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Full-Text Articles in Law
Can Delaying An Execution Due To Covid-19 Amount To Unconstitutional Discrimination?, Benjamin Joshua Ong
Can Delaying An Execution Due To Covid-19 Amount To Unconstitutional Discrimination?, Benjamin Joshua Ong
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This note discusses the case of Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin v Attorney-General [2021] 1 SLR 809 (CA); [2021] 4 SLR 698 (HC) and its implications for equality law in Singapore.
Shareholders’ Rights And Corporate Meetings Post Covid‐19, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen
Shareholders’ Rights And Corporate Meetings Post Covid‐19, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This short paper reflects on corporate governance and shareholders’ rights during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown has affected the way companies’ organs operate. It is unfortunate that the pandemic took place around the critical time of year when most companies hold annual shareholders’ meetings (or general meetings). How, then, can shareholders exercise their rights? How can the board of directors and senior management function during the lockdown period? Technology naturally provides a solution, similar to online teaching and working from home. However, do virtual and remote meetings serve the purpose of having those meetings? Even when we get …
Stock Buybacks: Some Old Norm Should Remain New, Wei Zhang
Stock Buybacks: Some Old Norm Should Remain New, Wei Zhang
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Corporate payouts, especially through stock buybacks, are never short of critics. COVID-19 has simply energized them further. From the energy industry to airlines and banks, US public companies are blamed for ensnaring themselves into the abysmal crisis in the midst of COVID-19 by handing out cashes extravagantly to buy back stocks years before. However, as astutely pointed out by Professors Jesse Fried and Charles Wang, the critics did not get the facts right even before COVID-19. After taking into consideration the amount of newly raised capital through equity or debt issuances, the cumulative net payouts by US public companies between …
Pragmatism In The Pandemic: The Protection Of Commercial Tenants In Singapore, Edward Ti
Pragmatism In The Pandemic: The Protection Of Commercial Tenants In Singapore, Edward Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The COVID-19 epidemic has not spared any country, not least a densely populated country like Singapore. The government has been working tirelessly developing new policies and laws to mitigate the human and economic devastation brought on by the virus. The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (COTMA) is intended to tackle some of the negative effects brought about by COVID-19. With an initial application period of 6 months which can be amended at the Minister’s discretion, the COTMA covers a wide range of issues. Summarily, the COTMA provides for public health controls necessary to manage the health crisis, increases bankruptcy and …
Covid‐19 As A Frustrating Event Under Singapore Contract Law, Yihan Goh
Covid‐19 As A Frustrating Event Under Singapore Contract Law, Yihan Goh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on commercial arrangements around the world. This would appear to fit the textbook definition of a frustrating event under Singapore contract law. Alternatively, one might expect COVID-19 to be covered by the doctrine of force majeure. This commentary will provide a brief overview of the contractual issues arising from COVID-19.
Can International Economic Agreements Combat Covid‐19?, Pasha L. Hsieh
Can International Economic Agreements Combat Covid‐19?, Pasha L. Hsieh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the international economic order. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the unprecedented health crisis may sink global trade by 32% in 2020.236 As an island state highly dependent on trade, Singapore is expected to encounter a 5.8% contraction in gross domestic product, marking its “worst recession since independence.”237 The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore surpassed the 45,000 mark on July 7, 2020.238 Most cases have occurred in foreign worker dormitories, whereas the spread of the disease in the rest of the community has been limited. To gradually resume economic activities and …
Covid‐19 Crisis And Its Impact On Trustees And Beneficiaries, Man Yip
Covid‐19 Crisis And Its Impact On Trustees And Beneficiaries, Man Yip
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The COVID-19 pandemic has been described by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the “crisis of our generation”. We have to swiftly adjust to a new “normal” characterised by safety measures, travel restrictions, economic downturn and uncertainties in the days ahead. What is the new “normal” for trustees and beneficiaries? How should they respond to the legal and practical uncertainties in these challenging times? This commentary discusses two categories of uncertainties for trustees and beneficiaries: (1) uncertainty relating to trust investments; and (2) uncertainty relating to day-to-day administration.
Exorcising The Ghost In The Wills Act, Hang Wu Tang
Exorcising The Ghost In The Wills Act, Hang Wu Tang
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Ingenious lawyers all over the Commonwealth are dreaming up rigmaroles for the signing of wills amid the pandemic. An English law firm has suggested that the will should be signed at a park bench, with witnesses lurking nearby, ready to rotate around the document. Another option allows for the will to be signed at the person’s doorway while the witnesses stand outside, using the services of a well-trained pet to deliver the signed will to the witnesses. Singapore has passed many sensible temporary measures in response to COVID-19 disruption, including marrying couples remotely so that the newly-weds, witnesses and solemniser …
“In Case Of Emergency, Break Contract”? The Case For A Unified Regime For Changed Circumstances In Singapore Contract Law, Nicholas Liu
“In Case Of Emergency, Break Contract”? The Case For A Unified Regime For Changed Circumstances In Singapore Contract Law, Nicholas Liu
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
It has been accurately observed that the incremental nature of the common law’s development makes it inherently unsuited to dealing with unprecedented crises.208 This is particularly true of what I shall refer to (for convenience) as the law of changed circumstances, which in the common law regime comprises the doctrine of frustration and the operation of force majeure clauses, but could potentially encompass other doctrines and issues as well.209 I suggest that in this area, the flaws of the common law run deeper and broader than its inability to respond quickly to unprecedented crises. Rather, from a lay user’s point …
Ethics, Rule Of Law And Pandemic Responses, Mark Findlay
Ethics, Rule Of Law And Pandemic Responses, Mark Findlay
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In their report ‘The Rule of Law in Times of Health Crises’404 Julinda Beqiraj, Jean-Pierre Gauci and Nyasha Weinberg identified certain conditions under which rule of law adherence can contribute to an effective pandemic response.
