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

Law Commons

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

Articles 1 - 28 of 28

Full-Text Articles in Law

Reasonable Suspicion Or Real Likelihood: A Question Of Semantics? Re Shankar Alan S/O Anant Kulkarni, Lionel Leo, Siyuan Chen Dec 2008

Reasonable Suspicion Or Real Likelihood: A Question Of Semantics? Re Shankar Alan S/O Anant Kulkarni, Lionel Leo, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The law on apparent bias has been mired in some controversy following the High Court decision of Re Shankar Alan s/o Anant Kulkarni, where Sundaresh Menon J.C. seemingly departed from the tentative views of Andrew Phang J.C. (as he then was) in Tang Kin Hwa v. Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board on the issue of whether there were any material differences between the “reasonable suspicion of bias” test and the “real likelihood of bias” test, the two formulations of the test for apparent bias that have been variously adopted by different jurisdictions in the common law world. In Tang Kin …


Saving The Wto From The Risk Of Irrelevance: The Wto Dispute Settlement Mechanism As A ‘Common Good’ For Rta Disputes, Henry Gao, Chin Leng Lim Dec 2008

Saving The Wto From The Risk Of Irrelevance: The Wto Dispute Settlement Mechanism As A ‘Common Good’ For Rta Disputes, Henry Gao, Chin Leng Lim

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Over the past few decades, Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have proliferated globally. Such proliferation of RTAs created a renewed sense of urgency for the WTO to take action in order to avoid the fate of being eclipsed into irrelevance. There are several options for coping with the challenge. Theoretically speaking, the best approach would be to heighten the level of ambition in global trade talks to reduce all trade barriers to zero so that the discriminatory effect created by RTAs could be reduced or even eliminated. In reality, such an approach would be impossible for well-known reasons. The next best …


Legitimating Criminal Justice Through Community Engagement: Lessons From The Jury Experience, Mark Findlay Nov 2008

Legitimating Criminal Justice Through Community Engagement: Lessons From The Jury Experience, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Fundamentally justifying the jury is the opportunity it provides for community participation in criminal justice and the legitimation function that offers. Indeed, a strong political motivation for the recent introduction of jury trial in several transitional jurisdictions is the public confidence it transfers to the system at large. Recent research on juror comprehension and satisfaction suggests the possibility of interrogating the participation/confidence nexus more intricately. This note argues that it is the quality of the participation and the participant satisfaction which eventuates that predicts juror confidence. Where the legitimacy of criminal justice through juror participation is to be maximised then …


A Comparative Account Of Statutory Interpretation In Singapore, Yihan Goh Oct 2008

A Comparative Account Of Statutory Interpretation In Singapore, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In 1993, the Singapore Parliament enacted legislative provisions adapted from Australian legislation directing, inter alia, that the courts apply the purposive approach in statutory interpretation. Those provisions also allowed for the extended use of extrinsic materials in the interpretative process. Fifteen years on, there is now a considerable body of Singapore case law to which a meaningful analysis may be undertaken. Indeed, from an initially cautious application of the enacted legislation, the courts began to read the enactments expansively, eventually providing for a statutory interpretation regime that is largely free of the confines of old. Nonetheless, the Singapore position does …


The Mediation Metamodel: Understanding Practice, Nadja Alexander Sep 2008

The Mediation Metamodel: Understanding Practice, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The mediation metamodel provides a systematic framework for understanding mediation as it is practiced in a variety of professional and cultural contexts. Six mediation practices are introduced within the framework of the metamodel: settlement mediation, facilitative mediation, transformative mediation, expert advisory mediation, wise counsel mediation, and tradition-based mediation. The relationships of these different practices to one another are explored and the assumptions underlying them are examined with reference to the literature. The metamodel provides orientation in the dispute resolution field not only for mediators, parties, and their lawyers, but also for regulators, referring bodies, researchers, and students of mediation.


The Effective Reach Of Choice Of Law Agreements, Tiong Min Yeo Sep 2008

The Effective Reach Of Choice Of Law Agreements, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Two fundamental principles relating to party autonomy developed in the recent history of the conflict of laws. Despite initial reservations, the law today takes for granted that the parties’ agreement is nearly conclusive in respect of both their choice of litigation forum and their choice of the law governing the contractual relationship. Meanwhile, the law of obligations – in tort, restitution and equity – has grown apace; disputes between contracting parties today are rarely confined to pure contractual issues. Can contracting parties choose the law to govern non-contractual disputes in cross-border litigation? In the absence of such choice, to what …


What If, After All, Trademarks Were Traded In Gross, Irene Calboli Aug 2008

What If, After All, Trademarks Were Traded In Gross, Irene Calboli

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The conditions upon which trademarks should be "traded" - that is, assigned and licensed in the marketplace - have traditionally been at the center of the trademark debate. Historically, based upon the assumption that trademarks can be protected only as conveyers of commercial information and as symbols of business goodwill, trademark law has prohibited trading in trademarks "in gross" and has required that trademarks be assigned "with their goodwill" and licensed only as long as licensors control the quality of the products. Yet, these criteria have been proven controversial and difficult to enforce because they hinge on two concepts that …


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.


