Your Authoritative Source on Singapore Law

Proportionality and Rights Protection in Asia: Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan – Whither Singapore?

Alec Stone Sweet & Jud Mathews

(2017) 29 SAcLJ 774

Abstract:
Over the past 50 years, the principle of proportionality has become a core component of global constitutionalism. Asia is proportionality’s new frontier, and courts in jurisdictions as diverse as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and now Malaysia have adopted proportional analysis as their basic approach to adjudicating constitutional rights. Underlying these developments are transitions away from single-party rule. The article considers the anomalous situation in Singapore, and argues that Singapore’s judges ought to reconsider their doctrinal approach to rights protection.