The ruling on Friday overturned a previous High Court judgment to dismiss a bid for the court to declare that the Prime Minister does not have unfettered discretion to decide whether and when to call for a by-election. SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan lauded the judgement for upholding the principle that there are no unlimited powers or unfettered discretion under the rule of law. He said the decision affirms that "discretion conferred by law must be exercised responsibly and in accordance with the law". This provides "important constitutional protection against the arbitrary exercise of discretionary power", he added.