Constitution of Singapore
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore. A written constitution, the text which took effect on 9 August 1965 is derived from the Constitution of the State of Singapore 1963, provisions of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia made applicable to Singapore by the, and the Republic of Singapore Independence Act itself. The text of the Constitution is one of the legally binding sources of constitutional law in Singapore, the others being judicial interpretations of the Constitution, and certain other statutes. Non-binding sources are influences on constitutional law such as soft law, constitutional conventions, and public international law.
In the exercise of its original jurisdiction – that is, its power to hear cases for the first time – the High Court carries out two types of judicial review: judicial review of legislation, and judicial review of administrative acts. Although in a 1980 case the Privy Council held that the fundamental liberties in Part IV of the Constitution should be interpreted generously, Singapore courts usually adopt a philosophy of deference to Parliament and a strong presumption of constitutional validity, which has led to fundamental liberties being construed narrowly in certain cases. The courts also generally adopt a purposive approach, favouring interpretations that promote the purpose or object underlying constitutional provisions.
Article 4 of the Constitution expressly declares that it is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution also appears to satisfy Albert Venn Dicey's three criteria for supremacy: codification, rigidity, and the existence of judicial review by the courts. However, the view has been taken that it may not be supreme in practice and that Singapore's legal system is de facto characterised by parliamentary sovereignty.
There are two ways to amend the Constitution, depending on the nature of the provision being amended. Most of the Constitution's Articles can be amended with the support of more than two-thirds of all the Members of Parliament during the Second and Third Readings of each constitutional amendment bill. However, provisions protecting Singapore's sovereignty can only be amended if supported at a national referendum by at least two-thirds of the total number of votes cast. This requirement also applies to Articles 5 and 5A, though these provisions are not yet operational. Article 5 protects certain core constitutional provisions such as the fundamental liberties in Part IV of the Constitution, and Articles relating to the President's election, powers, maintenance, immunity from suit, and removal from office; while Article 5A enables the President to veto proposed constitutional amendments that directly or indirectly circumvent or curtail his discretionary powers. These provisions are not yet in force as the Government views the Elected Presidency as an evolving institution in need of further refinements.
The Malaysian courts have distinguished between the exercise of "constituent power" and "legislative power" by Parliament. When Parliament amends the Constitution by exercising constituent power, the amendment Act cannot be challenged as inconsistent with the Constitution's existing provisions. The Singapore position is unclear since this issue has not been raised before the courts. However, it is arguable that they are likely to apply the Malaysian position as the relevant provisions of the Constitution of Malaysia and the Singapore Constitution are in pari materia with each other. In addition, the High Court has rejected the basic structure or basic features doctrine developed by the Supreme Court of India, which means that Parliament is not precluded from amending or repealing any provisions of the Constitution, even those considered as basic.
Legally binding sources
Text of the Constitution
Singapore has a written constitution. The text of the Singapore Constitution which took effect from 9 August 1965 was a patchwork of provisions drawn from three statutes: the Constitution of the State of Singapore 1963, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia made applicable to Singapore by the Republic of Singapore Independence Act 1965, and the Republic of Singapore Independence Act itself. These provided the newly independent nation with a working constitution at short notice.Constitution of the State of Singapore 1963 and its predecessors
Since Singapore was founded as a factory or trading post of the East India Company in 1819, a number of laws having constitutional status have applied to it. Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements in 1867, which were granted a colonial constitution by way of letters patent dated 4 February 1867 that established the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements. Further letters patent dated 17 November 1877 set up an executive council and authorised the Governor to appoint judges. Thereafter, a number of other legal instruments were issued to streamline the constitutional structure of the colony, but did not make significant changes to the arrangements put in place by the 1867 and 1877 letters patent. The last constitution of the Straits Settlements was based on letters patent dated 17 December 1911 as amended by letters patent and royal instructions both dated 18 August 1924.After the Japanese Occupation, the Straits Settlements were dissolved in 1946 and Singapore became a Crown colony. Its new constitution, the Singapore Order in Council 1946, established an executive council and a legislative council which, for the first time, had a number of elected members. The constitution came into effect on 1 March 1948, and the first legislative elections in Singapore were held on 20 March that year. In 1953, a constitutional commission headed by Sir George Rendel was set up to recommend further changes in the constitutional system, with the aim of increasing widespread participation in the central and local government of Singapore. The British Government accepted most of the Rendel Commission's recommendations in its report of February 1954 and implemented them by way of the Singapore Colony Order in Council 1955, commonly known as the Rendel Constitution. While the new Legislative Assembly was a largely elected body, the colonial administration retained authority over administration, finance, internal security and law.