Coronavirus: Pandemics, Artificial Intelligence And Personal Data: How To Manage Pandemics Using Ai And What That Means For Personal Data Protection, Warren B. Chik
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This chapter discusses the hearing of essential and urgent court matters in the Singapore courts during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 27 march 2020, the Singapore judiciary notified courst users that remote hearings were to be implemented for certain types of hearings by means of video and telephone conferencing facilities. Court users were also provided with indicative lists of matters which might be considered essential and urgent.
The Value Of Insolvency Law In The Covid‐19 Crisis, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
The Value Of Insolvency Law In The Covid‐19 Crisis, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The COVID-19 pandemic not only has generated a social, humanitarian and public health crisis but it has also led to the worst recession the world’s economy has experienced since the Great Depression.283 As a response to the economic challenges generated by the COVID-19 crisis, many countries are responding with a variety of legal and economic measures that seek to support businesses, employees, and households
Coronavirus: Pandemics, Artificial Intelligence And Personal Data: How To Manage Pandemics Using Ai And What That Means For Personal Data Protection, Warren B. Chik
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This chapter discusses the hearing of essential and urgent court matters in the Singapore courts during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 27 march 2020, the Singapore judiciary notified courst users that remote hearings were to be implemented for certain types of hearings by means of video and telephone conferencing facilities. Court users were also provided with indicative lists of matters which might be considered essential and urgent.
Covid‐19 And The Spotlight On Stakeholderism, Pearlie Koh
Covid‐19 And The Spotlight On Stakeholderism, Pearlie Koh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The global disrupter that is COVID-19 has profoundly impacted human life on earth. Lives and livelihoods have been lost. But even for those amongst us fortunate enough to escape such calamity, significant adjustments have had to be made to the ways in which we live, play and work. As the United Nations noted, “[t]his is much more than a health crisis. It is a human, economic and social crisis. The coronavirus disease … is attacking societies at their core”.
Private Liability For Public Health, Jerrold Soh
Private Liability For Public Health, Jerrold Soh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
As at this writing, COVID-19 continues to spread around the world. Most disease transmissions, one hopes, are unintentional. But could one nonetheless be liable for unintentionally, yet carelessly, transmitting the disease? If so, when would liability arise, and how wide may its scope be? If X transmits the disease to Y who in turn transmits it to Z, can Z claim against X? If not, why should liability escape one who carelessly spreads a deadly and highly contagious virus when courts have historically found liability for more innocuous harms?154 This short essay discusses how private liability might complement public regulation …
Massive Covid‐19 Infections In Foreign Workers Dormitories: The Dog That Did Not Bark In Singapore’S Fight Against The Covid‐19 Pandemic, Eugene K. B. Tan
Massive Covid‐19 Infections In Foreign Workers Dormitories: The Dog That Did Not Bark In Singapore’S Fight Against The Covid‐19 Pandemic, Eugene K. B. Tan
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In the ongoing battle to combat the massive COVID-19 infections in the foreign workers’ dormitories, the focus and dominant narrative, unsurprisingly, has been on overcoming the clear and present public health issues there. The imperative is to safeguard the wellbeing and interests of the foreign workers who reside there (and including those who have been moved out), which is also fundamentally about protecting the rest of the community.
