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Constitution (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 5/1979

Read the first time on 5th March 1979.

An Act to amend the Constitution of Singapore.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Constitution (Amendment) Act, 1979.

Amendment of Article 2

2. Clause (1) of Article 2 of the Constitution of Singapore is amended by deleting the words “born in Malaya” therein.

Amendment of Article 52B

3. Article 52B of the Constitution of Singapore is amended by inserting, immediately after clause (2) thereof, the following clause: —

“(3) In order to facilitate the disposal of business in the Supreme Court, the President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, may appoint a person qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court to be a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court in accordance with Article 52C of this Constitution for such period or periods as the President thinks fit; and a Judicial Commissioner so appointed may, in respect of such class or classes of cases as the Chief Justice may specify, exercise the powers and perform the functions of a Judge of the Supreme Court. Anything done by a Judicial Commissioner when acting in accordance with the terms of his appointment shall have the same validity and effect as if done by a Judge of that Court and, in respect thereof, he shall have the same powers and enjoy the same immunities as if he had been a Judge of that Court.”.

Amendment of Article 52C

4. Clause (3) of Article 52C of the Constitution of Singapore is amended by inserting, immediately after the word “clause (2)” in the third line thereof, the words “and to the appointment of a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court under clause (3)”.

Amendment of Article 52E

5. Article 52E of the Constitution of Singapore is amended —

(a)	by inserting, immediately after the words “Supreme Court” in the second line thereof, the words “or designated to sit as a Judge of the Supreme Court under clause (2) of Article 52B or appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court under clause (3) of Article 52B of this Constitution”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “and allegiance” in the fifth line thereof.

New Article 60A

6. The Constitution of Singapore is amended by inserting, immediately after Article 60 thereof, the following Article: —

“Renunciation of citizenship

60A.—(1) Any citizen of Singapore of or over the age of twenty-one years and of sound mind who is also or is about to become a citizen of another country may renounce his citizenship of Singapore by declaration registered by the Government, and shall upon such registration cease to be a citizen of Singapore.

(2) The Government may withhold the registration of a declaration under this Article —

(a)

if the declaration is made during any war in which Singapore is engaged; or

(b)

if the declaration is made by a person subject to the Enlistment Act (Cap. 229) unless he has —

(i)	discharged his liability for full-time service under section 12 of that Act;
(ii)	rendered at least three years of reserve service under section 13 of that Act in lieu of such full-time service; or
(iii)	complied with such conditions as may be determined by the Government.

(3) This Article applies to a woman under the age of twenty-one years who has been married as it applies to a person of or over that age.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of Article 90

7. Article 90 of the Constitution of Singapore is repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Amendment of Constitution

90.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, the provisions of this Constitution may be amended by a law enacted by the Legislature.

(2) Except as provided in clause (3) of this Article, a Bill seeking to amend any provision in this Constitution shall not be passed by Parliament unless it has been supported on Second and Third Readings by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total number of the Members thereof.

(3) Any amendment consequential on such a law as is mentioned in clause (1) of Article 23 of this Constitution shall be excepted from the provisions of clause (2) of this Article.

(4) In this Article, “amendment” includes addition and repeal.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of Article 93

8. Article 93 of the Constitution of Singapore is repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Authorised reprints of the Constitution

93.—(1) The Attorney-General may, with the authority of the President, as soon as may be after the commencement of the Constitution (Amendment) Act, 1979, cause to be printed and published a consolidated reprint of the Constitution of Singapore (S.I. 1963 No. 1493, G.N. Sp. No. S 1/63, No. RS(A) 14/66), as amended from time to time, amalgamated with such of the provisions of the Constitution of Malaysia as are applicable to Singapore, into a single, composite document to be known as the “Reprint of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, 1979”.

(2) Thereafter, the President may, from time to time, authorise the Attorney-General to print and publish an up-to-date Reprint of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, incorporating therein all amendments in force at the date of such authorisation.

(3) Any Reprint of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, printed and published pursuant to clause (1) or (2) of this Article, shall be deemed to be and shall be, without any question whatsoever in all courts of justice and for all purposes whatsoever, the authentic text of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore in force as from the date specified in that Reprint until superseded by the next or subsequent Reprint or until other provision is made by any written law.

(4) In the preparation and compilation of any Reprint pursuant to clause (1) or (2) of this Article, the Attorney-General shall have, mutatis mutandis, the powers conferred upon the Commissioners by section 4 of the Revised Edition of the Laws Act (Cap. 1) in addition to the powers conferred on him by section 38 of the Interpretation Act (Cap. 3).

(5) In the preparation and compilation of the consolidated Reprint pursuant to clause (1) of this Article, the Attorney-General shall have the power in his discretion —

(a)	to merge the existing provisions of both Constitutions, making thereto such modifications as may be necessary or expedient in consequence of the independence of Singapore upon separation from Malaysia;
(b)	to re-arrange the Parts, Articles and provisions of the Constitution of Singapore and of the Constitution of Malaysia in such connected sequence as he thinks fit, omitting inappropriate or inapplicable provisions in the latter Constitution;
(c)	where provisions exist in both Constitutions on the same subject matter, to include in the consolidated Reprint the provisions of the Constitution of Singapore on such subject matter and to omit the duplicated provisions appearing in the Constitution of Malaysia from the consolidated Reprint; and
(d)	generally, to do all other things necessitated by, or consequential upon, the exercise of the powers conferred upon the Attorney-General by this Article or which may be necessary or expedient for the perfecting of the consolidated Reprint of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore.”.

Amendment of First Schedule

9. Paragraph 6 of the First Schedule to the Constitution of Singapore is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “and Allegiance” in the heading thereof; and
(b)	by deleting the words “and I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Republic of Singapore,” in the ninth and tenth lines thereof.

Article 23 of Malaysian Constitution to cease to apply

10. Article 23 of the Constitution of Malaysia shall cease to apply to Singapore.