Article 22H-22P Constitution of Singapore 1963
Article 22H, 22I, 22J, 22K, 22L, 22M, 22N, 22O, 22P among others, are under Chapter 1 (The President) of Part V of the Constitution of Singapore 1963. Part V is titled The Government.
Article 22H Singapore Constitution 1963
President may withhold assent to certain Bills
(1) The President may, acting in his discretion, in writing withhold his assent to any Bill (other than a Bill seeking to amend this Constitution), if the Bill or any provision therein provides, directly or indirectly, for the circumvention or curtailment of the discretionary powers conferred upon the President by this Constitution.
(2) The President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet, may pursuant to Article 100 (and whether before or after his assent has been withheld to a Bill under clause (1)), refer to a tribunal for its opinion the question whether the Bill or any provision therein provides, directly or indirectly, for the circumvention or curtailment of the discretionary powers conferred upon the President by this Constitution; and where such a reference is made to the tribunal, Article 100 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to that reference.
(3) Where a reference is made to the tribunal and the tribunal is of the opinion that neither the Bill nor any provision therein provides, directly or indirectly, for the circumvention or curtailment of the discretionary powers conferred upon the President by this Constitution, the President shall be deemed to have assented to the Bill on the day immediately after the day of the pronouncement of the opinion of the tribunal in open court.
Article 22I Singapore Constitution 1963
Restraining order under Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990
The President, acting in his discretion, may cancel, vary, confirm or refuse to confirm a restraining order made under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990 where the advice of the Cabinet is contrary to the recommendation of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony.
Article 22J Singapore Constitution 1963
Civil List and personal staff of President
(1) The Legislature shall by law provide a Civil List for the maintenance of the President.
(2) Any person exercising the functions of the office of President under Article 22N or 22O shall, during any period in which he exercises those functions, be entitled to such remuneration as the Legislature may by law provide.
(3) The Civil List for the maintenance of the President or any person exercising the functions of the office of President shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund and shall not be diminished during the continuance in office of the President or that person.
(4) Subject to clause (5), the appointment, terms of service, disciplinary control, termination of appointment and dismissal of the personal staff of the President shall be matters for the President acting in his discretion.
(5) The President may, if he so desires, appoint to his personal staff such public officers as he may select, after consultation with the Prime Minister, from a list of names submitted by the Public Service Commission; and the provisions of clause (4) (except in so far as they relate to appointment) shall apply in relation to a person so appointed as respects his service on the personal staff of the President but not as respects his service as a public officer.
(6) The remuneration of the personal staff of the President, other than a person appointed under clause (5), shall be defrayed out of the Civil List for the maintenance of the President.
Article 22K Singapore Constitution 1963
Immunity of President from suit
(1) Except as provided in clause (4), the President shall not be liable to any proceedings whatsoever in any court in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him in his official capacity.
(2) No proceedings in any court in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by the President in his private capacity shall be instituted against him during his term of office.
(3) Where provision is made by law limiting the time within which proceedings of any description may be brought against any person, the period of time during which such person holds office as President shall not be taken into account in calculating any period of time prescribed by that law.
(4) The immunity conferred by clause (1) shall not apply to —
(a) any inquiry held by a tribunal pursuant to a resolution passed by Parliament under Article 22L; or
(b) any proceedings before the Election Judge under Article 93A to determine the validity of any Presidential election.
Article 22L Singapore Constitution 1963
Vacation of and removal from office of President
(1) The office of President shall become vacant —
(a) upon the death of the President;
(aa) if the President ceases to be a citizen of Singapore;
(b) if the President resigns his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Prime Minister;
(c) if the President is removed from office in accordance with clauses (3) to (7);
(d) if the Election Judge in the exercise of his powers under Article 93A determines that the election of the President was void and does not determine that any other person was duly elected as President; or
(e) if upon the expiration of the term of office of the incumbent the person declared elected as President fails to assume the office of President.
(2) [Deleted by Act 17 of 1994]
(3) The Prime Minister or not less than one-quarter of the total number of Members of Parliament (excluding nominated Members) may give notice of a motion alleging that the President is permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office by reason of mental or physical infirmity or that the President has been guilty of —
(a) intentional violation of the Constitution;
(b) treason;
(c) misconduct or corruption involving the abuse of the powers of his office;
(d) any offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude; or
(e) intentionally or knowingly making a materially false or misleading statement of fact, or intentionally or knowingly failing to state a material fact, to the Presidential Elections Committee for the purpose of demonstrating his eligibility to be elected as President, and setting out full particulars of the allegations made and seeking an inquiry and report thereon.
