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Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

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Looking Beyond The Vague Terms In Singapore's Fake News Laws, Benjamin Joshua Ong May 2019

Looking Beyond The Vague Terms In Singapore's Fake News Laws, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Protection from Online Falsehoods andManipulation Act (Pofma), some criticised it for being too vague. Pofma contains words and phrases whose meaning is not explicitlyclear, e.g. statements that are “falseor misleading”, but does not define “misleading”. But case law gives us aclearer understanding of what “misleading” means


Enlarged Panels In The Court Of Appeal Of Singapore, Kwan Ho Lau Apr 2019

Enlarged Panels In The Court Of Appeal Of Singapore, Kwan Ho Lau

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

For many years the Court of Appeal of Singaporegenerally sat with no more than three judges to hear cases. Since 2014, however, quintets have increasingly been constituted in that court. This articleconsiders the recent practice in Singapore and, drawing on comparisons with theposition in some other Commonwealth jurisdictions, offers a few thoughts on its possible operation in the future.


Pro-Development Dispute Resolution Mechanisms And Norms For Investment And Commercial Disputes In Asean, Man Yip Mar 2019

Pro-Development Dispute Resolution Mechanisms And Norms For Investment And Commercial Disputes In Asean, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The establishment of the AEC in December 2015 marked an important milestone in the acceleration of regional economic integration. In the next ten years, according to the AEC Blueprint 2025, an area of focus for ASEAN is the development and promotion of MSMEs. Transnational transactions within and with ASEAN will therefore continue to rise, which will undoubtedly lead to a concomitant increase in the volume as well as the complexity of disputes. This chapter explores the strategic development of innovative approaches to facilitate the resolution of investor-state and commercial disputes in ASEAN. It argues that the creation of new dispute …


A Network Analysis Of The Singapore Court Of Appeal's Citations To Precedent, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh Mar 2019

A Network Analysis Of The Singapore Court Of Appeal's Citations To Precedent, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article presents findings from an empirical network analysis of citation practices in Singapore’s highest court. A network of all 987 reported Court of Appeal judgments handed down from 2000 to 2017 is constructed. Network centrality algorithms are used to rank judgments by centrality. Judgments on contract law, particularly on contractual interpretation and terms, emerge as the most central. Based on this, this article argues that more attention can be paid to interpretation per se as a legal skill. More generally, this article establishes a framework for applying network analysis to Singapore jurisprudence on a larger scale.


The Rise Of China And The Antarctic Treaty System?, Nengye Liu Mar 2019

The Rise Of China And The Antarctic Treaty System?, Nengye Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines three dimensions of China’s rise in Antarctica: (1) history (2) activities; and (3) governance. Historically, China was missing in Antarctic affairs for long time. Over the past four decades, as a reflection of China’s rapid economic growth after the adoption of ‘Open Door' policy, Chinese activities in the Antarctic can be seen as rising, especially in science, fisheries and tourism. Nevertheless, this paper argues that rather than having a secret agenda to pursue, China is still shaping up its general Antarctic policy. China’s capacity to advance its interests within the Antarctic Treaty System is not significant either. …


Catch Me If You Can: Claiming Jurisdiction Over An Overseas Defendant: Shanghai Turbo Enterprises Ltd V Liu Ming [2019] Sgca 11, Aaron Yoong, Nguyen Sinh Vuong Mar 2019

Catch Me If You Can: Claiming Jurisdiction Over An Overseas Defendant: Shanghai Turbo Enterprises Ltd V Liu Ming [2019] Sgca 11, Aaron Yoong, Nguyen Sinh Vuong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The appellant, Shanghai Turbo Enterprises Ltd (“Shanghai Turbo”), is a Singapore-listed company that owns Hong Kong-incorporated Best Success (Hong Kong) Ltd, which in turn owns China-incorporated Changzhou 3D Technological Complete Set Equipment Ltd (“CZ3D”). The respondent, Liu Ming (“Liu”), owned approximately 30% of the shares in Shanghai Turbo. He was also a director of all three companies, and held other management positions there. In April 2017, Shanghai Turbo fired Liu from all his positions in the companies, allegedly because of declining levels of profit under his management. Subsequently, Shanghai Turbo filed a suit against Liu for breaching his service agreement …


