Respecting constitutionalism by changing the constitution: revisiting the Chng Suan Tze Saga

Abstract

The Chng Suan Tze saga in the late eighties involves the Singapore Court of Appeal invalidating the detention without trial of certain individuals under the Internal Security Act, and the Singapore government responding with rapid amendments to the Internal Security Act and the Constitution to ensure continued formal statutory and constitutional compliance of the controversial practice. This presentation suggests that contrary to common critiques, the reaction of the Singapore government is in fact a normatively desirable manifestation of constitutionalism under authoritarian political conditions. The demonstrated commitment to rapidly amend Constitution reduces the politicization of the judiciary (i.e., since the consequences of politically adverse judgement are mitigated) and preserves the salience of legal text. Both are crucial in providing a solid rule of law foundation for an emerging democratic regime as and when democratic transition do occur. In this regard, this presentation further posits that discussion of constitutionalism may benefit from delineating the political realities that facilitate the ease of constitutional amendments in a regime (authoritarian or otherwise).