Singapore: Should constitutional principles be eternal?

By Jaclyn L. Neo, 6 October 2014
ST FILE PHOTO
While there may be some basic features of the Constitution that we should be slow to change, we should not make gods out of the creators of the Constitution by making these principles eternal. Certain amendments can be made after holding a national referendum, the writer argues. ST FILE PHOTO
<p>In August, the Law Gazette published an article by lawyers Calvin Liang and Sarah Shi on a legal doctrine known as the basic structure doctrine, which says that a country's Constitution has features so fundamental, they cannot be changed by Parliament through constitutional amendments. Mr Liang and Ms Shi cite two: the separation of powers and the legality principle, meaning all power has legal limits. Their arguments were reported in The Straits Times last month by senior law correspondent K. C. Vijayan. His article focused on what the doctrine might mean for calls to scrap the elected presidency. </p><p>&nbsp;</p>
Read the full article here: The Strait Times

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