Under Government Regulation No 10/1983 which was renewed in Government Regulation No 45/1990, a civil servant who intends to divorce his wife or her husband must first obtain permission to do so from the chief of the district administration concerned.
"Before filing a divorce suit, a civil servant must first ask for permission from the district chief. Violation of this rule will result in sanctions," head of Tulungagung district`s Employee Affairs Agency Kusmadi said on Friday.
Applications for the district chief`s permission had to be made through the civil servant`s superiors at the government agency or unit where he or she was working.
The district head`s permission would be given after a reconciliation process conducted by the administration`s inspectorate had been initiated but failed to dissuade the two parties from carrying out their divorce, Kusmadi said.
In 2011 there were 10 civil servants in the Tulungagung district administration who had divorced their spouses without prior permission from the district chief.
It is not known whether they had done so out of ignorance about the existing rule or whether they had knowingly violated it, Kusmadi said , adding that either way, they were now facing disciplinary sanctions.
Apart from the 10 civil servants who had violated the law on divorces, the Tulungagung district administration`s inspectorate was also handling the case of civil servant who had concluded a siri (under-the-counter) marriage which was also not allowed by the law.
The civil servant concerned was caught by locals spending the night at the home of a widow. When the widow`s neighbors confronted him, he claimed they had been a siri couple for four years.
(T.ANT-130/HAJM/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
