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Proceedings Report: The 4th Asia Pacific Journal Of Private International Law Colloquium, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The 4th Asia Pacific Journal of Private International Law Colloquium, a biennial event, was held at the Singapore Management University on 28 November 2014 and convened by Associate Professor Adeline Chong. The one-day proceedings boasted a strong programme and facilitated discussions between private international law specialists from both civilian and common law jurisdictions.

Rbc Properties Pte Ltd V Defu Furniture Pte Ltd [2014] Sgca 62: Restatement Of Law Relating To Misrepresentation In Singapore, Yihan Goh

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The recent Court of Appeal decision of RBC Properties Pte Ltd v Defu Furniture Pte Ltd [2014] SGCA 62 (“RBC Properties”) contains an invaluable restatement of the law relating to misrepresentation in Singapore. This entry aims only to summarise that restatement of law. The interested reader may find the facts of the case succinctly discussed by the Court of Appeal in its judgment here and also in this blog entry on the High Court decision.

Siemens Industry Software Pte Ltd V Lion Global Offshore Pte Ltd [2014] Sghc 251: Further Issues In Contractual Formation And Duress, Yihan Goh

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For a second time in a month, the High Court decision of Siemens Industry Software Pte Ltd v Lion Global Offshore Pte Ltd [2014] SGHC 251 (“Siemens Industry Software”) gives us valuable guidance on the application of trite principles of contractual formation to a practical fact pattern. The case also discussed whether enforcing one’s legal right can ever amount to duress.

Contract Law Update 2014, Yihan Goh

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With the end of 2014 almost upon us, it is apposite to take stock of the more important developments in Singapore contract law in the year. This entry examines four cases that straddle important developments across various fields in contract law, namely, formation, terms, breach and illegality. In each case, it can be seen that the Singapore courts are anxious to consolidate existing law, and to chart new courses where relevant and appropriate.

A Rare Case Of Conspiracy By Lawful Means, Pey Woan Lee

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Conspiracy by lawful means is a well-known anomaly in the law of torts. The anomaly lies in the fact that the tort imposes liability on two or more persons acting in concert to pursue a course of conduct that is otherwise lawful when committed by a sole actor. Of course, it is a critical element of the tort that the conspirators must have acted with the predominant intention to cause harm to the victim, but it is well settled that malicious intent is not, by itself, a sufficient basis for founding liability. It would thus seem that it is the …

Was Singapore Airlines Liable For Business-Class Seats Sold At Economy Rates?, Yihan Goh

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Much has been reported about Singapore Airlines (“SIA”) mistakenly charging economy rates for around 900 business-class seats due to a computer input error. Yesterday, SIA said that it would honour those tickets at economy rates, reversing its previous position that it would not, and closing the episode on a note of goodwill. This blog entry explores the legal analysis behind the episode on the assumption that Singapore contract law applies, so as to maintain its general relevance to a Singaporean audience and its specific application to online retailers concerned about making similar pricing errors. Of course, the analysis would differ …

The Sentencing Of "Couriers" Under Section 33b Of The Misuse Of Drugs Act: Pp V Chum Tat Suan [2014] Sgca 59, Benjamin Joshua Ong

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Sections 33B(1)–(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (“the Act”)1 allow for a person who commits an offence under ss 5(1) or 7 of the Act to be sentenced to life imprisonment and caning instead of death if two conditions are met.

R1 International Pte Ltd V Lonstroff Ag [2014] Sgca 56: Lessons In Contractual Formation, Yihan Goh

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The rules relating to contractual formation are easy to state but difficult to apply in the varied circumstances of practice. It is therefore helpful that the recent Court of Appeal decision of R1 International Pte Ltd v Lonstroff AG [2014] SGCA 56 (“R1 International”) provides much guidance in this area of the law.

R1 International concerned whether a set of terms to arbitrate in Singapore, found in a detailed contract note sent by the appellant to the respondent shortly after their deal (“the deal”) was concluded, was incorporated as part of the contract between the parties. The answer …

The Presumption Of Resulting Trust: A New Era?, Man Yip

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This entry is written in anticipation of the forthcoming appeal against the recent High Court judgment in Mak Saw Ching v Yam Hui Min, Barbara Rebecca [2014] SGHC 212. The appeal shall provide a further opportunity for the Court of Appeal to clarify and refine the law on the presumption of resulting trust after the important decision of Chan Yuen Lan v See Fong Mun [2014] 3 SLR 1048 released earlier this year. However, the High Court judgment is not to be missed as well. The decision highlights interesting issues for the appellate bench’s consideration, and could be the forerunner …

Corporate Claims Against Director For Paying Bribes On Company's Behalf: Ho Kang Peng V Scintronix (Formerly Ttl Holdings), Wai Yee Wan

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Can a company recover the value of the bribe from a director who has paid the bribe, on behalf of the company, to a third party to secure certain benefits for the company, and where it is not alleged that the director had personally benefitted from the bribe? This question raises several complex issues relating to directors’ standard of care, corporate authorisation and corporate illegality, which were considered by the recent decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal in Ho Kang Peng v Scintronix Corp (formerly known as TTL Holdings).

Empirical Study On International Commercial Mediation And Conciliation, Nadja Alexander

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In this post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the preliminary results from the empirical study on international commercial mediation and conciliation are presented.

Do Away With Race-Based Annual Academic Data, Tan K. B. Eugene

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In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law and former Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan urged for the Ministry of Education to stop publishing race-based academic data for national examinations. This includes the Primary School Leaving Examination, and the GCE O- and A-Levels. He felt that at a time when the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others racial classification is less relevant, with more inter-racial and international marriages, we must do away with racial stereotypes or notions of cultural deficits, because they undermine the very students we seek to help.

