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Public Law and Legal Theory

Singapore Management University

Equal protection

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Constitutional Equality And Executive Action: A Comparative Perspective To The Comparator Problem, Kenny Chng Mar 2023

Constitutional Equality And Executive Action: A Comparative Perspective To The Comparator Problem, Kenny Chng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A general right to equality is a common feature of written constitutions around the world. Interesting questions arise when one seeks to apply such rights to discrete executive acts. The subject of such acts has necessarily been singled out from a multitude of possibilities for the purposes of the act. To determine whether a differentiation has occurred such that like cases have not been treated alike, to what or whom should this subject be compared? The question of how one selects the proper comparator becomes especially significant when one notes that whether the equal protection guarantee is triggered at all …


The Relevance Of Purpose In Constitutional Equal Protection Challenges To Executive Action, Wei Yao, Kenny Chng Jul 2022

The Relevance Of Purpose In Constitutional Equal Protection Challenges To Executive Action, Wei Yao, Kenny Chng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Written constitutions often include generalized guarantees of equal protection which imply a proscription on unconstitutional differential treatment. This paper will examine what the analytical focus ought to be when evaluating challenges to executive action based on such rights, a particularly relevant issue given recent developments in Hong Kong’s and Singapore’s equal protection jurisprudence. These developments suggest that there are three possible analytical focal points, each of which takes a different perspective on the relevance of the executive’s purpose in utilizing differential treatment: (1) the connection between the chosen differentiation and the specific purpose of the challenged executive action; (2) the …


Equal Protection And Sexual Orientation, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee Jan 1995

Equal Protection And Sexual Orientation, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Equality is the thread running through the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Constitution. ... Equality, expressed in Art 12 of the [Singapore] Constitution, is also a specific right enforceable by the court. The difficulty comes in applying this deceptively simple concept to real-life situations. ... In considering the validity of legislation, Singapore and Malaysian courts have generally favored rational review, a modest conception of equal protection, unlike their American counterparts which have adopted a more expansive reading in the form of strict and intermediate review. This article examines how these three levels of equal protection review operate, and argues that …