and that date, such that the legitimacy of laws passed between those dates can be questioned. Thus, the Grundnorm or basic norm of Singapore's legal system is Parliament rather than the Constitution. On the other hand, Kenneth Wheare has theorized that Parliament obtains the necessary constituent power to bring a constitution into force simply by virtue of the election of its members into office. Since the constitution is a representation of the will of the people, and the people have exercised their will to elect MPs as their representatives, the Parliament has the requisite constituent power to enact the constitution. The hiatus was also solved when Parliament made the RSIA retrospective to 9 August 1965. Subjects dealt with by the Constitution The Constitution deals with the following subjects in 14 parts: Part I: Preliminary This part gives the short title (despite there being no long title) to, defines certain terms and expressions used in, and establishes other rules for interpreting the Constitution. Part II: The Republic and the Constitution This part states that the Republic of Singapore is independent and that the Constitution is its supreme law (which is also the theoretical basis for judicial review in Singapore). Amendment The Constitution stipulates two different amendment procedures for different purposes. Most of the provisions in the Constitution may be amended with a supermajority of votes of all the elected MPs. However, a national referendum is required to amend certain provisions. This highlights the varying importance accorded to different types of constitutional provisions. While ordinary laws may be enacted with a simple majority of MPs present in Parliament voting in favour of them on their Second and Third Readings, Article 5(2) of the Constitution provides that a bill seeking to amend the Constitution can only be passed if it is supported by a supermajority of two-thirds of the elected MPs on the Second and Third Readings of the bill in Parliament. Non-elected MPs such as NCMPs and NMPs are not allowed to vote on constitutional amendment bills. The above procedure does not apply to any bill seeking to amend Part III of the Constitution, which protects Singapore's sovereignty. Article 6, which is in Part III, prohibits the "surrender or transfer, either wholly or in part, of the sovereignty of the Republic of Singapore as an independent nation, whether by way of merger or incorporation with any other sovereign state or with any