On The Road To Watershed Hustings, Tan K. B. Eugene

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In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law and former Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan noted that with just 23 months left in the 12th Parliament's five-year term, the next polls, which will have to be held by Jan 9, 2017, promise to be the watershed general election. He also commented that it will almost certainly be a straight fight between the ruling People's Action Party and the Workers' Party, providing some indication of whether Singapore is evolving from a one-party dominant to a two-party political system.

2014 Future Earth Young Scientists Conference On Integrated Science And Knowledge Co-Production For Ecosystems And Human Well-Being, Ivy Shiue, Et. Al.

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Effective integration in science and knowledge co-production is a challenge that crosses research boundaries, climate regions, languages and cultures. Early career scientists are crucial in the identification of, and engagement with, obstacles and opportunities in the development of innovative solutions to complex and interconnected problems. On 25–31 May 2014, International Council for Science and International Social Science Council, in collaboration with the International Network of Next-Generation Ecologists and Institute for New Economic Thinking: Young Scholars Initiative, assembled a group of early career researchers with diverse backgrounds and research perspectives to reflect on and debate relevant issues around ecosystems and human …

Saving Sharks By Nudging Change, Tan K. B. Eugene

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In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law and an ‘I’m FINished with FINS’ campaign ambassador Eugene Tan welcomed Parliament’s passing of the Animals and Birds (Amendment) Bill. He commented that the Bill, which seeks to enhance the welfare and responsible care of animals, is important as he felt that our treatment of non-human beings, which share the same space we do, speaks equally to what we are as a society as well as our sense of well-being and responsibility to creatures unable to protect themselves. Citing the silent, unfolding phenomenon of the declining popularity of shark’s fin soup in …

Nudging Users Towards Cross-Border Mediation: Is It Really About Harmonised Enforcement Regulation?, Nadja Alexander

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In this paper the author challenges her audience to think in different ways about creating the shift needed to make cross-border mediation practice a reality rather than rhetoric. Within Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore and other centres are positioning themselves as regional leaders in cross-border mediation. Statistically though, there is not an enormous amount of cross-border mediation going on. Despite the apparent advantages of mediation and the international regulatory activity outlined above, cross-border commercial mediation practice has been slow to develop. At dispute resolution conferences and other get-togethers, mediators and other ADR advocates ask themselves, “Why”? While there is little empirical …

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

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

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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.

Simc And Sicc: New Developments In Singapore For The Resolution Of International Commercial Disputes, Eunice Chua

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No abstract provided.

Service Out Of Jurisdiction: Submission And Natural Forum, Man Yip

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No abstract provided.

Do We Need Laws To Help Us Say Sorry?, Nadja Alexander

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In this post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the role of an 'apology legislation' is illustrated.

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

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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 …

Simc And Sicc: New Developments In Singapore For The Resolution Of International Commercial Disputes, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Public-Private Partnership: The Chinese Dilemma, Henry S. Gao

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As noted by Greg Shaffer in his book ‘Defending Interests: Public-Private Partnerships in WTO Litigation’, the US and EU have different approaches to public-private partnership in dealing with foreign trade barriers: the former tends to be more ‘bottom-up’, while the latter tends to be ‘top-down’. Inspired by Shaffer’s work, this article examines China’s experience in establishing public-private partnership. Initially, China appeared to prefer the American approach by adopting the Rules on Trade Barrier Investigation (TBI), which empowers domestic firms to petition the government directly to launch investigation against foreign trade barriers. However, since 2005, China seems to have shifted to …

Settlement – A Mediator’S Prayer, Nadja Alexander

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In the post on the Kluwer Mediation Blog, the first published poetic piece on mediation ‘A Mediator’s Prayer’ by Hong Hong mediator, lawyer and poet, TK Iu, is applauded.

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

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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

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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.

The Meaning And Scope Of Personal Data Under The Singapore Data Protection Act, Warren B. Chik, Keep Ying Joey Pang

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It is important to examine and determine the meaning of “personal data” as it is the subject matter of the Singapore Data Protection regime. What constitutes “personal data” determines the scope of the Personal Data Protection Act. Although it is defined under the Act, the experience in other jurisdictions has shown that the elements of that (and other forms of ) definition can still give rise to some difficulty in its application to specific cases. In this paper, the authors aim to provide some guidance and recommendations for the interpretation of “personal data” within the context of legislative intent and …

According To The Spirit And Not To The Letter: Proportionality And The Singapore Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

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When interpreting the fundamental liberties in the Singapore Constitution, courts presently do not engage in a proportionality analysis – that is, a consideration of whether limitations on rights imposed by executive or legislative action bear a rational relation with the object of the action, and, if so, whether the limitations restrict rights as minimally as possible. The main reason for this appears to be the expansive manner in which exceptions to the fundamental liberties are phrased, and the courts’ deferential attitude towards the political branches of government. This paper considers how the rejection of proportionality has affected the rights to …

Linking Trade And Security: Evolving Institutions And Strategies In Asia, Europe, And The United States By Vinod K. Aggarwal And Kristi Govella, Henry S. Gao

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Trade and security, while seemingly unrelated, have had a long and complicated relationship. On the one hand, trade has often been used as a means to enhance the security of the state. For example, the famous Silk Road was created and maintained by the Han Dynasty to seek allies to help defend itself against the Huns. On the other hand, security has been deemed as an important safeguard to trade, as is shown by the prevalence of the ‘Gunboat Diplomacy’ in the nineteenth century