Singapore's highest court on Monday
refused to overturn a law that criminalizes gay sex, saying that
litigation is not the best way to resolve the issue.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon of the
Singapore Court of Appeal argued in upholding a lower court's
decision dismissing three challenges to the law that withdrawing the
law was “a matter beyond our remit.”
Menon said that a political resolution
was more appropriate.
“This is so for good reason because
litigation is a zero-sum, adversarial process with win-lose
outcomes,” said Menon. “The political process, in contrast, seeks
to mediate – it strives for compromises and consensus in which no
one side has to lose all.”
Menon added that it was “unnecessary”
for the court to address the constitutionality of Section 377A
because it is not being enforced.
“They do not face any real and
credible threat of prosecution under 377A at this time,” he said.
“Therefore, [they] do not have the standing to pursue their
constitutional challenges to that provision.”
Singapore-based LGBTQ rights group
Ready4Repeal called the ruling “a small step in the right
direction” that “does not go far enough to provide real
protection to the LGBTQ+ community, who continue to be impacted by
the cascading effects of Section 377A.”
Ready4Repeal
has been lobbying the government to repeal the colonial-era law. A
petition started by the group in 2018 has received more than 51,000
online signatures.