Equal Protection and Singapore's First Judgment on the Constitutionality of Criminalizing Male Homosexual Conduct: Lim Meng Suang and another v Attorney-General [2013] 3 SLR 118

Event Date

From Wednesday 20 Nov 2013 - 04:30 PM To Wednesday 20 Nov 2013 - 06:00 PM

Venue

SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business building, Level 1 Seminar Room 1.1, 50 Stamford Road, S178899

Organiser

Singapore Management University

Practice Area

Others/Multi-disciplinary

Training Level

Update

Public CPD Points

1.5

Event Outline

On 9 April 2013, in Lim Meng Suang v Attorney-General, the High Court of Singapore delivered the first judgment in the jurisdiction considering the constitutionality of section 377A of the Penal Code (Chapter 224, 2008 Revised Edition), which criminalizes acts of “gross indecency” between two men, whether they occur in public or private. The Court ruled that the provision was not inconsistent with the guarantee of equal protection before the law stated in Article 12(1) of the Constitution (1985 Revised Edition, 1999 Reprint). This presentation examines the Court’s analysis of equality law and considers some issues that the Court of Appeal may need resolve when it hears the matter on appeal. In particular, it is submitted that re-evaluation is required of the High Court’s reliance on a standard of mere reasonableness or lack of arbitrariness in various contexts, such as when applying a presumption of constitutionality, assessing the legitimacy of the object of the impugned provision.

Event Link

SMU-99U-130518

Event Attachment

SMU-130518_EventBrochure.pdf