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How And Why Do Judges Cite Academics? Evidence From The Singapore High Court, Jerrold Soh, Yihan Goh Jul 2022

How And Why Do Judges Cite Academics? Evidence From The Singapore High Court, Jerrold Soh, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Legal academics were once thought to be parasitic on the work of judges, so much so that citing academic work was said to weaken a judgment’s authority. Recent times have however seen prominent academics appointed to the highest courts, and judicial engagement with academic materials appears to have increased. In this light, this article empirically studies academic citation practices in the Singapore High Court. Using a dataset of 2,772 High Court judgments, we show that citation counts have indeed increased over time, even in this first-instance court. This increase was distributed across most legal areas, and was not limited to, …


Foreign Judgments: The Limits Of Transnational Issue Estoppel, Reciprocity, And Transnational Comity, Tiong Min Yeo May 2021

Foreign Judgments: The Limits Of Transnational Issue Estoppel, Reciprocity, And Transnational Comity, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp v Merck KGaA [2021] SGCA 14, a full bench of the Singapore Court of Appeal addressed the limits of transnational issue estoppel in Singapore law, and flagged possible fundamental changes to the common law on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Singapore. The litigation involves multiple parties spread over different jurisdictions. The specific facts involved in the appeal are fairly straightforward, centring on what has been decided in a judgment from the English court, and whether it could be used to raise issue estoppel on the interpretation of a particular term of …


Shareholders’ Rights And Corporate Meetings Post Covid‐19, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen Sep 2020

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 …


Pragmatism In The Pandemic: The Protection Of Commercial Tenants In Singapore, Edward Ti Sep 2020

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 Sep 2020

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.


Exorcising The Ghost In The Wills Act, Hang Wu Tang Sep 2020

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 …


Hearing Essential And Urgent Court Matters During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kwan Ho Lau, Daryl Xu Sep 2020

Hearing Essential And Urgent Court Matters During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kwan Ho Lau, Daryl Xu

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 Sep 2020

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


Can International Economic Agreements Combat Covid‐19?, Pasha L. Hsieh Sep 2020

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 Sep 2020

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.


“In Case Of Emergency, Break Contract”? The Case For A Unified Regime For Changed Circumstances In Singapore Contract Law, Nicholas Liu Sep 2020

“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 …


Private Liability For Public Health, Jerrold Soh Sep 2020

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 …


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 …


The Doctrine Of Wilful Blindness In Drug Offences: Adili Chibuike Ejike V Public Prosecutor [2019] 2 Slr 254, Rennie Whang Mar 2020

The Doctrine Of Wilful Blindness In Drug Offences: Adili Chibuike Ejike V Public Prosecutor [2019] 2 Slr 254, Rennie Whang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Adili Chibuike Ejike v Public Prosecutor [2019] 2 SLR 254, the Court of Appeal clarified the operation of the wilful blindness doctrine in the context of knowing possession for drug offences. In particular, it affirmed wilful blindness as a doctrine of substantive rather than evidential law, which applies as a limited extension to the legal requirement of actual knowledge. The court then articulated a three-part test for the finding of wilful blindness in relation to knowledge as an ingredient of possession. However, it left open the content of the doctrine as applied to the element of knowledge in drug …


Re-Examining The Law And Economics Of The Business Judgment Rule: Notes For Its Implementation In Non-Us Jurisdictions, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez Jan 2018

Re-Examining The Law And Economics Of The Business Judgment Rule: Notes For Its Implementation In Non-Us Jurisdictions, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The business judgment rule, as it has been traditionally understood, seems to be based on three underlying assumptions that make this rule economically desirable. First, directors are subject to a credible threat of being sued for a breach of the duty of care. Second, the primary role of the corporation is to maximise shareholder value. Third, shareholders want the directors to pursue those investment projects with the highest net present value regardless of their volatility. This article challenges these assumptions and argues that the business judgment rule might not be desirable in some jurisdictions outside the United States and even …


