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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
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Last month's ruling by Singapore's Court of Appeal - dismissing the challenges brought by three men who argued that Section 377A of the Penal Code should be struck down as it violates their constitutional rights - preserves the legislative status quo on S377A, reserving the matter of its retention or repeal for Parliament's further consideration at an appropriate time.
Eugene K.B. Tan For The Straits Times
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.
