Defining marriage in the Constitution: A perspective from Singapore

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

7-2025

Abstract

Constitutional provisions, which contain definitions of marriage – for example, that marriage is a union between a man and a woman – are of particular interest, since the definition of marriage is one of the most contentious culture war issues today. A recent addition to the landscape of such provisions around the world is Article 156 of the Singapore Constitution. This constitutional amendment was intended to supply a degree of constitutional protection to the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, against the backdrop of concerns about possible constitutional challenges to the definition of marriage in Singapore. This comment proposes that the story of Singapore’s experience with Article 156 is a topic of interest for comparative constitutional law scholars both within and outside Singapore. Against the comparative landscape, Singapore’s Article 156 presents an interesting solution to how a written constitution can regulate the definition of marriage.

Discipline

Asian Studies | Constitutional Law | Family Law

Research Areas

Public Law

Publication

Comparative Constitutional Studies

Volume

3

Issue

1

First Page

154

Last Page

165

ISSN

2752-9665

Identifier

10.4337/ccs.2024.0031

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.4337/ccs.2024.0031

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