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Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore guarantees to all persons equality before the law and equal protection of the law. The Article also identifies four forbidden classifications – religion, race, descent and place of birth – upon which Singapore citizens may not be discriminated for specific reasons. For example, discrimination on those classifications is prohibited in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment. Persons unable to show that one of the forbidden classifications applies to them may try to argue that they are members of a group defined by a law in a way that violates the general guarantee of equality and equal protection. To succeed, they must establish that the classification used in the law fails the rational nexus test, which is a three-stage test formulated by the courts. The first stage of the test involves an examination as to whether the law differentiates amongst classes of individuals. At the second stage, the court considers if the differentiation is founded on an intelligible differentia or distinguishing feature. Finally, the basis of the differentiation must bear a reasonable relation to the object of the statute. However, the test is not foolproof as a classification may satisfy the test even if the object of the law is itself illegitimate. The rational nexus test, as it is currently applied in Singapore, also tolerates over- and under-inclusive classifications. It remains to be seen if local courts will consider other approaches to the issue, such as the three-tier system of scrutiny applied in the United States, the proportionality analysis applied in the United Kingdom to other areas of human rights law, or the reasonableness approach taken by some judges in India and Malaysia. The rational nexus test does not apply where a statute treats all persons equally, but it is alleged that the authorities have applied the statute in a discriminatory manner. Instead, a modified rational nexus test is used, which requires a court to consider whether there is a reasonable nexus between the state action taken and the object of the law. Such a nexus will be absent if the action amounts to intentional and arbitrary discrimination or intentional systematic discrimination. It is insufficient if any inequality is due to inadvertence or inefficiency, unless this occurs on a very substantial scale. In addition, inequalities arising from a reasonable administrative policy or which are mere errors of judgment are insufficient to constitute a violation of Article 12(1). Article 12(3) of the Constitution provides that Article 12 does not invalidate or prohibit any provision regulating personal law; or any provision or practice restricting office or employment connected with the affairs of any religion, or of an institution managed by a group professing any religion, to persons professing that religion. ==Text of Article 12== Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore〔.〕 is entitled "Equal protection" and reads as follows: In the 1998 decision ''Public Prosecutor v. Taw Cheng Kong'',〔''Public Prosecutor v. Taw Cheng Kong'' ([1998] SGCA 37 ), () 2 S.L.R.(R.) 489, Court of Appeal (Singapore), archived from (the original ) on 13 April 2009.〕 the Court of Appeal regarded the concept of equality as a component of the wider doctrine of the rule of law, and traced its origin to the 40th article of the Magna Carta of 1215 which states: "To none will we sell, to none will we deny, to none will we delay right or justice."〔''Taw Cheng Kong'' (C.A.), p. 505, para. 52; and see also . The version in force in the UK is Article 29 of the Magna Carta reissued by Edward I of England in 1297 which reads: "We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right": Magna Carta 1297 ((1297 c. 9 )).〕 Article 12(1) of the Constitution bears a strong resemblance to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which prohibits any state from denying "to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws", and to Article 14 of the Constitution of India which bars the state from denying "to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India". Article 12(1) is identical to Article 8(1) of the Constitution of Malaysia, from which it was adopted following Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965.〔, s. 6(1).〕 In ''Lim Meng Suang v. Attorney-General'' (2013),〔 the High Court noted that the concept of equality before the law is derived from English common law which requires all classes of persons to be equally subject to the law, while the concept of equal protection of the law stems from the US Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment and guarantees both procedural and substantive equality.〔''Lim Meng Suang'', pp. 130–132, paras. 35–37.〕 The Court said:〔''Lim Meng Suang'', p. 132, para. 38.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Article 12 of the Constitution of Singapore」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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