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The Singapore Constitution: A Brief Introduction, Smu Apolitical

Student Publications

This primer seeks to provide an easy guide to those interested in finding out more about the Singapore Constitution. The Constitution provides for the structure of the government and the roles of the judiciary and the parliament. It also secures our fundamental liberties. Hence, some basic knowledge of the Constitution is useful for every citizen.

The primer starts by providing an introduction to the Singapore Constitution and explains the meaning of the concept of separation of powers among the executive, legislature and the judiciary. It also touches on the functions of the three entities, such as how laws are made …

Autochthonous Constitutional Design In Post-Colonial Singapore: Intimations Of Confucianism And The Leviathan In Entrenching Dominant Government, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Does Singapore's approach to institutional design vis-avis political representation prioritize strong and effective government, or is the goal one that is geared towards a representative government as a means of enhancing political governance? his paper examines the series of amendments to Singapore's Constitution and related legislation, between 1984 and 1990, and in 2010, which relate to political representation in Singapore's electoral system and unicameral legislature. At one level, the changes are part of the endeavor to retain Parliament's standing as the focal point of Singapore's Westminstermodeled system of government. The constitutional changes reflect the political elites' abiding belief that institutional …

Developments In The Law On Constitutional And Statutory Interpretation: Vellama D/O Marie Muthu V Ag [2012] Sghc 155; [2013] Sgca 39, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Following the expulsion of Mr Yaw Shin Leong, MP for Hougang Single MemberConstituency (SMC), from his party, the applicant in Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v AttorneyGeneral[2012] SGHC 155, [2012] 2 SLR 1033 (“Vellama (HC)”); [2013] SGCA 39 (“Vellama(CA)”), a resident of Hougang SMC, sought a declaration that the Prime Minister did nothave unfettered discretion in deciding whether and when to call a by-election to fill thevacant seat in Parliament, given that art 49(1) of the Constitution provides that “Wheneverthe seat of a Member, not being a non-constituency Member, has become vacant for anyreason other than a dissolution of Parliament, the …

Prosecutorial Discretion And The Legal Limits In Singapore, Gary Kok Yew Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Article 35(8) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore states that the Attorney-General, as the Public Prosecutor, “shall have the power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence”. This prosecutorial discretion, though extremely wide, is not an unfettered one and must not be exercised in bad faith or in breach of constitutional rights. With respect to the equality provision in the Constitution, the Prosecution has to give unbiased consideration to all potential accused persons and avoid any irrelevant considerations. The article considers whether the presumption of the constitutionality of prosecutorial decisions and …

This Land Was Made For You And Me: Public Participation In Land Use Decisions In Singapore, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

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

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

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 Constitutions: A Comparison Between Canada, The United Kingdom And Singapore And Its Implications For Vietnam, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

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 …

Expecting The Right Thing: The Imperative For Recognising Substantive Legitimate Expectations In Singapore, Siraj Aziz Shaik, Yi Siong Sui

2008 Asian Business & Rule of Law initiative

Recognition of a legitimate expectation for a substantive benefit has long been fraught with controversy both within jurisdictions that do and do not adopt the doctrine. This article seeks to assess the validity and utility of the doctrine of substantive legitimate expectations as it has developed in common law jurisdictions and extrapolate a conclusion which would be of guidance as to what the Singapore position on the doctrine ought to be. This article argues that on balance the doctrine of substantive legitimate expectations is a welcome addition to the landscape of administrative law in Singapore, and that the seminal case …

Let Presidential Hopefuls Have Their Say, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The announcement by the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) of the prospective candidates who have been issued certificates of eligibility for the 2011 presidential election in Singapore makes interesting reading for what it does and does not say. The Committee’s decision-making process is also fairly opaque. It is submitted the rules governing the PEC’s task should be reviewed before the next election. At least, it is hoped future Committees will adopt as constitutional conventions the practices of granting hearings to applicants, announcing decisions well ahead of nomination day, and issuing full reasons.

The Mandatory Death Penalty And A Sparsely Worded Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It was not unexpected that the Singapore Court of Appeal would reaffirm the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty for certain forms of drug trafficking in Yong Vui Kong v Public Prosecutor [2010] 3 S.L.R 489. ... The appellant made submissions based on Articles 9(1) and 12(1) of the Constitution, which respectively guarantee rights to life and personal liberty, and to equality before the law and equal protection of the law. This note examines aspects of the Article 9(1) arguments.

