Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 23 of 23

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

The Basic Structure Doctrine In Singapore: A Reply, Benjamin Joshua Ong Nov 2014

The Basic Structure Doctrine In Singapore: A Reply, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

While there are important principles fundamental to the Singapore Constitution, they do not form a legally unchangeable “basic structure”. Even if it were possible to identify a substantive “basic structure”, its exact content would be indeterminate and we would be left with only broad, unhelpful truisms. Instead, the true safeguards against potential undesirable constitutional amendments lie in democratic political processes.


Regulating Aerial Photography And Videography Proportionately: Some Thoughts On The Sal Seminar “Droning On About Journalism – Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Newsgathering, And Law”, Siyuan Chen Nov 2014

Regulating Aerial Photography And Videography Proportionately: Some Thoughts On The Sal Seminar “Droning On About Journalism – Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Newsgathering, And Law”, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The concept and practice of aerial photography and videography have been around for some time. But it was only in the last few years that such media production via remote means has achieved mainstream use. The convergence of cutting-edge technological developments in gyroscopic gimbals, far-range wireless transmissions, GPS-enablement in stabilisation, compact devices producing digital image quality and so forth has led to the proliferation of affordable camera-carrying “drones” that even hobbyists can pilot reasonably well with ease. Thus far, there have not been any reports of serious mishaps involving the use of these rotor-propelled copters. However, the controversial appellation inaccurately …


The Little India Riot: Domestic And International Law Perspectives, Siyuan Chen Oct 2014

The Little India Riot: Domestic And International Law Perspectives, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A riot involving hundreds of foreign labourers broke out in Little India, Singapore, on 8 December 2013. Only the second riot to occur in more than 40 years in fairly tranquil Singapore, the damage was extensive as rioters destroyed police and emergency vehicles and even injured dozens of police and civil defence personnel. The authorities only needed a few days to complete the investigations and shortly after, some of the alleged rioters were arrested and charged, while some of them were repatriated. The swiftness of the entire process prompted harsh criticism from international and local human rights groups, who claimed …


Troublesome Women And The Nanny State: Drawing Boundaries And Legislating Bifurcated Belonging In Patriarchal Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan Sep 2014

Troublesome Women And The Nanny State: Drawing Boundaries And Legislating Bifurcated Belonging In Patriarchal Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore was and remains an immigrant society. The immigration of newcitizens and temporary workers has become the primary means by which thepopulation is replenished and right-sized for its economic and demographicrequirements. More than one in three persons (or 38.6 percent) living inSingapore are foreigners (non-citizens, including permanent residents) in2013.[2] Of the 3.45 million working population in Singapore, about 38 percent(or about 1,296,800 persons are foreigners.[3] The vast majority of theseforeigners are transient workers (migrant workers) on short-term work permits.Of these, about 211,000—all women—are employed as domestic help (or ‘maids’ inlocal parlance) as of June 2013.


Setting Up A Non-Profit Trust Company: The Special Needs Trust Company In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang Sep 2014

Setting Up A Non-Profit Trust Company: The Special Needs Trust Company In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Persons with special needs are in an extremely vulnerable position where they are potentially subject to financial abuse by criminals or other untrustworthy people. In Singapore, this concern has led to the setting up of a non-profit company called the Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC). This article traces the formation of SNTC, the infrastructure and legal documentation required for setting up such a non-profit company and how the special needs trust is currently used in Singapore. The Singapore experience may provide a useful starting point to policy makers and non-governmental organisations from other jurisdictions which may be looking into the …


The Protection From Harassment Act 2014: Legislative Comment, Yihan Goh, Man Yip Sep 2014

The Protection From Harassment Act 2014: Legislative Comment, Yihan Goh, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (“Act”) was passed by Parliament on 13 March 2014 following its Second Reading. The Act is a culmination of a concerted ministerial effort to bring about legislative change to the laws governing harassment. Bringing together the background to the Act, its general structure and its specific provisions, this article aims to add to the undoubted long list of commentaries on the Act and, it is hoped, contribute to the understanding and enforcement of the Act.


