Asian Studies Commons^™

Shaping The Future Of The Profession, David N. Smith

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

The New Singapore Law On Antidumping And Countervailing Duties, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Countervailing and Anti-dumping Duties Act 1996 ("the Act") came into effect on 1 November 1996.1 This legislation was enacted to bring Singapore's law in relation to countervailing duties, subsidies and antidumping into conformity with requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements It also updates the law by repealing the outmoded Customs (Subsidies and Anti-dumping) Act. The new rules and procedures in the Act are meant to "give added assurance and certainty to the local and foreign parties concerned whenever an action is instituted."In addition to the Act, detailed regulations have also been passed. The Act follows the basic …

Remedies Available For Breach Of Contract Under The Un Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article, which is complementary to the previous one [(1996) 8 SAcLJ 104], examines in detail the remedies available under the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which recently came into force in Singapore. Where appropriate, brief comparisons are made with the remedies available under the Sale of Goods Act.

Medical Investigation Of Suspects By The Police, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Although medical examinations and samples taken from suspects' bodies in the course of police inquiries often lead to the discovery of important evidence, Singapore criminal procedure does not appear to empower the police to carry out such medical investigations. Neither does it safeguard the interests of suspects. It is submitted that the Criminal Procedure Code and other statutes should be brought up to date with modern science.

For Better Of For Worse: The Statutory Derivative Action In Singapore, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Managerial accountability (or the lack of it) to shareholders has been described as “one of the major socio-legal problems of the twentieth century”. That such a comment has come to be made seems inevitable given the fact that common law courts have consistently upheld, in the absence of fraud, the managerial authority of the Board against the shareholders in general meeting. The Directors have almost absolute authority to decide what is, in their opinion, in the commercial interests of the company. The concerns of shareholders are obvious in public companies where, for the sake of economic efficiency and as a …

Frustration Of Contracts For The Sale Of Land In Singapore, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The recent Singapore Court of Appeal decision of Lim Kim Som v. Sheriffa bah bte Abdul Rahman' is significant for at least two specific (and related) rea in the context of the doctrine of frustration: first, because it pertains to the m particular issue as to whether a contract for the sale of land can be frustrated; second, because it also raises certain significant questions with regard to m general aspects of the doctrine itself.

Equal Protection And Sexual Orientation, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Equality is the thread running through the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Constitution. ... Equality, expressed in Art 12 of the [Singapore] Constitution, is also a specific right enforceable by the court. The difficulty comes in applying this deceptively simple concept to real-life situations. ... In considering the validity of legislation, Singapore and Malaysian courts have generally favored rational review, a modest conception of equal protection, unlike their American counterparts which have adopted a more expansive reading in the form of strict and intermediate review. This article examines how these three levels of equal protection review operate, and argues that …

Rediscovering The Constitution, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The fundamental liberties in our Constitution involve a study of tensions: between an individual's rights and the community's interests, between the role of the judiciary on the one hand and the executive and legislature on the other. How we should interpret them depends on where we think equilibrium should be established. This depends on two main factors. The first is the proper function of the judiciary as laid down by our Constitution, which is discussed in Part I of this article. The second is the nature of our fundamental liberties, for they are worded with varying degrees of generality. ... …

Beyond Pepper V. Hart: The Legislative Reform Of Statutory Interpretation In Singapore, Robert C. Beckman, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

One of the major controversies in the area of statutory interpretation has centred on the use of parliamentary materials as extrinsic aids by courts in interpreting legislation. The English courts long prohibited any reference to parliamentary materials.' Legislation was passed in Australia in the 1980s to allow liberal reference to parliamentary materials in the courts. More recently, a seminal decision of the House of Lords in 1992 in Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v. Hart' introduced significant flexibility into the hitherto rigid proscription followed in the English courts, although it did not go as far as the legislative reforms in Australia. …

The Bamboo Gulag: Human Rights In The People's Republic Of China, 1991-1992, Ta-Ling Lee, John F. Copper

Maryland Series in Contemporary Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

Beyond Pepper V. Hart: The Legislative Reform Of Statutory Interpretation In Singapore, Andrew B.L. Phang, Andrew Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

