The Constitution of Singapore establishes the organs of government which consists of Legislature, Executive & Judiciary. How can one be sure that these three organs do not interfere with each other in the context of Art 9 of the Constitution? How is this safeguarded by our Courts?

Art 9, The Constitution of Singapore,

1. Liberty of the person

(1) No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.

(2) Where a complaint is made to the High Court or any Judge thereof that a person is being unlawfully detained, the Court shall inquire into the complaint and, unless satisfied that the detention is lawful, shall order him to be produced before the Court and release him.

(3) Where a person is arrested, he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.

(4) Where a person is arrested and not released, he shall, without unreasonable delay, and in any case within 48 hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey), be produced before a Magistrate, in person or by way of video-conferencing link (or other similar technology) in accordance with law, and shall not be further detained in custody without the Magistrate’s authority.

2. Please discuss this statement in relation to the ambit of the fundamental rights of a citizen and at the same should exercise and respect the rule of law. You are encouraged to make reference to decided cases and you may refer to any other Articles, work experiences or even create hypothetical situations. All references, cases laws etc, used for this assignment must be attached. Please bind the assignment.

Guidelines in approaching Art 9 of the Constitution

1.      Scan the statutes that are available on http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/
2. Statutory Reading Strategy #1- Identify the key points. Predicting the Purpose and Usefulness of Article 9 – in your own words predict what its purpose and usefulness could be by reviewing
3. The Legislative History
4. Statutory Reading Strategy #2: Of Definitions & Interpretations – Identify the interpretation section(s). Review the words/phrases defined. Select one word/phrase that was particularly helpful to you in understanding the statute.

Recommended Reading

Attorney-General v Hertzberg Daniel and Others
[2009] 1 SLR(R) 1103; [2008] SGHC 218

Shadrake Alan v Attorney- General [2011] 3 SLR 778

Lee Hsien Loong v Singapore Democratic Party and others [2009] 1 SLR(R) 642