The next stage in Singapore's constitutional development was its transformation from a colony to a self-governing state of the British Empire. This was effected by the Singapore Order in Council 1958, which created the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara as the head of state, a prime minister and a wholly elected Legislative Assembly with 51 members. Subsequently, pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement of 1963, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaysia, becoming one of its states and losing colonial status. Singapore was granted a new state constitution in the form of the Constitution of the State of Singapore 1963.
The provisions relating to the legislative and executive bodies of government remained much the same as those in the 1958 Order in Council. On the other hand, the judiciary was regarded as a federal matter and did not form a part of the State Constitution. At this time, there was no bill of rights in the 1963 State Constitution, as the fundamental liberties in Part II of the Federal Constitution applied to Singapore.
Federal Constitution of Malaysia
Certain provisions of the Constitution of Singapore are derived from the Malaysian Federal Constitution. This was effected through section 6 of the Republic of Singapore Independence Act 1965, which states that the provisions of the Constitution of Malaysia, other than those set out in section 6 of the Act, "shall continue in force in Singapore, subject to such modifications, adaptations and qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary to bring them into conformity with the independent status of Singapore upon separation from Malaysia". Notably, the fundamental liberties in Part II of the Federal Constitution were made applicable to Singapore. However, Article 13 of the Federal Constitution which concerns the right to property, was specifically omitted to ensure the constitutionality of the Land Acquisition Act 1966 which authorises the Government to compulsorily acquire real estate.Republic of Singapore Independence Act
The Republic of Singapore Independence Act 1965 was passed by Parliament on 22 December 1965, and made retrospective to 9 August 1965. Apart from making the fundamental liberties in the Malaysian Federal Constitution applicable in Singapore, the RSIA also received the legislative and executive powers over Singapore, which were relinquished by Malaysia through its Constitution and Malaysia Act 1965. The executive authority of Singapore was vested in the President and made exercisable by him or by the Cabinet, while the legislative powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Parliament of Malaysia in respect of Singapore were vested in the President and the Parliament of Singapore. Furthermore, the RSIA empowered the President to "make such modifications in any written law as appear to him to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the enactment of this Act and in consequence of the independence of Singapore upon separation from Malaysia". This power lasted from 1965 to 1968.The Constitution Act 1965, which was enacted on the same day as the RSIA and also came into force on 9 August 1965, made the 1963 State Constitution amendable by a simple majority – that is, more than 50% – of all the Members of Parliament on the second and third readings of a constitutional amendment bill. The requirement of a two-thirds majority for amendment was only restored in 1979. The justification for the reversion given by the Minister for Law, E.W. Barker, was that "ll consequential amendments that have been necessitated by our constitutional advancement have now been enacted".
However, these amendments were made to the 1963 State Constitution; the amendment Acts were silent on whether they applied to the RSIA. Thus, although Parliament has made no attempt to amend the RSIA since 1965, it can theoretically be changed or even repealed by a simple majority in Parliament. One problem this raises is even though the RSIA is categorised by the Government as a "constitutional document", legally speaking it is apparently not part of the consolidated Constitution. Constitutional scholar Dr. Kevin Tan has suggested it should be recognised as a sui generis Act having a unique status. It may be that the RSIA's status is similar to that of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, which is also an ordinary Act of Parliament. It has been said that while it is theoretically possible to amend or repeal the Bill of Rights Act by a simple majority of the New Zealand Parliament, "any government intent on repeal or restrictive amendment of the Bill of Rights is likely to suffer extreme political difficulty and opprobrium".
In order to safeguard minority interests in a newly independent Singapore and contain the communist threat of the time, a constitutional commission chaired by Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin was convened in 1966 to review the 1963 State Constitution. In its report, the Wee Commission made recommendations regarding two broad areas – political philosophy and principles, and various governmental institutions. Many, but not all, of the recommendations were adopted by Parliament.