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Full-Text Articles in Law

Foreword, Vincent Ooi Oct 2023

Foreword, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Family law goes beyond divorce cases, often requiring the family law practitioner to advise and assist on matters involving children and young persons, and protection orders. These can be some of the most challenging issues which a person can face and it is not always obvious to someone needing help that they can turn to the law for assistance in appropriate cases. This makes books like this one crucial in spreading the word that help is available, preventing a situation where people facing difficulties might have to suffer in silence.Fung Peen’s first two books on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) …


Resulting And Constructive Trusts In The Contemporary Singaporean Family Context, Man Yip Dec 2022

Resulting And Constructive Trusts In The Contemporary Singaporean Family Context, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The legal rules that emerge in a society are shaped by the conditions of that society. In the area of trusts law, this chapter argues that the English principles of the presumed resulting trust and the common intention constructive trust have been adapted to suit the Singaporean family context. At first sight, given that Singapore law has declined to follow the Stack v Dowden line of developments that have taken place in English law concerning beneficial ownership of family property, it may appear that Singapore trusts law is more conservative and that pre-Stack English law is better preserved on Singapore …


To Negotiate, Mediate Or Litigate? Examining The Durability Of Divorce Outcomes In The Singapore Family Courts, Dorcas Quek Anderson, Eunice Chua, Yilin Ning Jul 2022

To Negotiate, Mediate Or Litigate? Examining The Durability Of Divorce Outcomes In The Singapore Family Courts, Dorcas Quek Anderson, Eunice Chua, Yilin Ning

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

For many years, the courts have been grappling with the paradox of marriages—the most intimate of relationships—being dissolved in the courts that represent a public and adversarial setting. Despite the growth of divorce interventions, the perennial struggle remains in many courts on how to reduce the intense acrimony of divorce litigation. The question remains on the scope of “mainstream” interventions to be offered by the courts to divorce litigants. The current study therefore explores the use of court-connected negotiation, mediation, and litigation in the Singapore Family Justice Courts. It uses a statistical method of survival analysis to produce insights on …


Singapore’S Adult Guardianship Law And The Role Of The Family In Medical Decision-Making, Hang Wu Tang Feb 2022

Singapore’S Adult Guardianship Law And The Role Of The Family In Medical Decision-Making, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore’s adult guardianship law was derived from the Mental Capacity Act in England and Wales. This article explores the process of how Singapore’s Mental Capacity Act was adapted and fine-tuned to operate in a jurisdiction with different cultural conditions, religions, familial norms, and social institutions. The first part of the article demonstrates that despite its apparent similarities, the policymakers in Singapore have omitted crucial portions of the Mental Capacity Act which deal with the human rights of persons lacking capacity. This omission is unsurprising considering Singapore’s history of advancing an Asian values approach to human rights. In the second part, …


Reforming Singapore’S Law On Division Of Matrimonial Assets, Jia En Teo Jan 2022

Reforming Singapore’S Law On Division Of Matrimonial Assets, Jia En Teo

Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)

Section 46(1) of the Women’s Charter undergirds the sacrosanct institution that is marriage – it lays out its moral basis and expresses society’s hopes and expectations of the ideal marital relationship: marriage is an equal cooperative partnership of different efforts for mutual benefit. It is thus no surprise that even when a marriage is terminated, the division of matrimonial assets is also founded upon this prevailing ideology. However, as opposed to equal division, Singapore law dictates a “just and equitable” division of matrimonial assets, where wide discretion and power is vested in the judiciary. This legal rule has been criticised …


Comparing Family Property Disputes In English And Singapore Law: "Context" Is Everything, Man Yip Jun 2021

Comparing Family Property Disputes In English And Singapore Law: "Context" Is Everything, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines why Singapore law has not followed English law in the area of beneficial ownership of family property. It points out that the landmark cases in the two jurisdictions are underpinned by different family paradigms.The English landmark cases are based on the unmarried cohabitants paradigm and the legal rules that have emerged from these cases are aimed at, whether successfully or not, ensuring a fair division of the family home upon the breakdown of these relationships. In contrast, the Singapore seminal judgments are underlaid by contests between children over their parents’ property which raised questions as to the …


Surrogacy And Human Flourishing, Seow Hon Tan Nov 2020

Surrogacy And Human Flourishing, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Opposition to legalizing surrogacy often involves the argument that it commodifies or objectifies women and children. When surrogacy involves consenting parties claiming to benefit from the transaction, commodification- or objectification-based arguments seem unpersuasive. This article argues that new natural law theory offers an alternative case against legalizing surrogacy based on the violation of basic goods of human flourishing, a notion which unpacks afresh what is really at stake in the commodification/objectification arguments. Exploring the new natural law approach through John Finnis’s theory, this article suggests that the new natural law case against surrogacy hinges on the link between childbirth and …


