Defining marriage in the constitution – a perspective from Singapore

Constitutional provisions, which contain definitions of marriage – for example, that marriage is a union between a man and a woman – are of particular interest, since the definition of marriage is one of the most contentious culture war issues today. A recent addition to the landscape of such provisions around the world is Article 156 of the Singapore Constitution. This constitutional amendment was intended to supply a degree of constitutional protection to the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, against the backdrop of concerns about possible constitutional challenges to the definition of marriage in Singapore. This comment proposes that the story of Singapore’s experience with Article 156 is a topic of interest for comparative constitutional law scholars both within and outside Singapore. Against the comparative landscape, Singapore’s Article 156 presents an interesting solution to how a written constitution can regulate the definition of marriage.