The Indigenous Baduy community is known for consistently maintaining its traditions, including in marriage practices, despite increasing modernization and interaction with the outside world that increasingly influence their way of life. This situation raises questions regarding how customary marriages are conducted and what types of violations may lead to the annulment of a marriage under Baduy customary law. This study aims to analyze the implementation of Baduy customary marriage and to identify customary violations that result in the invalidation of a marriage. An empirical legal research method with a normative–empirical approach was employed; primary data were obtained through direct observation and in-depth interviews with customary leaders (Puun, Jaro, and sesepuh adat) and members of the Baduy community in Desa Kanekes, Banten, while secondary data were collected from relevant literature, journals, and statutory regulations. The data were analyzed qualitatively by integrating empirical findings from the field with the prevailing norms of Baduy adat law and comparing them with national legal provisions. The results show that Baduy customary marriage is carried out through sacred processes such as bobogohan, ngariksa, and ngabokor, led by the Puun and Jaro in accordance with customary rules, and a marriage is deemed valid when it meets age requirements, obtains family approval, and receives the consent of customary authorities. Conversely, violations such as marrying an outsider, entering into marriage without the Puun’s approval, or failing to comply with prescribed ritual procedures result in the marriage being declared void and subject to customary sanctions. These findings affirm that Baduy customary law plays a crucial role in preserving cultural values and local wisdom, while also serving as concrete evidence of the reality of legal pluralism in Indonesia.

Indonesia's 2023 Penal Code represents a groundbreaking shift from colonial legal monism to constitutional pluralism by recognizing "living law" as a legitimate criminal law source. However, this historic constitutional acknowledgment encounters severe implementation challenges, creating institutional paralysis and intensifying customary law disputes. This qualitative study combines normative legal analysis with comparative case methodology, examining four customary systems: Batak Dalihan Na Tolu, Javanese Rukun, Balinese Desa Adat, and Papua Clan System. The research reveals critical implementation gaps across constitutional, judicial, and community levels, where uniform approaches fail to accommodate Indonesia's 1,300+ diverse customary traditions. Implementation failures manifest through constitutional ambiguity generating legitimacy crises, judicial uncertainty producing inconsistent applications, and community marginalization that transforms dynamic oral traditions into rigid bureaucratic processes. These cascading challenges systematically undermine the constitutional promise of legal pluralism. To address these failures, the study proposes a Managed Legal Pluralism framework structured around four interconnected pillars: Recognition, Regulation, Implementation, and Safeguards. This framework enables differentiated approaches accommodating varying customary compatibility levels while ensuring constitutional compliance. Cross-national analysis with South Africa and Canada validates this integration approach, highlighting risks of excessive formalization while demonstrating pathways for transforming symbolic recognition into effective legal pluralism that balances human rights protection with cultural preservation.

This article focuses its analysis on virtual nullity for contravention of good customs, a concept contained in Article v of the Preliminary Title of the Peruvian Civil Code. It covers crucial topics such as private autonomy, the legal act, and the standards of public order and good customs. We adopt one of the two interpretations of Article V, opting for the one that grants autonomy to “good customs.” The analysis is grounded in the motives that inspired the legislator and the observations of civil law doctrine, framing its meaning and differentiating it from other concepts such as “legal custom.” For the application of Article V, the role of the judge and the criteria for determining the validity or invalidity of the legal act in question are highlighted. It is concluded that “good customs” function as a dynamic moral standard and their importance is emphasized insofar as they respond to a national reality and enrich debates relating to private autonomy, legal pluralism, as well as the role of Peruvian civil law in the regulation of its pluricultural society.

This article provides a comprehensive examination of Albania’s religious coexistence from both socio-political and legal perspectives, highlighting how historical experiences, legal frameworks, and community practices collectively shape interfaith relations. Drawing on case studies from urban centers such as Tirana and Shkodra, as well as rural communities where traditional interfaith networks have persisted, the article explored how legal pluralism, allowing religious communities to manage personal matters like marriage, inheritance, and education, interact with grassroots social engagement to sustain harmony among Albania’s diverse religious groups. The article also analyzed institutional policies, including the role of the State Committee on Cults, municipal interfaith programs, and the Interreligious Council of Albania (IRCA), demonstrating how coordinated initiatives between government bodies and civil society promote dialogue, joint cultural events, and collaborative social projects. By tracing the historical trajectory from the Ottoman millet system through the challenges of the communist period to contemporary reforms, the article illustrates the resilience of interfaith tolerance in Albania. This experience provides a distinctive model of religious coexistence, offering valuable lessons for other pluralistic societies in the Balkans and beyond, emphasizing the importance of combining legal recognition, social cooperation, and community-led initiatives to foster enduring interfaith harmony.

