How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward
In the past, Malaysian courts performing constitutional rights review played a merely clerical role, applying a test that was trivially easy for legislation to pass. Then a more rigorous proportionality test took root. However, the Federal Court in the 2020 case of Letitia Bosman whittled the test d...
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sg-smu-ink.sol_research-64552024-08-01T07:26:12Z How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward ONG, Benjamin Joshua In the past, Malaysian courts performing constitutional rights review played a merely clerical role, applying a test that was trivially easy for legislation to pass. Then a more rigorous proportionality test took root. However, the Federal Court in the 2020 case of Letitia Bosman whittled the test down again, and the courts once more played a minimal role in checking state action. The reasons for this cannot be explained merely by diversity in judicial philosophy or political contextual factors. Rather, the near-demise of proportionality (and, with it, robust constitutional review) was made possible by a lack of a clear sense of the doctrinal foundations of proportionality (and, indeed, of constitutional rights review generally), and the relative roles of the courts and the legislature therein. As a result, there is a risk that the courts’ important role in safeguarding constitutional rights has been minimised to near vanishing point. This article aims, through an analysis of the case law and its foundations, to explain how this came to be, and hence highlight important issues which Malaysian constitutional law must grapple with if meaningful rights review is to take place. 2024-05-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4497 info:doi/10.1017/asjcl.2024.9 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6455/viewcontent/how_can_malaysian_courts_consistently_perform_meaningful_constitutional_rights_review_lessons_from_past_cases_and_the_way_forward.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Asian Studies Public Law and Legal Theory |
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Asian Studies Public Law and Legal Theory ONG, Benjamin Joshua How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward |
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In the past, Malaysian courts performing constitutional rights review played a merely clerical role, applying a test that was trivially easy for legislation to pass. Then a more rigorous proportionality test took root. However, the Federal Court in the 2020 case of Letitia Bosman whittled the test down again, and the courts once more played a minimal role in checking state action. The reasons for this cannot be explained merely by diversity in judicial philosophy or political contextual factors. Rather, the near-demise of proportionality (and, with it, robust constitutional review) was made possible by a lack of a clear sense of the doctrinal foundations of proportionality (and, indeed, of constitutional rights review generally), and the relative roles of the courts and the legislature therein. As a result, there is a risk that the courts’ important role in safeguarding constitutional rights has been minimised to near vanishing point. This article aims, through an analysis of the case law and its foundations, to explain how this came to be, and hence highlight important issues which Malaysian constitutional law must grapple with if meaningful rights review is to take place. |
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ONG, Benjamin Joshua |
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ONG, Benjamin Joshua |
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ONG, Benjamin Joshua |
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How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward |
title_short |
How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward |
title_full |
How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward |
title_fullStr |
How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward |
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How can Malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? Lessons from past cases and the way forward |
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how can malaysian courts consistently perform meaningful constitutional rights review? lessons from past cases and the way forward |
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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University |
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2024 |
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https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4497 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6455/viewcontent/how_can_malaysian_courts_consistently_perform_meaningful_constitutional_rights_review_lessons_from_past_cases_and_the_way_forward.pdf |
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