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Shall The Twain Never Meet? Competing Narratives And Discourses Of The Rule Of Law In Singapore, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

This article aims to assess the role played by the rule of law in discourse by critics of the Singapore Government’s policies and in the Government’s responses to such criticisms. It argues that in the past the two narratives clashed over conceptions of the rule of law, but there is now evidence of convergence of thinking as regards the need to protect human rights, though not necessarily as to how the balance between rights and other public interests should be struck. The article also examines why the rule of law must be regarded as a constitutional doctrine in Singapore, the …

Proportionality In Interpreting Constitutional Rights: A Comparison Between Canada, The United Kingdom And Singapore And Its Implications For Vietnam, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

Proportionality In Interpreting Constitutional Rights: A Comparison Between Canada, The United Kingdom And Singapore And Its Implications For Vietnam [Thuyết Cân Đối Trong Vấn Đề Giải Thích Các Quyền Về Hiến Pháp: So Sánh Giữa Canada, Liên Hiệp Các Vương Quốc Anh Và Singapore Và Kinh Nghiệm Cho Vìệt Nam], Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

Few rights that are guaranteed by constitutions and bills of rights are expressed to be absolute. In many jurisdictions, the legislature is permitted to impose restrictions on rights for specified reasons and under particular conditions. However, constitutional or bill of rights text often do not expressly indicate how the courts should determine that applicants’ rights have been legitimately restricted. To this end, courts in jurisdictions such as Canada and the United Kingdom have adopted the European doctrine of proportionality. Essentially, this requires them to balance opposing types of public interests – the interest sought to be protected by the rights …

The Past, Present And Future Of The Internal Security Act, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

Assistant Professor Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, who teaches and researches constitutional and administrative law at the School of Law of the Singapore Management University, introduces the Internal Security Act (ISA) and assesses its continued relevance today.

Reforming The Right To Legal Counsel In Singapore, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

This is an opinion prepared for the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of Singapore on an arrested person’s right to legal counsel in Singapore. Specifically, it deals with the following: (1) it summarizes pertinent aspects of the law relating to the right to legal counsel in Singapore; (2) it surveys a number of ASEAN and Commonwealth jurisdictions to determine how long after apprehension the right to counsel is generally accorded to arrested persons, and compares the legal position in these jurisdictions to the situation in Singapore; and (3) it examines two rights ancillary to the right to legal …

A Legal Backgrounder On By-Elections, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

The expulsion of Yaw Shin Leong, the Member of Parliament for Hougang Single Member Constituency, from the Workers’ Party has once again thrust the issue of the Singapore Government’s policy on by-elections into the limelight. This opinion piece considers whether the Government is right in taking the view that it has wide discretion to determine when, and if, to hold a by-election; and the possible consequences of an existing Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) standing as a candidate in a by-election.