Global Terror And Organised Crime: Symbiotic Or Synonymous, Mark Findlay Jun 2008

Global Terror And Organised Crime: Symbiotic Or Synonymous, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper is not a detailed denial of the difference between organised crime as the aggregation of illicit wealth, and terrorism which may not be concerned with economic profit. It takes as given the primary political context for terrorism and the enterprise environment of organised crime.


Mediation And The Art Of Regulation, Nadja Alexander Jun 2008

Mediation And The Art Of Regulation, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a political climate filled with talk of how to best regulate mediation, it is surprising that so little regulatory theory has been brought into the discussion. The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for informed debate in relation to the regulation of mediation. The framework comprises two parts. First, four international regulatory trends in mediation are introduced: the market-contract, self-regulatory, formal framework and formal legislative approaches. Against this background the second part deals with the specific content of regulatory provisions on mediation. The resulting framework is called the Mediation Mix, which brings form and content …


Room For Religion In Public Discourse, Seow Hon Tan Apr 2008

Room For Religion In Public Discourse, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Juror Comprehension And The Hard Case: Making Forensic Evidence Simpler, Mark Findlay Mar 2008

Juror Comprehension And The Hard Case: Making Forensic Evidence Simpler, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The complexity/comprehension nexus as it impacts on juror decision-making is addressed in the particular context of prosecution-led DNA evidence. Such evidence is for jurors the subject of pre-trial preconceptions, and is notoriously difficult to present and argue before a jury. The article looks at the comprehension of forensic evidence by jurors, a task qualified by the opinion of legal professionals whose responsibility it is to present and interpret such evidence in adversarial contexts.Jurors were surveyed post-verdict in trials where forensic evidence featured in circumstantial cases. These insights into comprehension were qualified by contesting views of legal professionals, and critical reflections …


Pakistan Lawyers' Movement: A Losing Cause?, Shubhankar Dam Feb 2008

Pakistan Lawyers' Movement: A Losing Cause?, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On 13 January, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) voted to end the continuous boycott of judges who swore oath's under the country's Provisional Constitution Order and to instead substitute "a complete boycott of the superior judiciary every Thursday and a one-hour token strike on a daily basis." Predictably, the decision created a furor: for many, it was a sell-out. Both the Lawyers National Action Committee (LNAC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) quickly denounced the decision as "contradictory" and "against the spirit of the lawyers' sacrifices." The provincial bar councils, the high court bar associations and the district bar …


The Relevance And Value Of Confucianism In Contemporary Business Ethics, Gary Kok Yew Chan Feb 2008

The Relevance And Value Of Confucianism In Contemporary Business Ethics, Gary Kok Yew Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the relevance and value of Confucian Ethics to contemporary Business Ethics by comparing their respective perspectives and approaches towards business activities within the modern capitalist framework, the principle of reciprocity and the concept of human virtues. Confucian Ethics provides interesting parallels with contemporary Western-oriented Business Ethics. At the same, it diverges from contemporary Business Ethics in some significant ways. Upon an examination of philosophical texts as well as empirical studies, it is argued that Confucian Ethics is able to provide some unique philosophical and intellectual perspectives in order to forge a richer understanding and analysis of the …


Distinguished Visitors: The Honourable Murray Gleeson Ac Chief Justice Of Australia, Yihan Goh, Nathaniel Khng Jan 2008

Distinguished Visitors: The Honourable Murray Gleeson Ac Chief Justice Of Australia, Yihan Goh, Nathaniel Khng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Balancing Competing Interests In Bankruptcy: Discharge By Certificate Of The Official Assignee In Singapore, S. Chandra Mohan Jan 2008

Balancing Competing Interests In Bankruptcy: Discharge By Certificate Of The Official Assignee In Singapore, S. Chandra Mohan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

After more than a hundred years, Singapore made major reforms to its bankruptcy laws in 1995. These changes attracted considerable public interest, with the Government taking pains to emphasise that the new law was designed to strike a balance between the interest of the debtor, the creditor and society. The greatest scrutiny of the provisions, to determine whether in law and in practice the competing interests of debtors and creditors could effectively be balanced, was in respect of the discharge provisions. In this article, the writer, who was then the Official Assignee, discusses how the novel remedy of discharge by …


Legal Education, Philosophy And Values Consciousness Of The Law Student, Seow Hon Tan Jan 2008

Legal Education, Philosophy And Values Consciousness Of The Law Student, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The value of teaching philosophy in law schools has been the subject of considerable debate, with detractors in practice and academia questioning its utility for professional practice. This paper suggests that teaching legal philosophy in law schools is necessary to challenge the law student to develop her own theory about law, its legitimacy, and its relation to justice, morality, power and rationality. Through such theoretical understanding, the law student acquires a sensitivity to, and concern for, the ideals underlying the law. Only when students’ hearts and minds are critically engaged on fundamental questions may they meaningfully understand their role and …


