Tuesday, May 26, 2015

What is article 9 of the constitution of Singapore?

Article 9 of the Singapore Constitution falls under section four of the Constitution, Fundamental Liberties. This particular article focuses on "liberty of the person" in that it guarantees the right to life and the right to personal liberty.
Article 9 begins with the statement, "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with the law." The latter half of this statement is important in that it adds a caveat that personal liberties may be taken away in cases of detention or incarceration. However, the article does go on to explain that in cases of arrest, imprisonment, or incarceration, a person still has the right to be informed of the rationale for their detention. Further, Article 9 states that arrested individuals have the right to an attorney and the right to defend themselves before a judge (referred to as Magistrate).
The Article does conclude, however, with a fifth section stating that the rights to an attorney and to defend oneself in court do not apply to an "enemy alien" or any person who has been "arrested for contempt of Parliament."


Article 9 of the Singapore Constitution guarantees the right to life and liberty. Section 1 elaborates on these fundamental rights, establishing that they can only be overridden according to the law. This particular provision is important because it states a commitment to the rule of law, one enshrined in countless human rights documents such as the Magna Carta and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
However, a precise definition of these rights has seldom been forthcoming. The rights to life and liberty, though broad, clash with relevant provisions in the Singapore Penal Code, which among other things prohibits abortion beyond 24 weeks. It is also highly unlikely that assisted suicide would come under the protection of the rights of either life or liberty. Another way of saying this is that the provisions of Article 9 are procedural, rather than substantive rights. What this means is that the Article is designed to provide a broad framework in which citizens' rights are guaranteed, but not to specify exactly how they may be guaranteed. The implication here is clearly that the latter question is one that ought to be decided by the people through their elected representatives rather than by the courts.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/interpreting-the-constitution

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