Publication Type
News Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
8-2013
Abstract
The Singapore Court of Appeal’s judgment in Vellama d/o Marie Muthu v Attorney-General [2013] SGCA 39 – popularly known as the Hougang by-election case – shows that the Court sees its role as policing the margins rather than involving itself in the heart of politics. The Court held that the Government was incorrect in asserting the Constitution confers on it the discretion not to hold a by-election at all after a parliamentary seat falls vacant. The judgment came as a surprise to those used to a judicial stance fairly deferential towards the Government, but on balance the Court did accord the Government significant deference as it held that the Prime Minister has a fair amount of leeway in deciding when a by-election should be conducted. Furthermore, the Court actually found that the application lacked standing to bring the case, and was reluctant to set a precedent potentially requiring the Government to defend more court cases.
Keywords
By-elections, constitutional law, deference, judicial review, Parliament, Singapore, standing
Discipline
Asian Studies | Law and Politics
Publication
Today
First Page
16, 18
ISSN
7237-4163
Publisher
Singapore Mediacorp Press
Citation
LEE, Jack Tsen-Ta.
Hougang By-election Case: What Court Decision on By-election Reveals. (2013). Today. 16, 18.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1222
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://www.smu.edu.sg/sites/default/files/smu/news_room/smu_in_the_news/2013/sources/aug6/today_20130806_1.pdf
Comments
Published in Today (6 August 2013) at 16 & 18.