The parties were married on 8 August 1998 in accordance with Islamic shari'a. The second applicant's father had acted as her marriage guardian (wali nasab), the dowry (mahar) had been IDR 10,000, and two witnesses were present at the time of the parties' nuptials. At the time of the wedding, the first applicant was a bachelor (duda) and the second applicant a virgin (perawan). The parties also had two children. They did not, however, have a marriage book (buku nikah) because, despite having already paid the necessary administrative costs, their marriage had never been registered with the Office of Religious Affairs. The parties, therefore, requested that the court grant them a determination ratifying their marriage.
In acceding to the parties' request, the court, pursuant to art 2(1) of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, art 10 of Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975, and arts 7(2) and 7(3)(c) of the Compilation of Islamic Laws, acknowledged that the parties' marriage had been conducted in accordance with Islamic norms.