JURISDICTIONAL CONFLICT AND CRIMINALIZATION OF ISLAMIC PHILANTHROPY DISPUTES: RECONSTRUCTION OF THE AUTHORITY OF RELIGIOUS COURTS TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT GOALS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (SDGs)

Abstract

One way to realize the SDGs in Indonesia is through Islamic philanthropy. However, there is a
jurisdictional ambiguity between the civil authority of the Religious Courts and criminal law, which
hinders this potential. This is evident in the tendency to criminalize philanthropic management
disputes, using articles on fraud or embezzlement, often leading to asset confiscation and the
interruption of social benefits. This reality is diametrically opposed to the ethos of the SDGs,
including but not limited to SDG 1, which aims to eradicate poverty, and SDG 16, which aims, among
other things, to create peace, justice, and strengthen law enforcement through stronger institutions.
This research is a case study of a structural jurisdictional conflict between civil religious law and
criminal law. Although Law Number 3 of 2006 on Religious Courts explicitly authorizes Islamic
Philanthropy disputes to be resolved, law enforcement has practically transferred these cases to the
General Courts through articles of the Criminal Code. This has created a systematic implementation
vacuum and marginalized the constitutional competence of the Religious Courts, and is contrary to
the principle of ultimum remedium. This jurisdictional conflict research uses a normative juridical
method with a statutory, case, conceptual, and historical approach and is enriched by the theory of
the rule of law, judicial power, Islamic personality, and progressive law. The novelty of this research
is the model of authority reconstruction through a pre-judicial review mechanism, which
"establishes the Religious Court as the 'constitutional guardian' of philanthropic assets in
Indonesia." This model is oriented to establish the Religious Court as an institution authorized to
conduct initial examinations of criminal reports of ZISWAF through the authority of religious civil
law. This approach ensures legal certainty and demonstrates the effective function of Islamic
philanthropy as a key pillar in sustainable development.