This study examines the dynamic interaction between Sharia values and the state legal system in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world based on the ideology of Pancasila. The background to this study is the tension and harmony in the process of integrating religious law into positive law, which is constitutionally accommodated by Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution. The objectives of this study are to (1) analyze Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution as the philosophical-constitutional basis for the integration of Sharia values; (2) examine the form and implications of Islamic law codification through case studies of the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI) and the Qanun Jinayat Aceh; and (3) formulate a conceptual model that explains this unique relationship. This study uses a qualitative approach with a multiple case study design, combining normative-constitutional and legal sociology analysis. Data were collected through document studies, in-depth interviews with legal actors, and observations in three representative locations. The main findings show that the integration of Sharia values is interpreted not as an attempt to Islamize the state, but as a process of constitutionalizing the universal values of Islamic justice (maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah) in line with Pancasila. Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution serves as an accommodative constitutional anchor, enabling the realization of legal pluralism through functional codification such as the KHI and the Qanun Aceh. Theoretically, this research contributes by formulating a “Symbiosis-Functional Integration Model” that enriches the discourse on religious constitutionalism and explains Indonesia's middle ground in balancing religious aspirations with the principles of a pluralistic constitutional state

The interaction between Islamic law and local wisdom among the Muslim community of Banjar in South Kalimantan reflects the significant dynamics of living Islamic law within the framework of legal pluralism in Indonesia. The mu‘amalah practices developed in this community are not limited to the application of normative fiqh alone, but are brought to life through cultural expressions and oral traditions, such as barelaan, tukar jual, jual lah seadanya, and bawa ja dulu, which serve a dual role as ṣīghat al-‘aqd and as social devices for upholding the principles of voluntariness, openness, honesty, and justice. This study aims to trace the forms, meanings, and mechanisms of integrating the principles of fiqh mu‘āmalah into the customary order, as well as to assess its contribution to the discourse on living law and maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. A qualitative approach within a phenomenological framework is used. Research data were collected through participatory observation in traditional markets, interviews with local scholars, customary leaders, and traders. The results reveal that local scholars play a strategic role as mediators who interpret and adapt customary practices to align with the principles of Sharia. This process gives rise to a living legal system that is deeply rooted in social legitimacy and endowed with moral authority recognized by the community. From a theoretical perspective, this study broadens the understanding of legal pluralism through a model of reciprocal interaction between Islamic customary law, fiqh mu‘āmalah, and positive law, while enriching the discourse on maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, particularly in the dimension of ḥifẓ al-māl, which is preventing loss and fostering blessings through social practices based on community trust and ethics.

Abstract The research aims to understand how neo-Aristotelian rhetoric can operate at the service of justice in contemporary society, governed by legal pluralism and so called “cultural relativism”. The research will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, which seeks to combine rhetorical studies with philosophy of law reflections. The contribution seeks to develop the concept of “mutual cognitive environment” borrowed from studies of C.W. Tindale, representing the possibility of sharing elements between different cognitive environments. In parallel with Tindale’s studies, the Italian legal philosopher V. Villa argues for the presence of sharing elements within different conceptual schemes. It is proposed to converge the studies of these two Authors in the direction proposed by M.C. Nussbaum, and to identify these elements of commonality with what the American Author calls “grounding experiences”, that is, universal spheres of experience comprehensible to every subject regardless of country of origin. Since rhetoric is a techné or art not only involving reason related to emotion but also ethical and pathic aspects of argumentation, it is argued that it is able to capture these universal spheres of experience in order to provide sharable elements over which to build bridges and secure rights between different cultures.

The article investigates the factors affecting state law compliance in Cham minority communities in Vietnam. Using a legal pluralism framework, a cross-section survey was conducted with 200 adult respondents, and the study looked at five parameters: the role of Luật tục(custom legal system), cultural and religious traditions, socio-economic factors, local governance and mediation, and legal recognition and state policy. Data reliability was examined using Cronbach’s alpha, the construct validity was established using factor analysis, and the hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The findings indicate that the five factors appear to be variables that have a significant and positive influence on state law compliance. The customary legal system and cultural traditions acted as facilitators for compliance by embedding ideas of legality into community practices. Socio-economics were weaker, but provided the option of the use of formal institutions. Local governance and mediation were strong intermediaries acting between the community and the state, while legal recognition and a state policy were the strongest predictors. The findings underscore important issues concerning recognition, inclusion of traditional forms of governance in current and future state policy across multi-ethnic contexts, and participatory governance.

