Examining the Influence and Relevance of Canon Law and Catholic Doctrine on Singapore’s Marriage Law Comparative Legal Tradition Research Paper (LC2001B) Foo Guo Zhong Melvyn (A0072997J) ABSTRACT This paper explores the connection between canon law and Singapore’s law with regards to marriage. It does this by tracing the development of the Women’s Charter; and doing a substantive comparison of the similarities in laws. In doing so, this paper also hopes to show the modern relevance of the Church’s teachings in Singapore’s family context. *WORD COUNT (WITHOUT FOOTNOTES): 6621 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3 II. Canon Law, Theology & Doctrine ..................................................................................... 5 III. Holy Matrimony – The Canonical Marriage .................................................................. 6 A. Dignity of the Human Person ........................................................................................................ 7 B. Marriage as a Covenant – the Mutual and Total Giving of Self (Monogamy) .............................. 8 C. Marriage as a Sacrament – a Visible Sign of God’s Grace (Indissolubility) ................................. 9 D. Importance of Consent ................................................................................................................. 10 E. Children – the Precious Gift of Marriage (Parental Responsibility) ............................................ 11 IV. Jurisdiction and Influence of Canon law on English family law ................................. 13 A. Anglican Reformation ................................................................................................................. 13 B. Common Law Marriage ............................................................................................................... 14 V. Importation of Western Concepts under Colonial Rule ................................................ 16 A. Perversion of Chinese Customary Marriage ................................................................................ 16 B. Polygamy as immoral .................................................................................................................. 17 VI. The Women’s Charter and Section 46(1) – A Moral Exhortation .............................. 19 A. Women are not mere chattel ........................................................................................................ 21 B. Parents owe responsibilities (not just rights) to their children ..................................................... 21 C. Wife’s non-financial contribution is given due credit ................................................................. 23 VII. Other Substantive Comparisons between Canonical Marriages and Marriages under the Women’s Charter ................................................................................................. 25 A. Monogamy ................................................................................................................................... 25 B. Sanctity of the Marital Bond – Dissolution and Divorce ............................................................. 25 C. Annulment .................................................................................................................................... 26 D. Paramount importance of consent ................................................................................................ 26 E. Care of children ............................................................................................................................ 27 F. Sexual Consummation .................................................................................................................. 27 VIII. Further Thoughts ......................................................................................................... 29 A. Integration of women’s roles in society and the family ............................................................... 29 B. Family rights and role in society .................................................................................................. 30 IX. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 31 Page 2 of 31 EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE AND RELEVANCE OF CANON LAW AND CATHOLIC DOCTRINE ON SINGAPORE’S MARRIAGE LAW1 I. INTRODUCTION “Anyone who is introduced to the Women’s Charter as the major non-Muslim family law statute of Singapore would be somewhat surprised to learn that Singaporeans are made up of Chinese, Indians and Jews as well as other smaller racial groups… He would have expected that the people governed by the Women’s Charter are all Christians…” – Professor Leong Wai Kum, Family Law in Singapore2 Singapore is multi-racial and multi-religious. The customs governing marriage differ vastly from culture to culture, as well as from religion to religion. For example, Chinese custom allows a man to marry one wife, but on top of that, the man can also take other women as concubines. Yet, all non-Muslim Singaporeans are subject to one unified marriage law – the law as laid out by the Women’s Charter3. As pointed out by the esteemed authority on family law in Singapore4 in the above quote, it is a strange phenomenon that Singapore’s society today is monogamous, treats women as equals and places paramount importance on freely given consent (as opposed to arranged marriages). These norms that are entrenched in society today are oft taken for granted. Most Singaporeans do not realize is that these norms are essentially Christian in origin. This paper thus seeks to trace the influences of canon law and Christian norms that eventually led to the enactment of the Women’s Charter, which “introduced a monogamous regime of 1 The writer gratefully acknowledges the following people – Father David Garcia, for his lessons in moral theology; Father Adrian Yeo, for the discussion on canon law that he provided; and Professor Debbie Ong, for her directions to relevant resources and articles. The writer acknowledges God Himself, for it was only through His miracles and providence that this paper became a reality. 2 Leong Wai Kum, Family Law in Singapore: Cases and commentary on the Women’s Charter and family law, (Singapore: Malayan Law Journal, 1990) at 1 [Family Law in Singapore] 3 (Cap. 353, 2009 Rev. Ed. Sing.) [Charter] 4 Professor Leong Wai Kum graduated from the University of Malaya and holds a postgraduate degree from Harvard University. She dedicates herself to the development of Singapore’s family law and is a prolific writer on the subject. Much of her work is referred to in this paper, and the writer is extremely grateful for her contributions to this area of law. Page 3 of 31 marriage when the laws of most of the main ethnic groups actually recognized polygamy instead.”5 It will do this in two ways – the first is by tracing the development of Singapore’s family law to show the influence of canon law in the process; the second is by identifying substantial similarities between the Singapore’s and the Church’s view towards marriage. The paper is thus divided into three broad portions. The first portion (section III) deals with the Church’s understanding of marriage and family. The second portion (section IV-VI) of this paper will outline two major lines of influence that canon law and Catholic theology has had on Singapore’s family law: (1) importation of Western-Christian notions of marriage during attempts of the expatriate judges to interpret and apply customary law; and (2) enactment of the Women’s Charter and section 46. The third portion (section VII) of this paper will then do a substantive comparison between canonical marriages and marriages contracted under the Charter, to reveal other fundamental similarities between the Church’s and Singaporean’s understanding of the nature of marriage. 5 Andrew Phang Boon Leong, The Development of Singapore Law: Historical and Socio-Legal Perspectives, (Singapore: Butterworths, 1990) at 276 Page 4 of 31 II. CANON LAW, THEOLOGY & DOCTRINE In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:16 In the opening line of John’s Gospel7, the concept of divine legislation is established. God reveals Himself and speaks to mankind, and His word is the law. Moral theology is thus concerned with God’s law, as is revealed to man. Canon law is subsequently concerned with the moral law that is enforced by human sanctions. Canon law is thus inextricably bound with theology, and the interpretation of the Code of Canon Law8 is necessarily informed by ecclesiastical teachings and doctrine. Indeed, a learned commentator remarked9: The canonist, therefore, can never be simply a lawyer; he must always be in some measure a theologian, and he will frequently require the assistance of historians. This section states that ecclesiastical law, theology and Catholic doctrine are inextricably bound with one another. This justifies the interpretation of the Code of Canon Law using Catholic teachings10. Throughout this paper, references will thus be made to Scripture, Encyclicals, Vatican documents and other sources of Catholic doctrine, all of which are necessary and relevant to understanding and interpreting the Code. 6 The NRSV Catholic Edition Bible, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) [Bible] 7 There are four Gospels in the