reviewed in relation with the success of mediation is the quality of mediators. In this case, the Director General is expecting any kind of guide of a comprehensive mediation module that can bolster the performance and the success of Religious Court in implementing the mandate of Perma No. 1 / 2008.

That is why DG highly appreciates and supports activities that had been mostly done by PSW UIN Yogyakarta, The Asia Foundation and other parties in an effort to improve the quality of human resources. (Shofa'u Qolbi)