China's Approach To The Belt And Road Initiative: Scope, Character And Sustainability, Heng Wang Mar 2019

China's Approach To The Belt And Road Initiative: Scope, Character And Sustainability, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As a new form of regional multilateralism, the Belt and Road Initiative is China’s most significant strategic move for external engagement in international economic law, following its World Trade Organization accession. This paper analyses China’s approach towards the Belt and Road Initiative from a legal perspective, focusing on three questions: first, what is the proper scope of the Belt and Road Initiative? Second, is there an identifiable approach that China adopts in the Belt and Road Initiative context, and, if so, what is its key legal characteristic? Third, is China’s Belt and Road Initiative approach sustainable? Employing a functional approach …


A One-Size-Fits-All Approach To Corporate Governance Codes And Compliance By Smaller Listed Firms: An Examination Of Companies Listed In Hong Kong And Singapore, Christopher C. H. Chen Feb 2019

A One-Size-Fits-All Approach To Corporate Governance Codes And Compliance By Smaller Listed Firms: An Examination Of Companies Listed In Hong Kong And Singapore, Christopher C. H. Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the impact of a one-size-fits-all corporate governance code on smaller listed firms, which should have fewer resources to hire more qualified independent directors for their boards and board committees. After examining data from a sample of companies listed in Hong Kong and Singapore, we find some limited support for these resources-based arguments. While smaller firms do not necessarily have a lower proportion of board members who are independent directors, some evidence suggests that smaller firms do pay less to independent directors and that these directors have to serve on multiple board committees. Although many larger firms also …


Bicentennial Commemoration Has To Be More Than Just An Anniversary, Tan K. B. Eugene Feb 2019

Bicentennial Commemoration Has To Be More Than Just An Anniversary, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan examined the significance of the bicentennial commemoration to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles on January 29, 1819. He cautioned that such commemorations cannot be just about sentimentality, novelty or the feel-good factor of how far Singapore has come along but should instead encourage us to think and remember as well as to learn the invaluable lessons of our past.


Hostile Takeover Regimes In Asia: A Comparative Approach, Umakanth Varottil, Wai Yee Wan Jan 2019

Hostile Takeover Regimes In Asia: A Comparative Approach, Umakanth Varottil, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The market for corporate control is animportant corporate governance mechanism for the discipline of corporatemanagers. However, the process and substance of the regulation of hostiletakeovers differs remarkably among various jurisdictions. Existing andinfluential scholarship has focused on the differences in regulation between UnitedStates (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), with the explanations being founded ininterest group politics. Influential as it is, the question is whether thetheory can be extended outside of the US and the UK, particularly to theirlegal transplants in Asia? In the last few decades, many of the Asianjurisdictions have drawn heavily from the US and the UK when …


Building Toward The Rcep? Reflections On The Asean-China Fta, Heng Wang Jan 2019

Building Toward The Rcep? Reflections On The Asean-China Fta, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Among the ASEAN’s external FTAs, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) is ofgreat significance to both the ASEAN and China. The ACFTA was one of the earliest trade pactsconcluded by China. It is also part of the ASEAN’s broader push toward concluding FTAs outside themultilateral trading system, in line with the proliferation of regional trade pacts. This chapter willanalyze the following questions: what is the approach of the ACFTA? What are the implications ofthe ACFTA for the the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)? What nationalimplementation issues are involved with the ASEAN? The potential implications of the AHKFTA willbe explored. The …


The Singapore Convention On Mediation - A Brighter Future For Asian Dispute Resolution, Eunice Chua Jan 2019

The Singapore Convention On Mediation - A Brighter Future For Asian Dispute Resolution, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On 26 June 2018, the UnitedNations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) approved, largelywithout modification, the final drafts of the Convention on International SettlementAgreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention) and amendmentsto the Model Law on International Commercial Mediation prepared by WorkingGroup II. These instruments aim to promote the enforceability of internationalcommercial settlement agreements reached through mediation in the same way thatthe New York Convention facilitates the recognition and enforcement ofinternational arbitration awards. This paper provides a critical analysis of theSingapore Convention and some commentary from an Asian perspective.


