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Articles 121 - 150 of 182

Full-Text Articles in Commercial Law

Recognition Of Foreign Judgments And Cross-Border Insolvencies, Adeline Chong Jan 2014

Recognition Of Foreign Judgments And Cross-Border Insolvencies, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the joined appeals of Rubin v Eurofinance and New Cap Reinsurance v Grant, the Supreme Court held that first, the traditional rules on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments applied to judgments in insolvency proceedings, and secondly, the act of lodging proof in foreign insolvency proceedings by a creditor meant that he had submitted to the jurisdiction of the supervising court. This article considers these decisions and suggests that the ruling in Rubin is sound while that in New Cap is unfounded. Further, assuming instead that the law is ripe for reform, this article considers what might be appropriate …


A Wrong Turn In History: Re-Understanding The Exclusionary Rule Against Prior Negotiations In Contractual Interpretation, Yihan Goh Jan 2014

A Wrong Turn In History: Re-Understanding The Exclusionary Rule Against Prior Negotiations In Contractual Interpretation, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A reason justifying the exclusionary rule against prior negotiations in the interpretation of contracts is its longevity. Yet, the authorities commonly cited in support of the exclusionary rule are mostly traceable to Lord Wilberforce’s speech in the relatively recent case of Prenn v Simmonds. This article suggests that the law took a wrong turn in that case and caused later courts to support the exclusionary rule by recourse to policy-oriented justifications, instead of principle-based ones. The emphasis on policy-oriented justifications, and the recantation of Prenn v Simmonds as reason enough for the exclusionary rule, support an independent rule against prior …


Case Comment: A New Framework For The Implication Of Terms In Fact, Yihan Goh Dec 2013

Case Comment: A New Framework For The Implication Of Terms In Fact, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Sembcorp Marine Ltd v PPL Holdings Pte Ltd the Singapore Court of Appeal once again reaffirmed the Singapore courts’ rejection of the approach adopted by Lord Hoffmann in Attorney General of Belize v Belize Telecom Ltd which characterised the implication of a term in fact as a process of contractual interpretation. What may be of interest to practitioners and academics of common law jurisdictions wrestling with the implications of the Belize approach is the Court of Appeal’s prescription of ‘a three-step process’ for the implication of terms in fact, which is accompanied by an in-depth discussion of various conceptual …


Punishment And Protection - The Disqualification Of Directors In Singapore, Pearlie M. C. Koh Dec 2013

Punishment And Protection - The Disqualification Of Directors In Singapore, Pearlie M. C. Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The ability to operate behind the shield of the corporate form, thereby benefiting from limited liability, is thought to be a privilege conferred by statute. This privilege is however, curtailed for certain individuals who are “proven misfits”. The removal, by disqualification, of these individuals from corporate management is intended to protect the shareholders and creditors of the companies concerned from the possibility of future instances of undesirable conduct by these same individuals. Thus, the Companies Act of Singapore provides for disqualification from holding directorships or from management of a company on a number of grounds. Disqualification may be automatic or …


The Fiduciary Doctrine As A New Pathway: An Alternative Approach To Analysing Native Customary Rights In Sarawak, Hang Wu Tang Dec 2013

The Fiduciary Doctrine As A New Pathway: An Alternative Approach To Analysing Native Customary Rights In Sarawak, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper explores the use of the fiduciary doctrine whereby the state is conceived as a fiduciary vis-à-vis her native peoples and attendant equitable remedies are made available for the native customary rights over land in Sarawak. Thus far, most challenges to extinguishment of native customary rights in Sarawak have proceeded on constitutional grounds, with little success. This article draws on the jurisprudence of fiduciary law in other parts of the Commonwealth and argues that this is a viable alternative cause of action against the state.


Book Review: The Construction Of Commercial Contracts By J. W. Carter, Yihan Goh Dec 2013

Book Review: The Construction Of Commercial Contracts By J. W. Carter, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Construction of Commercial Contracts by Professor J.W. Carter is an ambitious book. Its stated aim is to "explain as a coherent whole the principles which regulate the construction of commercial contracts". As will be seen, it more than meets this lofty aim, and is a valuable contribution to an area of work that is not only difficult, but also of immense practical importance. The book achieves its aim by explaining construction as constituting three separate stages: the identification of context (and terms), the determination of the meaning (and legal effect) of a contract, and, finally, the application of a …


A Reconsideration Of The Shareholder's Remedy For Oppression In Singapore, Pearlie Koh Mar 2013