Child abuse remains one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide, with serious effects on social stability and peacebuilding. In Nigeria, legal advocacy groups play a vital role in bridging the gap between statutory protections and community realities. This study explores the role of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in reducing child abuse and fostering peacebuilding in Rivers State, Nigeria. Guided by theories such as Structural Functionalism, Systems Theory, Legal Pluralism, and the Human Rights-Based Approach, the study uses a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative survey data with qualitative interviews. A census of FIDA members in Rivers State was conducted using structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. Results show that FIDA’s activities go beyond litigation to include legal aid, community sensitization, policy advocacy, and peacebuilding efforts. However, these efforts are challenged by funding shortages, weak institutional coordination, judicial delays, and cultural practices that weaken formal legal processes. The study concludes that legal activism is crucial in protecting children’s rights and strengthening community cohesion. Policy recommendations include specific actions such as improved inter-agency coordination led by the Ministry of Justice, increased funding from government and donors, engagement with traditional leaders, judicial reforms, and integrating legal activism into peacebuilding strategies. This research adds to the growing understanding of socio-legal responses to child abuse in plural legal systems and provides practical insights for practitioners and policymakers.

Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) have been operating under unsolved theoretical puzzles related to policy coherence and practical coordination. In particular, the mismatch between national policies and ground operations warrants a thorough policy and functional coherence assessment, which remains underexplored in TFCAs. Through a qualitative comparative analysis of strategic park policy documents and twenty key informant interviews, this study examines the extent of policy and functional coherence between Kruger and Gonarezhou National Parks within the Greater Limpopo TFCA (GLTFCA). The study applied a theme-based coding method to assess alignment across functional policy domains. Our findings reveal a moderate policy alignment (3.6 out of 5) with strong coherence in themes aligned to international frameworks and global norms. In contrast, themes related to governance, institutional efficiency, and transboundary cooperation showed the weakest coherence, highlighting implementation gaps and fragmented accountability. These weaknesses correspond closely to key coordination dimensions, particularly those related to institutional alignment and knowledge-sharing mechanisms. These findings underscore that while policy intent aligns, functional coherence is constrained by disparities in power, institutional capacity, the complexities of legal pluralism, and fragmented coordination mechanisms. The findings underscore that aligning policy intent is insufficient without addressing functional coherence and call for greater attention to political, institutional, and legal asymmetries in TFCAs. This research also contributes to ongoing efforts for policy harmonization within the GLTFCA by offering a practical, theme-based method for diagnosing alignment gaps and overlaps across strategic conservation policies. It provides empirical insights into the current disconnect between policy provisions and operational realities, highlighting critical areas in need of immediate attention and resource allocation.

This article explores scholarly exchange across the Arabian Sea in the fourteenth century with respect to Islamic law. It connects legal contexts from the Delhi Sultanate to the Cairo Sultanate and shows how the Sunni legal schools (madhhabs) and the recently emergent system of legal pluralism shaped transoceanic exchanges of scholarship. In particular, this article focuses on the career of Sirāj al-Dīn al-Hindī (d. 773/1372), an Indian scholar who traveled from Delhi via Mecca to Cairo, and then built an accomplished career that culminated with him as chief Hanafi judge in Cairo. It examines his relationships with Turkish mamluks and sultans as well as his prolific writings to uncover their shared investment in the Hanafi madhhab and the significance of ongoing transregional debates between the Hanafi and Shafiʿi legal schools. In so doing, this article sheds light on a missing history of how Mamluk initiatives towards expanding legal pluralism between the madhhabs created new opportunities across the Indian Ocean for Hanafi jurists like Sirāj al-Dīn. Hence, it widens our understanding of premodern Islamic intellectual exchange between South Asia and the Middle East, showing how South Asia also served as an exporter of Islamic scholarship and legal expertise rather than its peripheral recipient.

Introduction Indigenous communities in Indonesia remain among the most vulnerable actors in natural resource governance despite constitutional recognition of their customary rights. Their marginalization is exacerbated by overlapping land claims, fragmented regulations, and limited representation in decision-making. This study analyses how governance law addresses these vulnerabilities and identifies legal–institutional pathways for stronger protection. Methods A qualitative design was employed. We conducted a thematic analysis of five core policy and legal documents and triangulated insights with reports from non-governmental and international organizations. A comparative review of global instruments—the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ILO Convention No. 169—was used to benchmark Indonesian frameworks against international norms. Results Findings show that Indonesia’s legal pluralism remains weakly integrated, producing persistent uncertainty over the recognition of customary territories and inconsistent safeguards across sectors and jurisdictions. Institutional roles are diffuse, administrative procedures for recognizing customary communities and lands are uneven, and remedies for rights violations are limited. These gaps collectively sustain a protection deficit in resource governance. Discussion The study advances governance-law scholarship by proposing an integrated model that harmonizes state and customary systems through clear institutional mechanisms, standardized recognition procedures, and coordinated oversight. Aligning domestic rules with UNDRIP and ILO 169 principles would reduce normative fragmentation, clarify tenure security, and enhance participation. Policy implications include establishing a specialized national Indigenous Tribunal to deliver accessible adjudication and creating a unified land registration framework that formally records customary tenure. Together, these measures can promote more inclusive and sustainable resource governance in Indonesia and offer a transferable approach for other developing countries facing similar plural legal orders.