Family Law, Wei Jing Tricia Ho, Siyuan Chen Jul 2020

Family Law, Wei Jing Tricia Ho, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Two salient trends emerge from the decisions issued by the Singapore courts in 2019. First, cases with international elements are featured increasingly, with the Court of Appeal adjudicating its first case on financial relief consequential on foreign divorces and the High Court releasing a decision on sham marriages to obtain an immigration advantage. It is evident that the law is evolving to cater to the needs of a changing community in Singapore. There is a recognition of the increase in the number of Singapore citizens working abroad and marrying non-Singaporeans, which has prompted certain legislative changes that seek to provide …


Consider Allowing No-Fault Divorce To Remove Blame Game When Couples Split, Wing Cheong Chan Jul 2020

Consider Allowing No-Fault Divorce To Remove Blame Game When Couples Split, Wing Cheong Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Such divorces remove acrimony and help families heal after a marriage breakdown


More Uplifting Singapore Story Needed To Boost Baby Confidence, Tan K. B. Eugene Oct 2019

More Uplifting Singapore Story Needed To Boost Baby Confidence, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan discussed the reasons why Singaporean couples have consistently preferred to have few children since the 1970s. He opined that there is a need to have a discussion of how the prevailing traits and narrative of Singapore might have created a climate where young couples choose to have fewer children, and to have a more uplifting Singapore story as well as promote gender equality to boost baby confidence.


Family Law, Siyuan Chen Oct 2018

Family Law, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Small And Safe, Rathna N. Koman Dec 2017

Small And Safe, Rathna N. Koman

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper seeks to address issues relating to the management of child protection in Singapore context. Currently the system provides an institutionalized multi-disciplinary approach to protecting children. The current integrated system of handling child abuse is comprehensive and thorough and seeks to serve the bests interests of the child. However given socio-economic and legal ramifications of child abuse, this paper proposes the following enhancements in the management of child protection. Fist reporting of child abuse should be made mandatory similar to the American Model. Failure to do so, should constitute an offence under the Children and Young Persons Act and …


Report Of The Law Reform Committee On The 1996 Hague Convention On The Protection Of Children, Valerie Thean, Debbie Ong, Audrey Lim, Thian Yee Sze, Yvonne Tan, Tiong Min Yeo Aug 2017

Report Of The Law Reform Committee On The 1996 Hague Convention On The Protection Of Children, Valerie Thean, Debbie Ong, Audrey Lim, Thian Yee Sze, Yvonne Tan, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Modern litigation between spouses regarding their children is ofteninternational. Such cross-border disputes are especially common inSingapore, as an international commercial centre with a diverse andcosmopolitan society. More importantly, Singaporeans are becoming anincreasingly mobile labour force, working in international businesses.Orders made by Singapore courts involving local parties and local childrenwill increasingly require recognition and enforcement overseas.


Time To Hold Last Rites For Martial-Rape Immunity, Tan K. B. Eugene Apr 2017

Time To Hold Last Rites For Martial-Rape Immunity, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

When Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said earlier this month in Parliament that the Government was “actively reviewing” a husband’s limited immunity from marital rape, he asserted that a married woman should have equal protection against sexual violence as an unmarried woman.


Overview Of The Impending Changes In The Family Justice Landscape, Siyuan Chen Aug 2014

Overview Of The Impending Changes In The Family Justice Landscape, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore’s family justice landscape is set to witness a sea-change when the key features of the new Family Justice Act, as well as recommendations from the Committee for Family Justice (chaired by the Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, Justice VK Rajah, and Justice Andrew Phang), materialise in the months ahead.


Mediated Postnuptial Agreements And Ancillary Matters, Siyuan Chen Aug 2014

Mediated Postnuptial Agreements And Ancillary Matters, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

When the parties in a divorce have, with the benefit of legal counsel, gone through mediation and negotiated an agreement to settle the ancillary issues of maintenance and the division of matrimonial assets, is there any reason for the court to exercise its statutorily conferred discretion to ignore such an agreement or should it seek to uphold it despite objections from one of the parties? Whereas the High Court in this case declined to follow all of the terms in the agreement on the ground that some of them were not just and equitable, the Court of Appeal held that …


An Overview Of The Impending Changes In The Family Justice Landscape, Siyuan Chen Aug 2014

An Overview Of The Impending Changes In The Family Justice Landscape, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore’s family justice landscape is set to witness a sea-change when the key features of the new Family Justice Act, as well as recommendations from the Committee for Family Justice (chaired by the Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, Justice VK Rajah, and Justice Andrew Phang), materialise in the months ahead.


Marital Agreements And Private Autonomy In Comparative Perspective [Book Review], Siyuan Chen Jun 2012

Marital Agreements And Private Autonomy In Comparative Perspective [Book Review], Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This book takes a comparative approach to how 14 jurisdictions from around the world deal with pre-nuptial and post-nuptial marital agreements, particularly in relation to financial relations.


Void Marriages, Maintenance, And Matrimonial Assets: Adp V Adq [2012] Sgca 6, Siyuan Chen Feb 2012

Void Marriages, Maintenance, And Matrimonial Assets: Adp V Adq [2012] Sgca 6, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Do Singapore courts have jurisdiction under the Women’s Charter to order maintenance and the division of matrimonial assets when a marriage has been declared void? This was the novel issue presented in ADP v ADQ, and the Court of Appeal answered in the affirmative.