Equitable Fraud – Some Personal Reminiscences And Reflections, Andrew B.L. Phang Jan 2019

Equitable Fraud – Some Personal Reminiscences And Reflections, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

I would like to thank the conference organisers for their very kind invitation. It is a great privilege and honour to be amongst such an august gathering of legal scholars. I would like to begin by noting that the international nature of this Conference is emblematic of the nature of legal discourse today — in particular, the importance of comparative analysis. I have, in fact, dealt with this point elsewhere in the context of the law of remedies.1 In particular, Singaporean courts often engage in (to borrow the title of the late Lord Goff of Chieveley’s justly famous Maccabaean Lecture …


Rethinking Non-Recognition: Taiwan’S New Pivot To Asean And The One-China Policy, Pasha L. Hsieh Jan 2019

Rethinking Non-Recognition: Taiwan’S New Pivot To Asean And The One-China Policy, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The article examines the evolution of Taiwan’s engagement in Southeast Asia since the 1990s as a unique case study in international law and international relations (IR). Under the one-China policy, the evolution of bilateral relations with Taiwan highlights the theoretical concept of recognition premised on identity and status in interstate affairs. The article argues that the states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have established diverse forms of recognition of Taiwan in line with a policy of non-recognition. While such recognition has not amounted to recognition of statehood in international law, it demonstrates the IR concept of recognition …


Transplanting Chapter 11 Of The Us Bankruptcy Code Into Singapore's Restructuring And Insolvency Laws: Opportunities And Challenges, Gerald Mccormack, Wai Yee Wan Jan 2019

Transplanting Chapter 11 Of The Us Bankruptcy Code Into Singapore's Restructuring And Insolvency Laws: Opportunities And Challenges, Gerald Mccormack, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In 2017, Singapore introduced wide-ranging reformsto its insolvency and restructuring laws with a view to enhancing itsattractiveness as an international centre for debt restructuring. Central tothese reforms is the transplantation (with modification) of certain provisionsfrom Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code including the automatic moratorium, cross-creditorcram-down, rescue financing and pre-packs. Drawing upon the US experience andsimilar reform proposals in the EU (including the UK), we critically evaluate theimpact of the new Singapore law. We argue that there remain challenges inensuring that the transplantation works well and highlight the possibleunintended consequences of such transplantation.


A Network Analysis Of The Singapore Court Of Appeal’S Citations To Precedent, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh Jan 2019

A Network Analysis Of The Singapore Court Of Appeal’S Citations To Precedent, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article presents findings from an empirical network analysis of citation practices in Singapore's highest court.A network of all 987 reported Court of Appeal judgments handed down from 2000 to 2017 is constructed. Networkcentrality algorithms are used to rank judgments by centrality. Judgments on contract law, particularly on contractual interpretation and terms, emerge as the most central. Based on this, this article argues that more attention can be paid to interpretation per se as a legal skill. More generally, this article establishes a framework for applying network analysis to Singapore jurisprudence on a larger scale.


Surrogacy, Child’S Welfare, And Public Policy In Adoption Applications, Seow Hon Tan Jan 2019

Surrogacy, Child’S Welfare, And Public Policy In Adoption Applications, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This case note discusses the Singapore High Court case of UKM, in which an order was granted to a gay man to adopt his biological son conceived through a gestational surrogacy arrangement in the United States. In particular, the High Court’s assessment of the welfare of the child and of public policy, in light of two factors—the prohibition of male homosexual acts in section 377A of the Penal Code and the de facto curtailment of domestic surrogacy by Singapore’s restrictive rules relating to the use of assisted reproduction technology services—will be examined.