This research examines the persistence of child marriage in the Madura region through the lens of legal pluralism, particularly the intersections of Islamic, customary, and state laws. Although religious and cultural practices continue to shape norms and values, they often counteract statutory provisions designed to safeguard children's rights. Proposed is a harmonization model that integrates fiqh and customary law with national law, providing cultural legitimacy while protecting children at the same time. Adopting the socio-legal qualitative approach, the research uses a combination of normative legal theory and empirical research conducted in Sampang Regency, which embraced interviews and documentation of court decisions, fatwas, local regulations, and case files on child marriage, with religious leaders, elders, lawyers, judges, parents, and child marriage survivors. Spradley’s ethnographic model guided the analysis in documenting core cultural themes and their components. It is cultural and religious rationalization, along with ignorance of laws and weak enforcement, that continue to allow child marriage. Solid legal reform requires improving child protection by local leaders, educating children's rights, and reframing marriage-age laws from religious prohibitions to administrative restrictions. It gaps legal pluralism and children's rights by cohesive laws, socio-cultural practices, and international human rights.

Abstract This article critically analyzes the right to intangible cultural heritage (ICH) within the framework of comparative constitutional law, with a particular focus on the recent jurisprudence in five Latin American countries: Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, and Colombia. It aims to explore the lessons that the jurisprudential formant can offer for comparative constitutional studies on this issue, based on three primary criteria: the human rights approach, legal pluralism, and the relationship between rights and duties. The article emphasizes how the recognition of a fundamental right to ICH can transform both the theory and practice of cultural rights from a comparative perspective. The hypothesis asserts that these cases provide valuable insights into the understanding of the ‘right’ to ICH, especially in terms of its limits and scope. The article is methodologically grounded in the field of comparative constitutional law, engaging with constitutional theory and dogmatics. It is organized into three sections: 1) Framing intangible cultural heritage in Latin American constitutional law; 2) The constitutional jurisprudence on intangible cultural heritage in selected Latin American countries; 3) Shaping the fundamental right to intangible cultural heritage: key elements and features.

This article examines legal pluralism in international law, focusing on the interplay between domestic legal systems and global normative frameworks. Legal pluralism recognises that multiple legal orders coexist and interact within the same social field, creating challenges and opportunities for harmonisation. The article explores theoretical foundations, including monist and dualist approaches, and analyses practical mechanisms for norm harmonisation such as treaty implementation, constitutional incorporation, and judicial dialogue. Through case studies from various jurisdictions, particularly Nigeria, the article demonstrates how states navigate competing normative claims while maintaining sovereignty. The analysis reveals that successful harmonisation requires flexible approaches respecting both universal human rights principles and legitimate domestic legal traditions. The article proposes a framework for constructive pluralism that balances global normative aspirations with domestic constitutional imperatives, emphasising the role of courts, legislatures, and civil society in mediating between different legal orders.

This study examined Indigenous justice systems, focusing on traditional practices, challenges with national legal systems, and their potential contributions to justice policies. Using a qualitative design, it employed in-depth interviews with Indigenous elders to gather insights on customs, experiences, and conflict resolution. The findings indicate that Indigenous justice systems maintain cultural sovereignty through practices rooted in tradition, community healing, and cultural identity. However, they encounter challenges when dealing with national legal systems, such as lack of recognition, limited resources, and differences in procedures. Unlike the state's retributive model, Indigenous restorative justice emphasizes healing, accountability, and community-based solutions. This approach offers enlightening perspectives for creating more compassionate and culturally aware policies. The study concludes that Indigenous justice systems provide culturally grounded and relationship-focused alternatives to punitive models. These contribute to ongoing discussions about legal pluralism, cultural preservation, and justice reform that seek to link Indigenous traditions with state frameworks. Keywords: Cultural sovereignty, legal pluralism, modern jurisprudence, restorative justice.