A Reconsideration Of The Shareholder's Remedy For Oppression In Singapore, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The statutory remedy for oppression plays an important role in minority shareholder protection in Singapore. Both the scope of its application and the court's jurisdiction to make remedial orders must necessarily be wide in order for the remedy to be effective. Nevertheless, the remedy is not without limits. Indeed, it is crucial that the boundaries of the remedy be made clear so that legitimate rule of the majority is not too often, and erroneously, equated with tyranny by the majority. This paper considers a number of issues as to the scope of the oppression remedy in Singapore through a careful …


Regulation Of Over-The-Counter Derivatives: A Comparative Study Of Proposals In Singapore And Hong Kong, Chao-Hung Christopher Chen Jan 2013

Regulation Of Over-The-Counter Derivatives: A Comparative Study Of Proposals In Singapore And Hong Kong, Chao-Hung Christopher Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This chapter identifies some of the potential legal and policy issues involved in the future regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. First, regulators must be cautious in the regulation and solvency of some mammoth clearing- houses. Second, Singapore and Hong Kong both face challenges in the areas of global regulatory cooperation and extra-territorial regulatory effects. Third, the exact scope of a clearing obligation determines whether there is any regulatory competition or room for regulatory arbitrage in the future. Fourth, there are legal definition problems with the term ‘derivative’ and its sub-categories that must be addressed. Fifth, there are potential privacy and …


Book Review: Remedies For Breach Of Contract By Solene Rowan, Howard Hunter Jan 2013

Book Review: Remedies For Breach Of Contract By Solene Rowan, Howard Hunter

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Causation, Remoteness, Scope Of Duty And The Rubenstein Decision, Kee Yang Low Jan 2013

Causation, Remoteness, Scope Of Duty And The Rubenstein Decision, Kee Yang Low

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Oftentimes, based on the facts of a case, what justice requires is reasonably clear; yet, when the clever arguments of the defendant’s lawyers have to be dealt with, the Judge faces difficult, even insurmountable obstacles as he seeks the legal justification for the result which he knows (or feels) is the correct one. Rubenstein v HSBC1is such a case. The Rubensteinjudgment is not easy to digest, for several reasons. First, the claims traversed statutory duty, tort of negligence and contract and, along with that, the perennial vexed question of whether different paths should lead to the same result. Second, the …


Irregularities In Procedure – Reconsidering Section 392, Pearlie M. C. Koh Dec 2012

Irregularities In Procedure – Reconsidering Section 392, Pearlie M. C. Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In corporate administration, procedures, and their due compliance, are often of as much significance as the outcomes of the proceedings they regulate. The consequence of a failure to comply with procedures, whether laid down statutorily or in the company's constitution, is often the invalidation of the subject proceeding. Such invalidation may perhaps be justified on the basis that faithful compliance does much to foster a perception that the outcomes determined at the proceedings so held are fair, a perception that is vitally important to the acceptability of the outcome by all concerned. Nevertheless, it is also the case that corporate …


Liability For Work Done Where Contract Is Denied: Contractual And Restitutionary Approaches, Man Yip, Yihan Goh May 2012

Liability For Work Done Where Contract Is Denied: Contractual And Restitutionary Approaches, Man Yip, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper explores the divide between the law of contract and the law of restitution in dealing with the different situations that arise from one party commencing work prior to the conclusion of a formal contract. It argues that contract and unjust enrichment each have a proper role to play in dealing with such cases. First, it argues against a purely contractarian view that such cases should be exclusively resolved by the law of contract, through an implied collateral contract. Such a technique, applied vigorously, would result in nullifying the concept of “essential terms” and an artificial construction of parties …


Structured Notes Fiasco In The Courts: A Study Of Relevant Judgments In Taiwan Between 2009 And 2010, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen Mar 2012

Structured Notes Fiasco In The Courts: A Study Of Relevant Judgments In Taiwan Between 2009 And 2010, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The purpose of this article is to analyse relevant judicial decisions in Taiwan regarding structured notes sold to retail investors. Regarding pre-sale disputes, one issue was that investors failed to read contractual documents properly before signing contracts, so there was a question whether they could later claim a bank’s violation of its duty to explain. This article favours the view that an investor’s signature may exempt a bank’s duty, provided that investors are made aware of relevant warnings. In addition, for suitability assessment, relevant judgments show that customers were too easily classified as active investors based on a simple questionnaire. …


Product Suitability, Due Diligence And Management Responsibility: The New Regime Of Regulation 18b Of The Financial Advisers Regulations, Kee Yang Low Mar 2012