Restitution Of Mistaken Enrichment Under Section 73 Of Malaysia's Contracts Act 1950: Pouring New Wine Into An Old Bottle?, Alvin W. L. See Jul 2014

Restitution Of Mistaken Enrichment Under Section 73 Of Malaysia's Contracts Act 1950: Pouring New Wine Into An Old Bottle?, Alvin W. L. See

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article makes two main suggestions regarding the interpretation of s 73 of Malaysia's Contracts Act 1950, which sets out the right to recover a mistaken enrichment. The first suggestion is that the courts should have regard to the historical background against which the section was enacted, especially because the pre-enactment common law was a historical curiosity. This will dispel certain misconceptions about the nature of the statutory right by shedding light on its supposed affinity with contract and its relationship with the obsolete forms of action and the principle of unjust enrichment. The second suggestion is that the content …


Singapore's New Discretionary Death Penalty For Drug Couriers: Public Prosecutor V Chum Tat Suan, Siyuan Chen Jul 2014

Singapore's New Discretionary Death Penalty For Drug Couriers: Public Prosecutor V Chum Tat Suan, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The article offers information on the history, evolution and significance of the new discretionary death penalty legislation for drug couriers in Singapore under the application of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). It discusses the judicial decision of the Singaporean High Court in the case of Public Prosecutor v. Chum Tat Suan in which the Court convicted the accused with chareges of importing of more than 94.96g of diamorphine into Singapore that was punishable under section 33 of the MDA.


The Responsibilities Of Lawyers For Their Clients Misstatements And Omissions To The Securities Market In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan Mar 2014

The Responsibilities Of Lawyers For Their Clients Misstatements And Omissions To The Securities Market In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the extent to which lawyers advising on the disclosure documents of their clients issued to the securities markets should be responsible for their clients’ disclosure failures. It identifies the following problems with the current framework. First, there is a lack of objective due diligence standards which lawyers are expected to meet when they are advising on public disclosure documents. Second, except for takeovers, lawyers are not subject to public enforcement actions even if they have not acted with due care and diligence in ensuring that their clients comply with their disclosure obligations. Third, private enforcement actions against …


Judicial Inactivitism In Protecting Financial Consumer Against Predatory Sale Of Retail Structured Products: A Reflection From Retail Structured Notes Lawsuits In Taiwan, Chao-Hung Chen Feb 2014

Judicial Inactivitism In Protecting Financial Consumer Against Predatory Sale Of Retail Structured Products: A Reflection From Retail Structured Notes Lawsuits In Taiwan, Chao-Hung Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article analyzes 310 structured note lawsuits in Taiwan between 2000 and 2013 to examine courts’ attitude in dealing with claims of misselling retail structured notes. We find that courts were generally not favorable to retail investors. This provides a contrast with the financial regulator’s efforts to improve financial consumer protection since 2008. By examining plaintiffs’ key arguments and courts’ rulings, we find that it was difficult for investors to fulfill their burden of proof and courts were reluctant to award remedies when investors did sign on a contractual document confirming his knowledge on a few matters. While regulators are …


Streamlining Procedures For Judicial Review: Legislative Amendments To The Singapore Rules Of Court To Enhance Access To Justice, Denise Huiwen Wong Feb 2014

Streamlining Procedures For Judicial Review: Legislative Amendments To The Singapore Rules Of Court To Enhance Access To Justice, Denise Huiwen Wong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Judicial review cannot serve as an effective check on administrative action unless aggrieved applicants have a real way to access the courts to obtain relief. In an admirable, albeit belated move, significant amendments were made to the Singapore Rules of Court to remove the procedural strictures inherited from the pre-1977 UK system. The amendments allow an applicant to seek a declaration in addition to the traditional prerogative orders and recover damages within the same proceedings if the applicant can prove that he/she would have had a valid claim in a private law action. This article examines the mischief that the …


Counterblast: Escaping The Gallows Singapore Style, Mark Findlay Feb 2014

Counterblast: Escaping The Gallows Singapore Style, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The four‐year long struggle by Yong Vui Kong to challenge his mandatory death sentence reveals how life and death decisions can turn on legal niceties. For instance, on 20 November 2009, the President of the Republic of Singapore turned down Yong's plea for clemency and this news was conveyed to the prisoner's brother by his then lawyer three days later. Along with this sad information, he was told that his brother would be hung on 4 December 2009. Yong's brother then engaged the respected human rights advocate, M. Ravi, who was granted an interview with the prisoner two days prior …


