Section 377A and a new modus vivendi

The law can provide structure and rules, but cannot imbue us with the values and norms to build bridges across differences

The ruling by Singapore’s Court of Appeal in February 2022 preserves the legislative status quo on S377A. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: REUTERS
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In a significant decision last month, Singapore's apex court ruled that as the three appellants who are homosexual men do not face any real and credible threat of prosecution at this time, they did not have the requisite standing to pursue their constitutional challenges to Section 377A of the Penal Code (S377A).

Nevertheless, the ruling is, arguably, the most important for providing sexually active homosexual men with the full measure of accommodation contemplated by the Government and expressed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament during the S377A debates in 2007.

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