An Asian View On The Ceta Investment Chapter, Locknie Hsu Jan 2019

An Asian View On The Ceta Investment Chapter, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement (CETA) has been completed and awaits ratification against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which includes five Asian parties among its signatories, has lost the support of the United States and its fate is uncertain as well. The CETA is significant for Asian countries given that one of its parties -- the EU -- has signalled strongly that it wishes to negotiate a number of free trade agreements in the Asian region. The agreement offers valuable insight into the thinking of the EU in terms of investment protection guarantees, its …


The Singapore Convention On Mediation - A Brighter Future For Asian Dispute Resolution, Eunice Chua Jan 2019

The Singapore Convention On Mediation - A Brighter Future For Asian Dispute Resolution, Eunice Chua

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On 26 June 2018, the UnitedNations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) approved, largelywithout modification, the final drafts of the Convention on International SettlementAgreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention) and amendmentsto the Model Law on International Commercial Mediation prepared by WorkingGroup II. These instruments aim to promote the enforceability of internationalcommercial settlement agreements reached through mediation in the same way thatthe New York Convention facilitates the recognition and enforcement ofinternational arbitration awards. This paper provides a critical analysis of theSingapore Convention and some commentary from an Asian perspective.


Against Populist Isolationism: New Asian Regionalism And Global South Powers In International Economic Law, Pasha L. Hsieh Dec 2018

Against Populist Isolationism: New Asian Regionalism And Global South Powers In International Economic Law, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article provides the most up-to-date examination of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is poised to become the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA). It argues that the 16-country mega-FTA will galvanize the paradigm shift in Asian regionalism and build a normative foundation for the Global South in international economic law. Based on intertwined theoretical and substantive claims, this article opens an inquiry into the assertive legalism of developing nations in the new regional economic order. It further manifests the pivotal force of emerging economies against populist isolationism in the Trump era that undermines the neoliberal foundation of …


Protecting Consumers' Personal Data In The Digital World: Challenges And Changes, Man Yip Dec 2018

Protecting Consumers' Personal Data In The Digital World: Challenges And Changes, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

At the Personal Data Protection Seminar 2017, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, said that Singapore must “aspire towards a high standard of data protection that strengthens trust with the public, gives confidence to customers whose data is collected and used, while providing an environment for companies to thrive in the digital economy”.


Financial Planning Mechanisms Available To Persons With Special Needs In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang Dec 2018

Financial Planning Mechanisms Available To Persons With Special Needs In Singapore, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A woefully underinvestigated area of the law is the management of property rights of persons with special needs. In this chapter, the term ‘special needs’ is defined widely to include people who are incapable of managing their daily financial affairs. The scope of people within this group may include persons with dementia, schizophrenia and intellectual disability as well as vulnerable elders. It should be noted that persons with special needs may have accumulated substantial property before becoming incapable of managing their financial affairs by reason of illness, old age or dementia. Alternatively, they could have inherited or stand to inherit …


Dual-Class Shares In Singapore – Where Ideology Meets Pragmatism, Pey Woan Lee Dec 2018

Dual-Class Shares In Singapore – Where Ideology Meets Pragmatism, Pey Woan Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article seeks to understand the rationale for and potential implications of the introduction of dual class shares (DCS) in Singapore. It does so by first considering the theoretical as well as evidential arguments for and against the use of DCS, followed by a survey on the reception (or otherwise) of such structures in four common law jurisdictions with vibrant capital markets, viz., Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong. It observes that the chief argument cited by business founders to justify the use of DCS structures is the desire to enhance a firm’s long-term profitability by shielding …


Protecting Consumers' Personal Data In The Digital World: Challenges And Changes, Man Yip Dec 2018

Protecting Consumers' Personal Data In The Digital World: Challenges And Changes, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

At the Personal Data Protection Seminar 2017, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, said that Singapore must “aspire towards a high standard of data protection that strengthens trust with the public, gives confidence to customers whose data is collected and used, while providing an environment for companies to thrive in the digital economy”.