The current Colombian legal system, as established by the 1991 Political Constitution, recognizes legal pluralism as an anti-formalist strategy of social vindication aimed at addressing everyday demands. In this context, both the Indigenous jurisdiction and the ordinary criminal jurisdiction legally coexist, a situation that has sparked extensive debates regarding the criteria for determining the competence of each jurisdiction. This article seeks to answer the following research question: What legal criteria should guide the construction of a hermeneutic framework that enables the coexistence of ordinary and Indigenous jurisdictions in accordance with the current constitutional provisions in Colombia? To this end, the study delimits the aforementioned coexistence from a theoretical-legal perspective in order to develop interpretive criteria that allow for the determination of jurisdictional competence in specific cases. The research adopts a critical hermeneutic approach, grounded in qualitative methods of analysis.

Child marriage remains a pressing socio-legal issue in Indonesia, where religious norms often intersect and sometimes conflict with state regulations. This study explores the dynamic interaction between kyai (Islamic religious leaders) and state authorities in regulating child marriage within Cirebon Regency—a region known for its strong pesantren-based traditions. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with kyai, judges, and families, supported by observations and document analysis of court rulings, religious texts, and local socio-cultural practices. The findings reveal that most kyai continue to legitimize child marriage through classical fiqh doctrines such as darūrah syar‘iyyah (religious necessity) and maslahah (public interest), reflecting the enduring influence of traditional interpretations. However, younger kyai are beginning to adopt contextual ijtihād that aligns with contemporary child protection principles under maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. Meanwhile, state institutions struggle to implement the 2019 Marriage Law effectively due to the strong moral authority held by kyai. This study contributes to the field of contextualized Islamic law by developing a model of legal harmonization that integrates maqāṣid-based reinterpretation of fiqh with Indonesia’s child protection framework. The research offers both theoretical insight—by advancing the discourse on critical legal pluralism in Muslim societies—and practical guidance for policymakers to foster collaboration between religious leaders and state institutions in preventing child marriage while respecting local religious values.

The history of Qazi courts in Turkestan reflects the long-standing continuity of Islamic judicial traditions within the changing socio-political landscape of Central Asia. Functioning under the Kokand and Bukhara Khanates, the Qazi courts served as the main institutions of justice, administration, and moral governance, operating on the basis of Sharia law and Hanafi jurisprudence. With the expansion of the Russian Empire into the region during the nineteenth century, the Qazi courts underwent a significant transformation: their jurisdiction was restricted mainly to family, inheritance, and waqf-related matters, while their autonomy was gradually curtailed under imperial supervision. Despite these reforms, the courts remained vital to local governance, maintaining legitimacy through their role in adjudicating disputes, authenticating documents, and preserving community cohesion. Drawing on archival sources, legal manuscripts, and historical scholarship, this study examines the structural evolution, functions, and adaptation of Qazi courts from the pre-colonial period to Tsarist rule. The findings reveal a dynamic process of legal pluralism in which Islamic law coexisted with Russian imperial legislation, producing a hybrid system of governance. The endurance of the Qazi institution underscores the resilience of Islamic jurisprudence and its capacity to balance religious tradition with political transformation.

This paper comprehensively examines the system of customary law (hukum adat) in Indonesia and the influence of religion on the formation, development, and implementation of the national legal system. Customary law, as the indigenous legal system of the Indonesian people, has existed long before the arrival of colonial influences and major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Historically, hukum adat not only served as a social guideline but also as a reflection of the nation’s moral, spiritual, and cultural values. Its evolution has undergone significant transformations—from the Hindu–Buddhist kingdoms that marked the early integration of religious and customary norms, to the Islamic kingdoms that produced a syncretic blend of syariah and customary law, and finally, to the Dutch colonial period which institutionalized legal pluralism through the Western legal system. Following Indonesia’s independence, a major challenge arose in unifying the various legal systems into a coherent national legal framework grounded in the values of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Religion, as a source of ethical and moral principles, has exerted a profound influence on the substance and philosophy of Indonesian law. Islamic law, for instance, has significantly shaped family law, civil law, and Islamic economic law, while other religions have also contributed to the moral and philosophical dimensions of national law. In the modern era, globalization and legal modernization pose new challenges to maintaining the relevance of both customary and religious law amidst demands for universal justice and efficiency. This study aims to analyze the historical roots, interrelations, and harmonization potential between customary law, religious law, and the national legal system. Using a historical-philosophical and normative approach, it seeks to formulate an ideal concept for developing a national legal system that remains rooted in Indonesia’s cultural identity. The findings indicate that the integration of customary and religious law into the national legal framework is not merely a juridical process but also a cultural and philosophical one. Therefore, the construction of national law must always be grounded in spirituality, local wisdom, and social justice as embodied in Pancasila as the ultimate source of all Indonesian law