Law Commons^™

On Beauty, Scholarship, And Function: The Lessons From, And Importance Of, Legal History In The Development Of The Law Of Marine Insurance: [Review Of] Marine Insurance: A Legal History By Rob Merkin, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A few words of explanation at the outset are perhaps necessary – if nothing else than to explain the apparently cryptic title of this review essay. What in fact began as a somewhat straightforward review of a book on the history of marine insurance took a wholly unexpected turn and morphed into a general essay on the beauty, scholarship and function of legal history as viewed through the lenses of marine insurance. Indeed, in addition to being a magisterial two-volume history of the law of marine insurance, the present work demonstrates – in the most vividly possible way – at …

The Torrens System In Singapore: 75 Years From Conception To Commencement, Alvin W. L. See

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article tells the story of how the Torrens system of land titles registration came to be adopted in Singapore. From conception to commencement, the entire process took over 75 years, far longer than any other law reform the country has experienced. Particular attention is paid to why the Australian model was preferred despite the significant influence of English law in colonial Singapore. Although as with anything, much of what happened could be attributed to chance, a great deal can be learned from this story, which details the socio-economic and political forces that have shaped the law into what it …

Singapore Company Law And The Economy: Reciprocal Influence Over 50 Years, Vincent Ooi, Cheng Han Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A strong reciprocal relationship has existed between Singapore Company Law (SCL) and the economy since Independence in 1965. Swift Parliamentary responses to economic events and successful implementation of Government policies has made it possible to clearly attribute cause and effect to statutory amendments and economic events in turn, proving the reciprocal relationship between the two. The first theme of this article seeks to explain the fundamental characteristics of SCL that have resulted in such an unusually strong reciprocal relationship: (1) Autochthonous nature of SCL; (2) Responsive nature of legislation; and (3) Government control at multiple levels of implementation. The second …

An Analysis Of St. Thomas Aquinas’S Position On The Relationship Between Justice And Legality, Wei Yao, Kenny Chng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper is directed at a deep investigation of Thomas Aquinas's position on the relationship between justice and legality, a perennial debate in legal philosophy - are unjust laws laws at all? Modern natural law theorists taking contradictory positions all claim to be faithful to Aquinas's ideas on the matter. Yet, they cannot all be correct. This paper aims to discern Aquinas's true position on the matter by undertaking a detailed study of Aquinas's Treatise on Law, the broader context of the Summa Theologiae within which the Treatise is situated, and Aquinas's methodological and definitional approaches.

Should Commercial Surrogacy Be Legalised?, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Does Singapore condone commercial surrogacy? Thisquestion is in the limelight with a court judgment on a Singaporean doctor'sbid to adopt a boy he fathered through a commercial surrogacy arrangement inthe United States.

Masking Neo-Liberal Development: Polanyi, Rule Of Law And Dis-Embedding Dynamics, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Purpose: Polanyi in his analysis of market dis-embedding suggests a drift in economic relations from the social to the fictitious. The purpose of this paper is to add two crucial components to the dis-embedding dynamic: rule of law discourse as a market force away from the social, and through suspension of imagination and of disbelief, the incongruous compatibility of actual and fictional markets that further works against embedding.Design/methodology/approach: Theory building through the application and testing of the Polanyian market dis-embedding analysis is a central concern for the paper. Through the example of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the manner in …

An Empirical Study On The Singapore Court Of Appeal’S Citation Of Academic Works: Reflections On The Relationship Between Singapore’S Judiciary And Academia, Wui Ling Cheah, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the light of Singapore’s aspiration to be a centre of legal ideas in the region, it is opportune to examine the Singapore courts’ use of legal scholarship. This article provides a preliminary map of the Singapore Court of Appeal’s citation practices. It provides an overview of the Singapore Court of Appeal’s use or citation of legal scholarship in its decisions over the past 50 years. It identifies and evaluates trends in the Singapore Court of Appeal’s citations of academic material and the types of academic material cited.

Redistributive Taxation In The Modern World, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Academic discussion of justice and taxation has focused on determining the moral limits of taxation. This article is concerned specifically with the moral limits on the redistributivity of taxation. Rawlsian principles enable us to determine the moral upper and lower bounds of redistribution through tax and transfer systems. However, major changes since Rawls and Nozick prompt a re-examination of these bounds in the modern context. Increased affluence means that for many societies the worst-off citizens are well-off in absolute terms. Increased immigration and emigration means that the classical model of a closed society is now obsolete. I consider the basis …

The Singapore Legal System, Eugene K. B. Tan, Gary Kok Yew Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore legal system is a rich tapestry of laws, institutions, values, history and culture. Like the Singapore-made quilt, each strand of the legal system is woven together to form a jurisprudential kaleidoscope bounded by a unique national identity.

The legal system will inevitably undergo tension as socio-economic and politico-legal changes unfold with increased globalisation and regionalisation. Thus, Singapore has to respond swiftly and deftly in creating new laws and institutions or adapting existing ones.

In this regard, Singapore is and has been ready and willing to learn from the legal developments taking place in foreign jurisdictions with similar aspirations. …

Which Road To The Past? - Some Reflections On Legal History, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It is not customary to commence a keynote address with caveats and disclaimers. However, this is the rare occasion when such qualifications are necessary because—if I may be permitted a crude pun—of the lack of qualifications of the speaker himself. This is not false modesty. It is very real. I know that I have often been referred to in the Singapore context as a legal historian.