Product Suitability, Due Diligence And Management Responsibility: The New Regime Of Regulation 18b Of The Financial Advisers Regulations, Kee Yang Low

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In response to the structured products crisis of 2008, many changes were made to the Singapore regulatory landscape over the past three years. More recently, in July 2011, the Financial Advisers Regulations (Cap 110, Rg 2, 2004 Rev Ed) was amended and an important new provision – reg 18B – was added. Regulation 18B requires a financial adviser and its senior management to conduct a comprehensive due diligence exercise before selling a new product. This comment considers reg 18B’s overall scheme, its interpretational difficulties, the demands of the diligence requirements, its interrelation with s 27 of the Financial Advisers Act …


Transnational Public Policy In Civil And Commercial Matters, Adeline Swee Ling Chong Jan 2012

Transnational Public Policy In Civil And Commercial Matters, Adeline Swee Ling Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Agency And Partnership Law [2011], Pearlie M. C. Koh, Stephen Noel Henry Bull Jan 2012

Agency And Partnership Law [2011], Pearlie M. C. Koh, Stephen Noel Henry Bull

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The laws relating to the creation of an agency, implied authority, holding out and apparent authority, duties of the agent in relation to Agency law are discussed. The laws relating to partnership law and issues such as relationship of partners to third parties, relationships of partners between themselves and capacity to be a partner are highlighted.


The Resurgence Of Uncorporation: The Business Trust In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang Jan 2012

The Resurgence Of Uncorporation: The Business Trust In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The business trust has enjoyed resurgence in Singapore following the enactment of the Business Trusts Act. In March 2011, a high profile initial public offering in Singapore involving a business trust raised a staggering US $5.5 billion making this one of the world’s largest initial public offering of the year. Further, Hong Kong telecommunication company, PCCW Ltd has also offered a business trust via a stapled security structure in November 2011. Yet the business trust is not widely understood by many lawyers. Thus, one of the aims of this paper is to provide a description of the business trust as …


The "Party Scope" Of Exclusive Jurisdiction Clauses: Global Partners Fund Ltd V Babcock & Brown Ltd, Adeline Chong Nov 2011

The "Party Scope" Of Exclusive Jurisdiction Clauses: Global Partners Fund Ltd V Babcock & Brown Ltd, Adeline Chong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Coherency in international litigation and upholding exclusive jurisdiction clauses, for the most part, work hand in hand. Courts generally take jurisdiction on very wide and exorbitant grounds. There is therefore the ever-present risk of irreconcilable judgments stemming from multiple courts hearing disputes arising from the same transaction or state of affairs. One way in which such a risk is averted is by giving effect to exclusive jurisdiction clauses where parties have included such clauses into their contracts. Thus, when faced with an action brought in breach of an exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of another forum, the starting position is …


Explaining Contractual Remoteness In Singapore, Yihan Goh Jul 2011

Explaining Contractual Remoteness In Singapore, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore Court of Appeal (the Court of Appeal) has in MFM Restaurants Pte Ltd v Fish & Co Restaurants Pte Ltd rejected Lord Hoffinann's assumption of responsibility test (articulated in The Achilleas) to determine whether damages are too remote in a contractual claim. The Court of Appeal, however, retained assumption of responsibility as a concept to explain the orthodox test for remoteness as embodied in Hadley v Baxendale. To that extent, it expressly accepted Lord Hoffmann's approach in The Achilleas in so far as the concept of assumption of responsibility is already incorporated or embodied in both limbs of …


Agency And Partnership Law [2010], Pearlie Koh, Stephen Bull Jan 2011

Agency And Partnership Law [2010], Pearlie Koh, Stephen Bull

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


The Shareholder’S Personal Claim: Allowing Recovery For Reflective Loss, Pearlie Koh Jan 2011

The Shareholder’S Personal Claim: Allowing Recovery For Reflective Loss, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

An absolute application of the no reflective loss principle can result in unfairness. As such, retaining judicial discretion in the area will do much to ensure that genuine causes are not denied remedy. However, even as our courts appear prepared to allow a shareholder to recover for reflective loss, it is important that corporate autonomy is accorded due respect, and not be obscured by an overconsideration of policy concerns. To ensure this, the courts should allow recovery only if the right asserted by the shareholder is one that is separate and independent of the company’s right.


Advertising Law And Regulation, Chao-Hung Christopher Chen Jan 2011

Advertising Law And Regulation, Chao-Hung Christopher Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Advertising Law And Regulation By Giles Crown, Oliver Bray And Rupert Earle [Book Review], Christopher Chao-Hung Chen Jan 2011

Advertising Law And Regulation By Giles Crown, Oliver Bray And Rupert Earle [Book Review], Christopher Chao-Hung Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.