One of the major controversies in the area of statutory interpretation has centred on the use of parliamentary materials as extrinsic aids by courts in interpreting legislation. The English courts long prohibited any reference to parliamentary materials.' Legislation was passed in Australia in the 1980s to allow liberal reference to parliamentary materials in the courts.2 More recently, a seminal decision of the House of Lords in 1992 in Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v. Hart' introduced significant flexibility into the hitherto rigid proscription followed in the English courts, although it did not go as far as the legislative reforms in Australia. …

The Court Of Appeal's Lack Of Jurisdiction To Reopen Appeals: Abdullah Bin A Rahman V Public Prosecutor; Lim Choon Chye V Public Prosecutor, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It is ironic that Abdullah bin A Rahman v PP and Lim Choon Chye v PP were decided in the aftermath of the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four and Maguire Seven cases from the United Kingdom. As in these cases, Abdullah and Lim Choon Chye highlight a serious flaw in our criminal justice system: there appears to be no appropriate way to correct miscarriages of justice. The purpose of this case note is to set out the conclusions reached by the Court of Appeal and to suggest directions for the future.

A Place For The Privileged Will, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Most people consider the proper distribution of their property on death a vitally important matter. For those who are elderly, ill or engaged in risky occupations, it is often urgent to get such things settled fast. But some people may be in circumstances where they cannot comply with the formal requirements for a valid will. The law has long recognized this concern in the case of soldiers and sailors by allowing them to create privileged wills. Many jurisdictions, including Singapore, have legislation to this effect. This article seeks to determine if there remains a place for the privileged will today. …

Prosecutorial Discretion And The Conditional Waiver: Lessons From The Japanese Experience, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A unique characteristic of prosecutorial discretion in Japan is the formal practice of suspension. From the later part of last century, public prosecutors were presented with the discretionary option of waiving or suspending prosecution dependent on certain conditions.

Cementing The Foundations: The Singapore Application Of English Law Act 1993, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

After almost one hundred and seventy-five years since the founding of modern Singapore in 1819,' the Singapore Legislature2 has finally passed the Application ofEnglish LawAct i9933 to clarify the application of English law in the island republic. Prior to the AELA, there were numerous areas of uncertainty with regard to both the general as well as the specific reception of English law that led to a plethora of literature but little else.

Review Of Judicial Decision-Making In The People's Republic Of China: An Overview Of Unique Developments, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

While the constitutional injunction to independence is general, specific legislative provisions do not directly preclude the overall governance of the Party. In fact, the initial articles of the 1982 Constitution celebrate the 'dignity of the socialist legal system' (Article 5), and as the preamble confirms, the construction and maintenance of Chinese socialism remains under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Therefore it might be argued that the protection of judicial power from the 'interference by administrative organs, public organisations or individuals' (Article 126) does not envisage the intervention of the Party.

Frustration In English Law – A Reappraisal, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There are few doctrines in the English common law of contract that have raised as much theoretical discussion as the doctrine of frustration. The present article attempts a reappraisal of the doctrine, its central thesis being that many of the major controversies centring on the doctrine have been unnecessary as they stem from an omission to view the doctrine in a holistic fashion. Indeed, it is submitted that a more coherent view must proceed from a theoretical reappraisal, which reappraisal would, ironically, lead to a more cogent practical application of the doctrine itself. That theory lies at the core of …

The Law Of Assembly In The People's Republic Of China: Implications Of The Retreat To Formal Legalism For The Legislative Process In China, Mark Findlay, Thomas Chor-Wing Chiu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Under the most current constitution, written in 1982, the citizens of the PRC are guaranteed freedom of the press, speech, assembly, association, procession, and demonstration; furthermore, all citizens enjoy the rights and assume the responsibilities prescribed by the constitution and the law. In 1989, following the student democracy demonstrations in the PRC, the government circulated a draft of the law concerning assemblies, processions, and demonstrations for public comment. While the 24 articles of the draft legislation effectively removed the right to free public protest by interposing a variety of administrative procedures governing proscription of venue, application, approval, and review, the …

Lawyers In China: The Past Decade And Beyond, Timothy A. Gelatt

Maryland Series in Contemporary Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

The 1989 Us-Republic Of China (Taiwan) Fisheries Negotiations, Mark Mon-Chang Hsieh

Maryland Series in Contemporary Asian Studies

No abstract provided.