Sham Marriages, Ancillary Powers, And Moral Discourse: Toh Seok Kheng V. Huang Huiqun; Adp V. Adq, Siyuan Chen Jan 2011

Sham Marriages, Ancillary Powers, And Moral Discourse: Toh Seok Kheng V. Huang Huiqun; Adp V. Adq, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Is marriage an institution (of public morality) or a contract (of private ordering)? In Toh Seok Kheng, the High Court concluded that it was unable to declare a “sham marriage” void just because the motives behind the marriage seemed improper. In ADP, the High Court held that since a void marriage meant there was no marriage to begin with, the “wife” was not entitled to maintenance, and there could not have been any “matrimonial assets” to be divided, unless she had a strong “moral” claim. This piece considers how the aforementioned moral-contractual dichotomy emerges in these cases.


The Fundamental Question When Applying The Welfare Principle: "Who Will Be The Better Parent Or Guardian"?, Siyuan Chen Jan 2011

The Fundamental Question When Applying The Welfare Principle: "Who Will Be The Better Parent Or Guardian"?, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The welfare principle – that is, when making a custody-related decision, the best interests of the child form the first and paramount consideration – is probably one of the cardinal principles of family law in many common law jurisdictions. While the welfare principle is generally considered a wide concept with no exhaustive definition or list of factors, it is submitted that there is an important question – sometimes neglected or misunderstood – that should actually feature most prominently when applying the welfare principle, particularly when joint or no order custody orders seem impossible. The question is simply that of “who …


Religion In The Abortion Discourse In Singapore: A Case Study Of The Relevance Of Religious Arguments In Law-Making In Multi-Religious Democracies, Seow Hon Tan Dec 2010

Religion In The Abortion Discourse In Singapore: A Case Study Of The Relevance Of Religious Arguments In Law-Making In Multi-Religious Democracies, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The article discusses the social issue on religion in the abortion discourse in Singapore. It mentions the relevance of religious arguments in law-making in multi-religious democracies. It notes that laws on abortion vary across different jurisdictions, like prohibiting abortion under all circumstances to freely allowing it without restriction as to reason.


The Division Of Matrimonial Assets: A Mathematical Methodology As A "Check"? Ajr V. Ajs, Siyuan Chen Sep 2010

The Division Of Matrimonial Assets: A Mathematical Methodology As A "Check"? Ajr V. Ajs, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a recent High Court decision concerning the division of matrimonial assets, the Judge developed an extensive (and somewhat mathematical) methodology “as a rough check” to his discretionary powers in determining a “just and equitable” division of the matrimonial assets. This introduced a new perspective to an exercise long considered to be impossible to be mathematically precise. This piece considers the extent of the utility of the new methodology.


Report Of The Law Reform Committee On Ancillary Orders After Foreign Divorce Or Annulment, Aqbal Singh, Debbie Ong, Yock Lin Tan, Tiong Min Yeo Jul 2009

Report Of The Law Reform Committee On Ancillary Orders After Foreign Divorce Or Annulment, Aqbal Singh, Debbie Ong, Yock Lin Tan, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A matrimonial order of divorce, nullity or legal separation is often followed by ancillary orders relating to division of matrimonial property, custody of children and maintenance. Under Singapore law, many of the court’s powers in respect of these types of orders depend on the court having jurisdiction to pronounce on the status of the marriage. If an order made by a foreign court is recognised to have annulled or dissolved the marriage, then it is not possible for the Singapore court to assume jurisdiction in respect of the marriage; there is no marriage to speak of anymore. The legal consequence …


Time For Singapore To Relook Abortion Law, Seow Hon Tan Jul 2008

Time For Singapore To Relook Abortion Law, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Time For Singapore To Relook Abortion Law, Seow Hon Tan Jul 2008

Time For Singapore To Relook Abortion Law, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


A Union Of Gender Equality And Pragmatic Patriarchy: International Marriages And Citizenship Laws In Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan Jan 2008

A Union Of Gender Equality And Pragmatic Patriarchy: International Marriages And Citizenship Laws In Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As a patriarchal society, government policies, societal norms and government regulations in Singapore mirror that normative ideal. Citizenship status and rights along gender lines, manifested in the legal recognition of children of international marriages, reflected this reality for much of Singapore's independence. However, the onslaught of globalization, the rise in international marriages, disconcerting declining birth rates, and an acceptance of 'foreign talent' have given the economic imperative and demographic impulse to grant citizenship (by descent) to a person born outside Singapore whose father or mother is a citizen of Singapore, by birth, registration or descent. Previously, such a person would …


Redefining Marriage: Where To Draw The Line?, Seow Hon Tan Jul 2007

Redefining Marriage: Where To Draw The Line?, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Redefining Marriage: Where To Draw The Line?, Seow Hon Tan Jul 2007

Redefining Marriage: Where To Draw The Line?, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.