Stamp Duty Relief And Anti-Avoidance Provisions, Vincent Ooi Dec 2018

Stamp Duty Relief And Anti-Avoidance Provisions, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Reliefs from stamp dutyIn certain circumstances, stamp duty reliefs may be applicable to instruments that would otherwise be dutia-ble, provided that the reliefs are claimed within specified statutory time limits. Such reliefs are distinct from stamp duty remissions, which may be granted by the Minister through the exercise of his powers under Sec-tion 74 of the Stamp Duties Act (Cap 312, 2006 Ed.). Under Section 74 of the Stamp Duties Act, the Minister has the discretion to prospectively or retrospectively reduce or remit duties subject to such conditions as he may impose. This power may be exercised on a general …


The Impact Of The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement On Australia's Education Exports To China: A Legal And Economic Assessment, Junfang Xi, Weihuan Zhou, Heng Wang Dec 2018

The Impact Of The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement On Australia's Education Exports To China: A Legal And Economic Assessment, Junfang Xi, Weihuan Zhou, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As a landmark achievement in the development of the China-Australia bilateral economic relations, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (“ChAFTA”) achieves a higher level of liberalisation in education services compared with China's commitments under the World Trade Organisation and its other free trade agreements. However, the ChAFTA fails to relax the major regulatory barriers in China, which will remain the key obstacles to Australia's education services exports to China. Through a preliminary study and a regression analysis of the impacts of the ChAFTA on Australia's education exports to China based on available data, we show that the ChAFTA did not play …


Three “Pitfalls” For The Unwary: Third-Party Funding In Asia, Darius Chan Nov 2018

Three “Pitfalls” For The Unwary: Third-Party Funding In Asia, Darius Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

For some time, practitioners would have seen news alerts headlining that third-party funding is permitted in Singapore and Hong Kong for arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings. Digging a little deeper beyond the shiny new labels, this article highlights three practical “pitfalls” which practitioners would have to be mindful of when dealing with third-party funding in Singapore and Hong Kong.


All Eyes Will Be On How Heng And His 4g Team Lead Singapore, Tan K. B. Eugene Nov 2018

All Eyes Will Be On How Heng And His 4g Team Lead Singapore, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan said the choice of Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat as the People’s Action Party’s first assistant secretary-general should not come as a surprise as he was the only fourth-generation (4G) leader to be made a full Minister upon winning his maiden election in 2011, helming the Education Ministry between 2011 and 2015. He opined that Mr Heng’s 4G team will have to stamp their distinctive collective identity and leadership ethos as governance becomes increasingly complex.


Whole-Of-Society Approach Needed Against Truth Decay, Tan K. B. Eugene Nov 2018

Whole-Of-Society Approach Needed Against Truth Decay, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan opined that technology has compounded the problem of fake news and that governments and legislation are not the only means to curb them. This is especially so when blunt legislation may end up eroding the fundamental liberty of freedom of speech and expression. He sought the use of a multi-pronged, multi-stakeholder approach against disinformation campaigns and with trusted sources of information being boosted to produce real information for the public.


Premature Service Of Payment Claims Under The Building And Construction Industry Security Of Payment Act: Audi Construction Pte Ltd V Kian Hiap Construction Pte Ltd, Benjamin Joshua Ong Nov 2018

Premature Service Of Payment Claims Under The Building And Construction Industry Security Of Payment Act: Audi Construction Pte Ltd V Kian Hiap Construction Pte Ltd, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Audi Construction Pte Ltd v Kian Hiap Construction Pte Ltd, the Singapore Court of Appeal considereda payment claim to have been validly served although it was served earlier thanthe contractually stipulated date. This was because the service of the paymentclaim was “effective” only from the contractually stipulated date, and theclaimant had had a “good reason” to serve the payment claim early. This notecritically examines the reasoning in Audi vis-à-vis the existing law, the principleof freedom of contract, and the intentions of the parties in that case. In theabsence of future judicial elaboration on the “effective service” and “goodreason” doctrines, …