THE ROLE OF THE SUPREME COURT IN DEVELOPING ISLAMIC LAW IN INDONESIA

Law, including Islamic law, will change with the changes of time, place, situation and tradition. New social problems that are increasingly growing pose challenges for Islamic law. Reconstruction and reform are inevitable in order for Islamic law to respond to the current issues. There are three typologies of Islamic law reforms in Indonesia performed through legal enactment, legal opinion (fatwa), and court decisions of the Religious Courts. New formula for Islamic law in addressing contemporary issues can be built on the basis of three processes: conservation process, Innovation process, and creation process. The Supreme Court of the Republic Indonesia fully supports the development of Islamic law in Indonesia. The reform of Islamic law by the Supreme Court has been carried out through several instruments, such as the issuance of the Supreme Court Regulation and the Circular Letter, agreement among justices within the Chamber of the Religious Courts, and creation of jurisprudence extracted from cassation cases