Discharge Of A Contract Where Both Parties Are In Breach: Alliance Concrete Singapore Pte Ltd V Comfort Resources Pte Ltd, Chee Ho Tham Sep 2010

Discharge Of A Contract Where Both Parties Are In Breach: Alliance Concrete Singapore Pte Ltd V Comfort Resources Pte Ltd, Chee Ho Tham

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This case note examines the most recent attempt by the Court of Appeal to provide further guidance on: (a) how the doctrine of discharge of contract by breach operates when both parties are in breach of their contract obligations; and (b) when a promisee is entitled to rely on an alternate basis to justify its election to discharge a contract for the promisor’s breach when the basis originally relied upon and communicated to the promisor is ultimately found to be legally insufficient.


In Defense Of The No Discharge After Notice Rule: A Reply, Chee Ho Tham Jan 2010

In Defense Of The No Discharge After Notice Rule: A Reply, Chee Ho Tham

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Mr Trukhtanov has made his own summary of and response to my own account of equitable (and statutory) assignment, and how notice of assignment operates within them. Having been reminded of how the cases on the topic are usually understood, readers will have to make up their own minds. While there is, always, room for further thought, it is important not to lose sight of two fairly important distinctions. Where A is the debtor, B is the creditor, and C is an assignee to whom B has assigned the chose in action arising from A’s debt obligation, a distinction should …


The New International Arbitration (Amendment) Bill – A Broader Framework For Interim Relief Or Just A Tune-Up?, Mahdev Mohan, Eu-Yen Tay Jan 2010

The New International Arbitration (Amendment) Bill – A Broader Framework For Interim Relief Or Just A Tune-Up?, Mahdev Mohan, Eu-Yen Tay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore aspires to retain its place as a trusted arbitration hub for commercial parties all around the world. The recently proposed amendments to the International Arbitration Act seek to bring Singapore closer to meeting international standards in relation to the arbitration procedure. While the initiative should be applauded, those amendments relating to interim measures fall somewhat short of expectations of a new, broader framework of curial assistance in aid of arbitration. This article explores the uncertainties that could arise from the proposed amendments, either because of phrasing or of an omission to embrace the Model Law. It is hoped that …


Agency And Partnership Law [2009], Pearlie Koh, Stephen Bull Jan 2010

Agency And Partnership Law [2009], Pearlie Koh, Stephen Bull

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The laws relating to the creation of an agency, implied authority, holding out and apparent authority, duties of the agent in relation to Agency law are discussed. The laws relating to partnership law and issues such as relationship of partners to third parties, relationships of partners between themselves and capacity to be a partner are highlighted.


Notice Of Assignment And Discharge By Performance, Chee Ho Tham Jan 2010

Notice Of Assignment And Discharge By Performance, Chee Ho Tham

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Notice plays an important role in the equitable assignment of legal choses in action, such as a contractual debt. As noted in a recent treatise, once the debtor is given notice of the equitable assignment: (i) should she pay the sum owed to her creditor, she is not discharged from her obligation but will have to make payment again to the assignee [the 'no discharge after notice' rule]; (ii) the assignee’s right against the debtor has priority against subsequent assignments by the assignor, in order of precedence of notice [the rule as to priorities]; and (iii) the debtor is no …


The Constructive Trust In Singapore: Five Persistent Puzzles, Hang Wu Tang Jan 2010

The Constructive Trust In Singapore: Five Persistent Puzzles, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper investigates some persistent difficulties surrounding the constructive trust. The five persistent puzzles relating to the constructive trust that are considered in this paper are: the terminology puzzle, the institutional and remedial puzzle, the explanatory puzzle, the bankruptcy puzzle and the Torrens puzzle. It is the author’s thesis that these five enduring puzzles must be addressed and ultimately unravelled in order to ensure the coherent development of the law in this area.


From ‘Made In China’ To ‘Sold In China’, Henry S. Gao Jan 2010

From ‘Made In China’ To ‘Sold In China’, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Two years ago, I wrote about a special program called ‘Made in China’, produced by CNN in the wake of the tainted milk scandal. Last month, CNN started to air another ‘Made in China’ program. No it is not that the last program was so popular that they want to bring it back. Instead the new one is a thirty second commercial rumored to have been financed by China’s Ministry of Commerce (who later denied this) in an effort to promote Chinese products.