China’S Legal Battles In The Wto, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

For many observers, a major practical question raised by China’saccession to the WTO is the following: Can the DSScopewithChina? On the one hand, there is alegalistic rule-based disputesettlement system, which has been regarded by some aS the“crown-jewel of the WTO” as well as “the most important

The Singapore Legal System – History, Theory And Practice, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Law is central to order and stability and, without order and stability, societal as well as economic viability (let alone progress) are impossible The alternative is 'rule of man', and all the dangers of fallibility and (consequently) despotism that that entails. One central difficulty has, of course, been the maintenance of the argument that law is consonant with objective truth for if the law does not in fact possess this quality, then the 'rule of law' turns out to be the 'rule of man' after all. However, it is difficult, on rational grounds at least, to reject the concept of …

Lord Denning And The Influence Of William Temple, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Lord Denning is probably one of the most influential English judges in the twentieth century,' and is certainly its most colourful. He recently celebrated his one hundredth birthday,2 and a symposium to honour this occasion and celebrate the life of this remarkable man was held at Buckingham University.3 Lord Denning himself was too frail to attend this symposium, although a separate (and quieter) celebration was also held in his honour at his home at the Lawn in Whitchurch. I was deeply saddened to learn that Lord Denning passed away a few weeks after, on 5th March 1999.

Introduction: Hong Kong After The Reversion: In Search Of A Post‐Colonial Order, Tuck Hong James Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The political handover of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997 turned out to be a non-eventwith little political drama. Emotions ran high when the Union Jack was loweredand was replaced by the Chinese national flag (wuxing hongqi), peacefully endingover one and a half centuries of British colonial rule in Hong Kong. The handovertook place smoothly, despite the heavy rain, without political and social turbulence.The Sino-British disagreement over the abolition of the Legislative Council marredthe occasion, but the swearing-in of a pro-Beijing Provisional Legislative Councilwas largely accepted as a fait accompli.

Of Legal History, Jurisprudence And Insanity – “Wrong Or Contrary To Law" In Section 84 Of The Penal Code Re-Considered, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article considers, from the perspectives of legal history and jurisprudence, longstanding controversy surrounding the interpretation of the phrase "wrong or contra to law" in section 84 of the Penal Code, and suggests that the evidence points to interpretation that "wrong" means "legally wrong" or "contrary to law". It also consid the practical implications that follow from such an interpretation, which implicatio would allow for some role, nevertheless, for extral

"The Concept Of Law" Revisited, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On any view, Hart is one of (if not the) leading jurists in Anglo-American legal philosophy this century. His central work, The Concept of Law,' is prescribed reading in virtually every jurisprudence course around the world. He has also been involved in the most famous debates in Anglo-American legal philosophy: the Hart-Fuller debate on the separation of law from morality; 2 the Hart-Devlin debate on the enforcement of morals;3 and the Hart-Dworkin debate on judicial discretion 4 -and it ought to be mentioned that it was precisely these debates that forced all three of these jurists to construct their own …

Reception Of English Law In Singapore: Problems And Proposed Solutions, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The problems pertaining to the reception of English law in Singapore are both numerous and complex. The academic literature generated in the local sphere alone is relatively large. It must, however, be conceded that, from apractical point of view, there has been very little interest or at least discussion. One cannot, of course, be sure about this observation, save for the very strong indication that takes the form of the overwhelming lack of litigation in the area, thus rendering it merely (so it appears) an academic monopoly. It should, however, be pointed out that this rather phlegmatic approach in practice …

Of Generality And Specificity – A Suggested Approach Toward The Development Of An Autochthonous Singapore Legal System, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This very brief essay seeks to sketch out as well as consider an approach toward legal analysis and reasoning that would aid in the development of an autochthonous Singapore legal system, ' and that, in any event, would probably also be relevant even in more generalized ad hoc situations. It is assumed that many, if not most, of those involved in the discipline of Singapore law desire the construction of an autochthonous legal system, although the skeptic might find - as just mentioned - the approach suggested here of some utility as well.

Of ‘Cut-Off’ Dates And Domination: Some Problematic Aspects Of The General Reception Of English Law In Singapore, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article deals with some problematic aspects of the general reception of English law in Singapore. It examines, first, the concept of the 'cut-off' date for statutes and the common law. The second substantive part deals with the concepts of suitability and modification, analysing their theoretical cogency as well as their application in the local context. The third and final part of the article examines the relationship between reception and stare decisis, indicating and examining potential contradictions as well as other allied issues.

Jury Trial In Singapore And Malaysia: The Unmaking Of A Legal Institution, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

THE main task of this article is to inquire into the reasons for the general decline and final abolition of the jury system 1 in Singapore.2 It also seeks to discover why the decline and fall of a major legal institution aroused so little public debate, let alone outcry. To this end, the focus must necessarily be historical, but, in the context of a nation still in the process of discovering its legal heritage, it is hoped that the account which follows will contribute in some small way towards the development of our legal

Stare Decisis In Singapore And Malaysia: A Sad Tale Of The Use And Abuse Of Statutes, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A study of the cases and literature with regard to stare decisis in Singapore and Malaysia will reveal at least one salient characteristic - the propensity, primarily of the Courts, to misread statutes and twist them (whether inadvertently or otherwise) in order to justify a particular conclusion. Ironically enough, at the end of the day, similar (though not identical) conclusions could have been reached without the need to resort to any particular statutory provision. In this short article, I shall not endeavour to retrace ground already well covered by others, but will set out, in rather summary form, further reflections …

Editorial Privilege And The Scope Of Discovery In Sullivan Rule Libel Actions, Howard Hunter

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The war in Vietnam was the source of a great deal of social, political, and legal controversy. The impact of that war on our society was significant and substantial, but most students of the experience would probably not have predicted that the war's events would produce a lawsuit that could have a significant effect on the common law tort of defamation. The intriguing saga of Lt. Colonel Anthony Herbert, however, set the stage for the decision of a case that was almost as important to libel litigants as New York Times Co. v. Sullivan and Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.