The Hong Kong Jury: A Microcosm Of Society?, Peter Duff, Mark Findlay, Carla Howarth

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The claim that the jury is a randomly chosen and representative sample of community is an important part of the ideology which currently underpins the institution. Supporters of the jury argue that both its impartiality and its independence from the State are bolstered by the fact that it represents a randomly selected cross-section of the populace. In most common law jurisdictions where the jury operates, various steps have been taken over recent years in order preserve and strengthen the perception of the jury as a "microcosm of democratic society". For example, in England the property qualification for jurors was removed …

Reception Of English Law In Singapore: Problems And Proposed Solutions, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The problems pertaining to the reception of English law in Singapore are both numerous and complex. The academic literature generated in the local sphere alone is relatively large. It must, however, be conceded that, from apractical point of view, there has been very little interest or at least discussion. One cannot, of course, be sure about this observation, save for the very strong indication that takes the form of the overwhelming lack of litigation in the area, thus rendering it merely (so it appears) an academic monopoly. It should, however, be pointed out that this rather phlegmatic approach in practice …

Agenda: New Challenges For Environmental Protection: Second Sino-American Conference On Environmental Law, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

New Challenges for Environmental Protection: Second Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (October 12-13)

Workshop held Sept. 18-19, 1989; conference held Oct. 12-13, 1989, in Boulder, Colorado.

Conference speakers included University of Colorado School of Law professors Daniel Barstow Magraw and Lawrence J. MacDonnell.

Contents of papers from workshop and conference:

To protect developing city by the enactment of local laws and regulations / Wu Zilin -- Legislative control of air pollution & water pollution of the P.R.China / Xiao Longan -- The law of natural conservation in China / Ma Xiang-cong -- 'Weighing environmental risks : EPA's unfinished business', Environment, vol. 30, no. 6, July/August 1988, p. 14-17, 34-39 / Richard Morgenstern, Stuart …

To Protect Developing City By The Enactment Of Local Laws And Regulations, Zilin Wu

New Challenges for Environmental Protection: Second Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (October 12-13)

13 pages.

Legislative Control Of Air Pollution & Water Pollution Of The P.R. China, Longan Xiao

New Challenges for Environmental Protection: Second Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (October 12-13)

10 pages.

The Law Of Natural Conservation In China, Xiang-Cong Ma

New Challenges for Environmental Protection: Second Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (October 12-13)

19 pages.

The Marine Environmental Protection Law Of The People’S Republic Of China (Chinese Version And Unofficial English Translation), Jianying Ye

New Challenges for Environmental Protection: Second Sino-American Conference on Environmental Law (October 12-13)

40 pages.

Show Trials In China: The Aftermath Of Tiananmen Square, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

After the military massacre in Tiananmen Square on 4 June it came as no surprise that the nominated 'rioters and counter revolutionaries' would soon be paraded before the courts. Even in the People's Republic of China, where a formal criminal court structure is a comparatively recent addition to the social control framework, the trial process is being employed as an immediate state response to community disjuncture and political challenge.

Of Codes And Ideology: Some Notes On The Origins Of The Major Criminal Enactments Of Singapore, Andrew B.L. Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article, as its title suggests, surveys the historical background to the major criminal enactments of Singapore. As a subsidiary function, it also attempts to illustrate the possible ideology underlying the enactment of one particular statute, viz., the Penal Code - a possibility that might point the way toward broader conclusions as well as studies encompassing the role and function of the law in colonial Singapore from a more general point of view.

Sugar Coated Bullets: Corruption And The New Economic Order In China, Mark Findlay, Thomas Chor-Wing Chiu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The recent political debate concerning the influence of corruption on the “new economic order” in the People's Republic of China is unique not only for its detailed and public manifestations, but also because it works around the acceptance of some degree of corporate private ownership of the means of production within China. The concern for corruption in Chinese government and commerce is not, of itself, novel.We prefer in this paper briefly to focus on the economic and political environment from within which this concern has been generated, to comment on the significance for the Government of the PRC in associating …