Constitutional Literacy In Times Of Crisis, Maartje De Visser
Constitutional Literacy In Times Of Crisis, Maartje De Visser
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
At the same time she announced her withdrawal from public life in 2018, former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor made a passionate plea for “all citizens to understand our Constitution and unique system of government, and participate actively in their communities.”441 The timing coincided with the halfway mark of Donald Trump’s term in presidency, a president who has very publicly declared his knowledge of the US Constitution, but whose understanding of it has regularly been called into question.442 At its foundation, the democratic legitimacy of a government arguably presupposes a working familiarity with the constitution qua social contract. …
The Ideals Of Law In A Health Crisis: Singapore’S Legislative Responses To Covid‐19, Benjamin Joshua Ong
The Ideals Of Law In A Health Crisis: Singapore’S Legislative Responses To Covid‐19, Benjamin Joshua Ong
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Situations like the COVID-19 pandemic pose a dilemma. One might argue that such a crisis is a time for people to sacrifice their legal rights for the common good and submit to heavy restrictions on one’s liberties, surrendering individual liberties to a benevolent, though powerful, state. On the other hand, for every situation in history where an emergency has required people to accept such restrictions, there are many more situations in which an unscrupulous government has used a pretend emergency, or a real but exaggerated one, as an excuse to arrogate to himself sweeping arbitrary powers and refuse to let …
Busting Myths And Dispelling Doubts About Covid-19, Mark Findlay
Busting Myths And Dispelling Doubts About Covid-19, Mark Findlay
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The Centre for AI and Data Governance (CAIDG) at Singapore Management University (SMU) has embarked over past months on a programme of research designed to confront concerns about the pandemic and its control. Our interest is primarily directed to the ways in which AI-assisted technologies and mass data sharing have become a feature of pandemic control strategies. We want to know what impact these developments are having on community confidence and health safety. In developing this work, we have come across many myths that need busting.
Legal Constraint In Emergencies: Reflections On Carl Schmitt, The Covid-19 Pandemic And Singapore | Symposium On Covid-19 & Public Law, Wei Yao, Kenny Chng
Legal Constraint In Emergencies: Reflections On Carl Schmitt, The Covid-19 Pandemic And Singapore | Symposium On Covid-19 & Public Law, Wei Yao, Kenny Chng
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The controversial legal theorist Carl Schmitt’s challenge to the possibility of meaningful legal constraint on executive power in emergencies could not be more relevant in a world struggling to deal with Covid-19. Scrambling against time, governments around the world have declared states of emergency and exercised a swathe of broad executive powers in an effort to manage this highly infectious disease. In times like these, if Schmitt is indeed right that emergencies cannot be governed by law, we are on the cusp of (or perhaps have already entered) a post-law world – where the business of government is characterised by …
Singapore's Legal And Economic Response To The Covid-19 Crisis: The Role Of Insolvency Law And Corporate Workouts, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Samuel Loh
Singapore's Legal And Economic Response To The Covid-19 Crisis: The Role Of Insolvency Law And Corporate Workouts, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Samuel Loh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The international spread of the coronavirus has forced many countries to put their economies into ‘hibernation’, leading to one of the worst recessions observed in modern times. Since Singapore is not isolated from this crisis, the Government had to intervene by adopting a very ambitious package of legal and financial measures to support businesses, households and employees. Among these measures, the Government has implemented various temporary changes to the insolvency legislation, and the use of out-of-court agreements has been encouraged for debtors facing financial trouble. This article argues that, while insolvency law can play an important role in the current …
International Mediation And Covid-19: The New Normal?, Nadja Alexander
International Mediation And Covid-19: The New Normal?, Nadja Alexander
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
What is the SIMC COVID-19 Protocol? The Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) has just launched the SIMC COVID-19 Protocol to provide businesses with an expedited, economical and effective route to resolve any international commercial disputes during the COVID-19 pandemic period. SIMC’s Covid-19 protocol is a great example of a leading mediation service provider reaching out to a market severely disrupted by Covid-19. The option for Singaporean and international parties to mediate online means for a highly accessible, time and cost effective path to resolve disputes that have emerged in the wake of Covid-19.
Ethics, Ai, Mass Data And Pandemic Challenges: Responsible Data Use And Infrastructure Application For Surveillance And Pre-Emptive Tracing Post-Crisis, Mark Findlay, Jia Yuan Loke, Nydia Remolina Leon, Yum Yin, Benjamin (Tan Renyan) Tham
Ethics, Ai, Mass Data And Pandemic Challenges: Responsible Data Use And Infrastructure Application For Surveillance And Pre-Emptive Tracing Post-Crisis, Mark Findlay, Jia Yuan Loke, Nydia Remolina Leon, Yum Yin, Benjamin (Tan Renyan) Tham
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
As the COVID-19 health pandemic rages governments and private companies across the globe are utilising AI-assisted surveillance, reporting, mapping and tracing technologies with the intention of slowing the spread of the virus. These technologies have the capacity to amass personal data and share for community control and citizen safety motivations that empower state agencies and inveigle citizen co-operation which could only be imagined outside such times of real and present danger. While not cavilling with the short-term necessity for these technologies and the data they control, process and share in the health regulation mission, this paper argues that this infrastructure …
Global Guide: Measures Adopted To Support Businesses Through The Covid-19 Crisis: Singapore, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
Global Guide: Measures Adopted To Support Businesses Through The Covid-19 Crisis: Singapore, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
After the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Singapore Government responded with a quick and comprehensive package of legal, economic and financial measures that sought to put the economy into hibernation and avoid the destruction of jobs and viable businesses, at least while companies were unable to generate revenues and cash-flows due to a variety of factors, including travel restrictions and lockdowns imposed in many countries around the world. To that end, the Government spent SGD$97.3 billion (that is, around 20% of the country’s GDP) to support businesses, households and employees. Most of this financial support was given in the …