An Institutional Alchemy: India’S Two Parliaments In Comparative Perspective, Shubhankar Dam Jan 2014

An Institutional Alchemy: India’S Two Parliaments In Comparative Perspective, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

India has a parliamentary system. But articled in India’s Constitution is a provision that authorizes the President to occasionally enact legislation without involving Parliament. Such presidential legislation are called ordinances, not Acts; and rather than enact, the President promulgates them. Textually, ordinances are bounded by several ‘controls’. They are limited to circumstances when at least one House of Parliament is not in session, and the President is satisfied that the circumstances are such that immediate action is necessary. And without such formal parliamentary approval after a specified duration, they cease to exist. But after sixty years of constitutional practice these …


Milestones For Animal Welfare: Public Prosecutor V. Ling Chung Yee Roy, Alvin W. L. See Jan 2014

Milestones For Animal Welfare: Public Prosecutor V. Ling Chung Yee Roy, Alvin W. L. See

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Animal law is a little-known subject in Singapore. However, the increase in public awareness and concern about animal welfare issues demand that more attention is directed at the legal aspects of such issues. An opportunity to examine this area of the law arose in the case of Ling Chung Yee Roy. The District Court, presided by District Judge Ng Peng Hong, had to decide whether the accused was guilty of an animal cruelty offence under s. 42(1)(e) of the Animals and Birds Act. The majority of animal cruelty complaints were against pet owners, of which a significant number concerned the …


Further Clarification From The High Court On The Limits To The Constitutional Right To Counsel: James Raj S/O Arokiasamy V Pp [2014] Sghc 10, Siyuan Chen, Kenneth Tan Jan 2014

Further Clarification From The High Court On The Limits To The Constitutional Right To Counsel: James Raj S/O Arokiasamy V Pp [2014] Sghc 10, Siyuan Chen, Kenneth Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Article 9(3) of the Constitution1 states that “Where a person is arrested, he … shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.” However, art 9(3) does not stipulate the point in time at which an arrested person is entitled to consult counsel. The local jurisprudence over the past few decades have affirmed the interpretation that an arrested person is not entitled to access counsel immediately upon arrest, but only after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed. The High Court in James Raj s/o Arokiasamy v Public Prosecutor (“James Raj”) has now shed …


Measuring The Transplantation Of English Commercial Law In A Small Jurisdiction: An Empirical Study Of Singapore’S Insurance Judgments Between 1965 And 2012, Christopher Chen Jan 2014

Measuring The Transplantation Of English Commercial Law In A Small Jurisdiction: An Empirical Study Of Singapore’S Insurance Judgments Between 1965 And 2012, Christopher Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article seeks to measure the development of law after transplanting common law and statutes from another country by conducting an empirical study of the citation of precedents and demography of disputes of insurance cases in Singapore. This article recognizes that there are justifications for Singapore to transplant English insurance law. However, this research shows that the transplantation of English commercial law into a small jurisdiction, even within the common law family, may cause the law to be in a static state if courts do not have enough cases to maintain the development of law or to consider new development …


Sign Up Or Sign Off: Asia’S Reluctant Engagement With The International Criminal Court, Mark Findlay Jan 2014

Sign Up Or Sign Off: Asia’S Reluctant Engagement With The International Criminal Court, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The International Criminal Court argues that there is a need to achieve universal ratification so that the majority of mankind will no longer remain outside the protection of the ICC. In the Asia/Pacific region there is a relatively low accession rate of nation states to the Rome Statute. This paper proposes a taxonomy of resistance to ratification in the region, recognising that in speculating on the reasons for resistance to the ratification of international criminal justice, local to the global across Asia and the Pacific, there is a risk in both over emphasising cultural and political difference while at the …


Civil Case Management In Singapore: Of Models, Measures And Justice, Chee Hock Foo, Eunice Chua, Louis Ng Jan 2014