Civil Case Management In Singapore: Of Models, Measures And Justice, Chee Hock Foo, Eunice Chua, Louis Ng Jan 2014

Civil Case Management In Singapore: Of Models, Measures And Justice, Chee Hock Foo, Eunice Chua, Louis Ng

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The goals of all ASEAN member states are to “accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development” and “promote peace and stability” in the region. To achieve these goals, the public will need to trust and respect the Judiciary. Such trust and respect can be lost if there are inefficient practices that result in delay in the courts. The Singapore Judiciary is presently lauded for “its efficiency, its technological sophistication, its accessibility and the confidence of Singapore’s citizens and businesses in the system.” The World Economic Forum has also ranked Singapore first (out of 142 countries) in recognition of Singapore’s …


Are You Networked Yet? On Dialogues Within European Judicial Networks, Monica Claes, Maartje De Visser Jul 2012

Are You Networked Yet? On Dialogues Within European Judicial Networks, Monica Claes, Maartje De Visser

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The article examines the modality of judicial dialogue and the practical workings of less institutionalized judicial networks in Europe. Topics discussed include the definition of constitutional pluralism, network, and dialogue, the participation of judges in judicial networks, and the relationship between the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the national courts.


The Right Of Access To Justice: Judicial Discourse In Singapore And Malaysia, Gary Chan Apr 2007

The Right Of Access To Justice: Judicial Discourse In Singapore And Malaysia, Gary Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This is an essay on judicial discourse in Singapore and Malaysia pertaining to the nature and scope of the right of access to justice, including access to justice for the poor. We will examine the statements and pronouncements by the Singapore and Malaysia judiciary in case precedents and extra-judicial statements. Some of the issues explored include the legal status of this right of access to justice (namely, whether it is a right enshrined in the constitution or merely a right derived from the common law and whether it is qualified by economic and other interests) and the associated rights of …


Peoples Union For Civil Liberties V Union Of India: Is Indian Democracy Dependent On A Statute?, Shubhankar Dam Jan 2004

Peoples Union For Civil Liberties V Union Of India: Is Indian Democracy Dependent On A Statute?, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

What is the status of a right to vote in the Indian legal system? Is the right a constitutional/fundamental right? Or is it simply a statutory right? Contrary to the decisions of the Supreme Court in the last five decades, this paper argues that the right to vote is a constitutional right: its textual foundation may be located in Article 326. And, in this sense, the Supreme Court has erred in construing the right to vote as a statutory right under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. Interpreting the right to vote as a statutory right has larger implications for …


International Developments In Mediation (Internationale Entwicklungen Der Gerichtsnahen Mediation), Nadja Alexander May 2003

International Developments In Mediation (Internationale Entwicklungen Der Gerichtsnahen Mediation), Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


From Common Law To Civil Law Jurisdictions: Court Adr On The Move In Germany, Nadja Alexander Dec 2001

From Common Law To Civil Law Jurisdictions: Court Adr On The Move In Germany, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Australia today, ADR processes are recognised not only as a distinct system of dispute resolution, but also as a system that interacts interdependently with the legal system. This is most clearly demonstrated in the context of court-related mediation, which is increasingly seen as an effective way to increase access to, participation in, and satisfaction with the way legal disputes are resolved. Cappelletti categorises ADR as the third wave in the worldwide access-to-justice movement. ADR provides a different approach and a different sort of justice for solving disputes — what Cappelletti labels ‘co-existential justice’.


German Law Paves The Way For Mandatory Mediation, Nadja Alexander Feb 2000

German Law Paves The Way For Mandatory Mediation, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Effective as of 1 January 2000, the Federal Government of Germany has introduced legislation permitting all German states (Laender) to introduce mandatory court-connected mediation with respect to certain kinds of civil disputes.


Within The Civil Law Tradition, Nadja Alexander Jul 1999

Within The Civil Law Tradition, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A review of the international literature on ADR reveals a wide spectrum of dispute resolution processes practised throughout the world. It also demonstrates significant differences among different countries’ application of ADR procedures; for example, mediation.