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 …


Choice Of Law For Unjust Enrichment/Restitution And The Rome Ii Regulation, Adeline Chong Jan 2008

Choice Of Law For Unjust Enrichment/Restitution And The Rome Ii Regulation, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

After being considered as niche territory for a long period, conflicts of law and restitution has provided a fertile ground for exposition in recent times. Whilst some development on the jurisdictional front has occurred, choice of law has lagged behind somewhat as, in England at least, no one seemed to be quite sure what was or should be the choice of law rule for restitutionary claims. However, the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (commonly known as the Rome II Regulation) has now entered into force and will apply from …


Resisting The Socialist Fetish, Shubhankar Dam Jan 2008

Resisting The Socialist Fetish, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Natural Justice: A Case For Uniform Rigour, Siyuan Chen, Lionel Leo Jan 2008

Natural Justice: A Case For Uniform Rigour, Siyuan Chen, Lionel Leo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This note considers if there is a discernible framework in which courts resolve alleged claims of breaches of natural justice. On the one hand, once it has been ascertained that the rules of natural justice apply, the court will look at all the circumstances of the case to determine if there has been any u nfairness. On the other hand, it has been suggested th even assuming the rules of natural justice apply, there can be varying degrees of rigour in which they are enforced, a sliding scale of sorts.


Civil Liabilities For False Or Misleading Statements Made By Listed Companies To The Securities Markets In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan Jan 2008

Civil Liabilities For False Or Misleading Statements Made By Listed Companies To The Securities Markets In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the scope and efficacy of the civil remedies available to investors against listed companies which have made false or misleading statements in the secondary securities market in Singapore, both at common law and the statutory compensation scheme under the Securities and Futures Act. It argues that there are a number of limitations faced by such investors in bringing claims founded in tort law against the listed companies. While the statutory compensation scheme attempts to improve the position of investors, there are a number of deficiencies in the scheme the most significant of which is the ceiling on …


Rationalising The Regime Of Compulsory Patent Licensing By The Essential Facilities Doctrine, Kung-Chung Liu Jan 2008

Rationalising The Regime Of Compulsory Patent Licensing By The Essential Facilities Doctrine, Kung-Chung Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Where intellectual property rights (IP) owned by dominant undertakings are indispensable and impossible for other market players to replicate or acquire, the refusal to grant license to use such IP may cause serious harm to vital public interests, such as the supply of life-saving drugs, of technology that protects the environment, the compliance with de jure or de facto industry standards and the preservation of competition in markets with network effects or strong need for compatibility and interoperability


Pre-Commencement Discovery And The Odex Litigation: Copyright Versus Confidentiality Or Is It Privacy?, Sze Shun, George Wei Jan 2008

Pre-Commencement Discovery And The Odex Litigation: Copyright Versus Confidentiality Or Is It Privacy?, Sze Shun, George Wei

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines whether internet service providers are under any duty to disclose the names of subscribers whose accounts can be shown to be associated with infringing activity. This question involves tension between the economic interests of copyright owners/licensees, the privacy interests of internet users and the economic interests of the internet service provider. This tension in turn raises age-old problems of balance and proportionality between privacy, confidentiality and other competing rights and freedoms as well as the interests of society at large. The article concludes by briefly touching on privacy areas from outside of copyright and the Internet: including …


Tobacco Control And The Role Of Litigation: A Survey Of Issues In Law, Policy, And Economics, Basil C. Bitas, Pedro B. Barros Jan 2008

Tobacco Control And The Role Of Litigation: A Survey Of Issues In Law, Policy, And Economics, Basil C. Bitas, Pedro B. Barros

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Beyond The Torrens Mirror: A Framework Of The In Personam Exception To Indefeasibility, Hang Wu Tang Jan 2008

Beyond The Torrens Mirror: A Framework Of The In Personam Exception To Indefeasibility, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

One of the central tenets of the Torrens system is that the registered proprietor is conferred indefeasible title. Indefeasibility of title is subject to cm in personam exception. The content of the in personam exception to indefensibility has been a source of debute in many Torrens jurisdictions. The purpose of this article is to map out a theoretical structure to analyse the ambit of the in personam exception so as to provide a principled development of the law in this area. This article will also attempt to explain how this proposed theoretical structure of the in personam exception deals with …


The Asean Charter As "Legs To Go Places": Ideational Norms And Pragmatic Legalism In Community Building In Southeast Asia, Eugene K. B. Tan Jan 2008

The Asean Charter As "Legs To Go Places": Ideational Norms And Pragmatic Legalism In Community Building In Southeast Asia, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been hailed as a legal instrument that would integrate the ten constituent members as a community and a regional organization. Ostensibly, the Charter has three strategic thrusts in support of the vision of the ASEAN Community. The first is to formalize ASEAN as an institution while streamlining its decision-making processes. Secondly, the Charter seeks to strengthen ASEAN institutions. Thirdly, it seeks to establish mechanisms to monitor compliance and settle disputes. The article considers the extent to which the Charter will help ASEAN achieve its aims. This is especially pertinent …