Constitutional Fiats: Presidential Legislation In India's Parliamentary Democracy, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The article presents information on the presidential legislation of the parliamentary democracies, India and Pakistan. It discusses the role of the President acting as the Council of Ministers for the enactment of legislations as ordinances without the consent of the Parliament. Information on the legal interpretation of the ordinances and its interaction with the principles of the parliamentary system of the government is also presented.

When The Text Runs Out: The Role Of The Court In Constitutional Construction, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Constitutions in Westminster-style legal systems in Asia such as India, Malaysia and Singapore feature bills of rights with provisions phrased at a high level of abstraction. As a consequence, at some stage a particular constitutional text ‘runs out’ and ceases to provide a court with substantive guidance as to how fundamental liberties should be applied to specific factual scenarios. Nonetheless, as it remains the court’s duty to understand the implications of the constitutional text in order to determine the dispute before it, the judge must necessarily engage in constitutional construction. This may be described as the process of articulating rules …

Freedom Of Speech And Contempt By Scandalizing The Court In Singapore, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The offence of scandalizing the court, a form of contempt of court, is regarded as obsolete in the United Kingdom. However, it continues to be imposed in other Commonwealth nations and remains very much alive in Singapore, having been applied in a crop of cases between 2006 and 2009. This short commentary examines one of these cases, Attorney-General v Hertzberg and others [2009] 1 Singapore Law Reports 1103, which has generated worldwide interest as it arose out of articles published in the Wall Street Journal Asia. In Hertzberg, the High Court of Singapore held that utterances by an alleged contemnor …

Make The Implicit Explicit: Affirming Right To Vote In The Constitution Would Pre-Empt The Possibility Of Abuse By Future Govts, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There are sound reasons to set out explicitly and entrench in the Singapore Constitution the right to vote and key elements of the way elections are held. While a future government might not remove them entirely, it might derogate from them to the extent that they become unrecognizable.

The Constitutionality Of The President To Hold Another Office Act, 2004: A View From India, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Peoples Union For Civil Liberties V Union Of India: Is Indian Democracy Dependent On A Statute?, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

What is the status of a right to vote in the Indian legal system? Is the right a constitutional/fundamental right? Or is it simply a statutory right? Contrary to the decisions of the Supreme Court in the last five decades, this paper argues that the right to vote is a constitutional right: its textual foundation may be located in Article 326. And, in this sense, the Supreme Court has erred in construing the right to vote as a statutory right under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. Interpreting the right to vote as a statutory right has larger implications for …

Strikes Through The Prism Of Duties: Is There A Fundamental Duty To Strike Under The Indian Constitution?, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Much of the debates on the legality of strikes under the Indian Constitution has been on the issue of a right to strike. This paper argues that the constitutionality of strikes may be analysed through the prism of duties, i.e. fundamental duties under Part IVA of the Constitution. Strikes were an integral part of the ideals that inspired India's national struggle against imperialism. And, in this sense, when article 51A exhorts Indians to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired our freedom struggle, it includes a fundamental duty to strike. Invoking the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, the paper argues …

Rediscovering The Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The fundamental liberties in our Constitution involve a study of tensions: between an individual's rights and the community's interests, between the role of the judiciary on the one hand and the executive and legislature on the other. How we should interpret them depends on where we think equilibrium should be established. This depends on two main factors. The first is the proper function of the judiciary as laid down by our Constitution, which is discussed in Part I of this article. The second is the nature of our fundamental liberties, for they are worded with varying degrees of generality. ... …

The Law Of Assembly In The People's Republic Of China: Implications Of The Retreat To Formal Legalism For The Legislative Process In China, Mark Findlay, Thomas Chor-Wing Chiu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Under the most current constitution, written in 1982, the citizens of the PRC are guaranteed freedom of the press, speech, assembly, association, procession, and demonstration; furthermore, all citizens enjoy the rights and assume the responsibilities prescribed by the constitution and the law. In 1989, following the student democracy demonstrations in the PRC, the government circulated a draft of the law concerning assemblies, processions, and demonstrations for public comment. While the 24 articles of the draft legislation effectively removed the right to free public protest by interposing a variety of administrative procedures governing proscription of venue, application, approval, and review, the …