A reconsideration of equal protection and executive action in Singapore

Publication Type

Transcript

Publication Date

8-2021

Abstract

In Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin v Attorney-General, the Singapore Court of Appeal reconsidered how Article 12(1), the equal protection provision in Singapore’s Constitution, should apply to executive actions. Departing from the established ‘deliberate and arbitrary’ test, the Court of Appeal proposed to first consider whether the relevant persons were ‘equally situated’ and subject to differential treatment. If so, this treatment had to be justified by legitimate reasons. This note argues that while the rejection of the ‘deliberate and arbitrary’ test ought to be welcomed, this approach risks returning to an emphasis on classes in equal protection analysis – an emphasis which has been criticised as tautological in the Singapore courts’ own Article 12(1) jurisprudence. A requirement to articulate the substantive requirements of equality in the specific context of the executive decision in question would offer a more principled means of analysing the constitutionality of executive actions under Article 12(1).

Keywords

Equal protection, equality, administrative law, executive act, Singapore, Article 12

Discipline

Administrative Law | Asian Studies

Research Areas

Public Interest Law, Community and Social Justice

Publication

Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal

Volume

21

Issue

2

First Page

295

Last Page

305

ISSN

1472-9342

Identifier

10.1080/14729342.2021.1940795

Publisher

Taylor & Francis (Routledge): SSH Titles - no Open Select

Additional URL

http://doi.org/10.1080/14729342.2021.1940795

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