Civil Case Management In Singapore: Of Models, Measures And Justice, Chee Hock Foo, Eunice Chua, Louis Ng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The goals of all ASEAN member states are to “accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development” and “promote peace and stability” in the region. To achieve these goals, the public will need to trust and respect the Judiciary. Such trust and respect can be lost if there are inefficient practices that result in delay in the courts. The Singapore Judiciary is presently lauded for “its efficiency, its technological sophistication, its accessibility and the confidence of Singapore’s citizens and businesses in the system.” The World Economic Forum has also ranked Singapore first (out of 142 countries) in recognition of Singapore’s …


Agency And Partnership Law [2013], Pearlie M. C. Koh, Stephen Noel Henry Bull Jan 2014

Agency And Partnership Law [2013], Pearlie M. C. Koh, Stephen Noel Henry Bull

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The laws relating to the creation of an agency, implied authority, holding out and apparent authority, duties of the agent in relation to Agency law are discussed. The laws relating to partnership law and issues such as relationship of partners to third parties, relationships of partners between themselves and capacity to be a partner are highlighted.


Strategies For Surviving In China's Intellectual Property Minefield, David Llewelyn, Peter J. Williamson Jan 2014

Strategies For Surviving In China's Intellectual Property Minefield, David Llewelyn, Peter J. Williamson

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Despite a slowdown in China’s GDP growth from the double-digit heights of the last decade, it is still expanding at over 7% per annum – a growth rate that looks more sustainable. Growth in the other major emerging economies including India, Brazil and Russia, by contrast, has all but collapsed, at least for the present. Growth in the developed economies, meanwhile, remains fragile in the wake of their post-2008 financial crisis recessions. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Boards of many foreign companies are counting on winning share in the China market to support their top-line growth in coming …


Redefining Relevancy And Exclusionary Discretion In Sir James Fitzjames Stephen’S Indian Evidence Act Of 1872: The Singapore Experiment And Lessons For Other Indian Evidence Act Jurisdictions, Siyuan Chen Jan 2014

Redefining Relevancy And Exclusionary Discretion In Sir James Fitzjames Stephen’S Indian Evidence Act Of 1872: The Singapore Experiment And Lessons For Other Indian Evidence Act Jurisdictions, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In many jurisdictions, the rules of evidence can often be instrumental in determining the outcome of a dispute. But to what extent can evidence law be controlled by codification, or is it better to leave its regulation and development to the judges via common law? In an attempt to bridge the gap between the rules of an antiquated evidence statute and the modern realities of practice, Singapore’s Evidence Act was amended in 2012. Certain relevancy provisions were amended to allow greater admissibility of evidence, while new provisions were introduced to act as a check against abuse. However, it will be …


A Wrong Turn In History: Re-Understanding The Exclusionary Rule Against Prior Negotiations In Contractual Interpretation, Yihan Goh Jan 2014

A Wrong Turn In History: Re-Understanding The Exclusionary Rule Against Prior Negotiations In Contractual Interpretation, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A reason justifying the exclusionary rule against prior negotiations in the interpretation of contracts is its longevity. Yet, the authorities commonly cited in support of the exclusionary rule are mostly traceable to Lord Wilberforce’s speech in the relatively recent case of Prenn v Simmonds. This article suggests that the law took a wrong turn in that case and caused later courts to support the exclusionary rule by recourse to policy-oriented justifications, instead of principle-based ones. The emphasis on policy-oriented justifications, and the recantation of Prenn v Simmonds as reason enough for the exclusionary rule, support an independent rule against prior …


Law Firm Internships And The Making Of Future Lawyers: An Empirical Study In Singapore, Seow Hon Tan Jan 2014

Law Firm Internships And The Making Of Future Lawyers: An Empirical Study In Singapore, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the findings of an empirical study of law students from the Singapore Management University on their internship experiences at private law firms. As internships are frequently undertaken by law students, it is necessary for stakeholders to understand their impact on the values and ideals of law students in relation to the law and legal practice. This article seeks to increase the consciousness of law school educators, lawyers, and the professional bar about how law firm internships are contributing to the making of future lawyers, so as to facilitate the reflection by these parties as to their roles …