(4) Where the motion referred to in clause (3) has been adopted by not less than half of the total number of Members of Parliament (excluding nominated Members), the Chief Justice shall appoint a tribunal to inquire into the allegations made against the President.
(5) A tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice shall consist of not less than 5 Supreme Court Judges of whom the Chief Justice shall be one, unless he otherwise decides and such tribunal may regulate its own procedure and make rules for that purpose.
(6) A tribunal shall, after due inquiry at which the President shall have the right to appear and to be heard in person or by counsel, make a report of its determination to the Speaker together with the reasons therefor.
(7) Where the tribunal reports to the Speaker that in its opinion the President is permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office by reason of mental or physical infirmity or that the President has been guilty of any of the other allegations contained in such resolution, Parliament may by a resolution passed by not less than three‑quarters of the total number of Members of Parliament (excluding nominated Members) remove the President from office.
Article 22M Singapore Constitution 1963
Determination by Election Judge that President was not duly elected or election of President was void
(1) Where the Election Judge in the exercise of his jurisdiction under Article 93A determines —
(a) that the election of the President was void and does not determine that any other person was duly elected, then, a poll for the election of the President shall be taken not later than 6 months from the date of the determination; or
(b) that any other person was duly elected as President, then, such other person shall assume the office of President forthwith after the determination.
(2) Upon the Election Judge making any determination that the election of the President was void and no other person was duly elected as President, the person who immediately before such determination was exercising the functions of the office of President shall forthwith cease to exercise such functions.
(3) The exercise, performance and discharge by any person of the powers, duties and functions of the office of President shall not be invalid by reason only of the fact that the Election Judge subsequently determines that the election of such person as President was void or undue.
Article 22N Singapore Constitution 1963
Persons to exercise functions of President when office is vacant
(1) If the office of President becomes vacant, the Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers or, if he is unavailable, the Speaker shall exercise the functions of the office of President during the period between the date the office of President becomes vacant and the assumption of office by the person declared elected as President.
(2) If neither the Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers nor the Speaker is available, Parliament may appoint a person in accordance with clause (3) to exercise the functions of the office of President during the period referred to in clause (1).
(3) Parliament shall not appoint any person to exercise the functions of the office of President under clause (2) unless the person is qualified to be elected as President.
(4) The provisions of this Chapter relating to immunity from suits shall apply in relation to any person exercising the functions of the office of President pursuant to this Article as if references to the President in those provisions were references to that person.
(5) Any person required or appointed to exercise the functions of the office of President pursuant to this Article or Article 22O shall, before exercising those functions, take and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice or another Supreme Court Judge the Oath of Office in the form set out in the First Schedule, except that neither the Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers nor the Speaker shall, during his term of office as such Chairman or as Speaker, be required to take such oath more than once in respect of occasions when he is required to exercise the functions of the office of President.
Article 22O Singapore Constitution 1963
Temporary disability of President
(1) Subject to clause (2), if the President becomes temporarily unable, whether by reason of ill-health, absence from Singapore or otherwise, to perform his functions under this Constitution or any other written law, one of the persons referred to in Article 22N shall exercise the functions of the office of President during the period of temporary disability, and the provisions of Article 22N shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to that person.
(2) Parliament shall not appoint any person to exercise the functions of the office of President under this Article unless the President agrees to that person being so appointed.
(3) Clause (2) shall not apply if the President is unable for any reason to signify his agreement to a person being appointed under this Article to exercise the functions of the office of President.
Article 22P Singapore Constitution 1963
Grant of pardon, etc.
(1) The President, as occasion shall arise, may, on the advice of the Cabinet —
(a) grant a pardon to any accomplice in any offence who gives information which leads to the conviction of the principal offender or any one of the principal offenders, if more than one;
(b) grant to any offender convicted of any offence in any court in Singapore, a pardon, free or subject to lawful conditions, or any reprieve or respite, either indefinite or for such period as the President may think fit, of the execution of any sentence pronounced on such offender; or
(c) remit the whole or any part of such sentence or of any penalty or forfeiture imposed by law.
(2) Where any offender has been condemned to death by the sentence of any court and in the event of an appeal such sentence has been confirmed by the appellate court, the President shall cause the reports which are made to him by the Judge who tried the case and the Chief Justice or other presiding Judge of the appellate court to be forwarded to the Attorney‑General with instructions that, after the Attorney‑General has given his opinion thereon, the reports shall be sent, together with the Attorney‑General’s opinion, to the Cabinet so that the Cabinet may advise the President on the exercise of the power conferred on him by clause (1).
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