You share personal data with every online transaction you make. This means that vast amounts of your most sensitive information - health records, passport number, residential address - are collected, used, and transferred between organisations. How is your personal data protected from misuse without adversely affecting your user experience?
Pleading guilty in Singapore
Bill Puah Ee Jie and Keith Low* I. IntroductionA guilty plea refers to an admission by someone who is accused of a crime that he or she did, in fact, commit the crime. Often, pleading guilty affords an accused a significant discount in sentencing. This discount, accompanied with the costs and time involved in claiming … Continue reading Pleading guilty in Singapore
A Novel Approach to Deriving Sentencing Frameworks: Sentencing as a Science and/or Art? Takaaki Masui v Public Prosecutor [2021] 4 SLR 160
In Takaaki Masui v Public Prosecutor and another appeal and other matters [2021] 4 SLR 160, the High Court introduced a new sentencing framework for purely private corruption offences under ss 6(a) and 6(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Significantly, the HC utilised mathematical concepts to evaluate and determine the content of sentencing frameworks, and also employed multiple two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphs to represent various sentencing frameworks.
The Law Governing Contract Formation: Solomon Lew v Kaikhushru Shiavax Nargolwala and other and another appeal [2021] SGCA(I) 1
Cross-border contracts often raise questions as to which country’s law should govern the contract. A three-stage test is usually used to determine the governing law. The first two stages determine, respectively, whether parties had expressly or impliedly chosen a governing law, and the third stage determines the governing law based on the law with the closest connection to the contract (if no express or implied choice had been made). However, this test assumes that a contract exists in the first place. If the very existence of a contract is disputed and each contracting party argues that a different law governs the issue of contract formation, does the three-stage test apply or is a different approach required?
The State of Statements in Singapore’s Legal System
Bill Puah Ee Jie* I. Introduction During the investigations of crimes, numerous statements are often recorded by the police. Different types of statements might also be taken at different times. Unfortunately, the process remains relatively unknown to the public and therefore may create an undue amount of uncertainty and unease for those undergoing the process. … Continue reading The State of Statements in Singapore’s Legal System
The penal-compensatory dichotomy of liquidated damages clauses: Denka Advantech Pte Ltd v Seraya Energy Pte Ltd [2021] 1 SLR 631
In Denka Advantech Pte Ltd v Seraya Energy Pte Ltd [2021] 1 SLR 631, the Court of Appeal affirmed the old rule on contractual penalties as articulated by Lord Dunedin in Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company, Ltd v New Garage and Motor Company, Limited [1915] AC 79: a liquidated damages clause is only enforceable if it is compensatory in nature, meaning that it provides a “genuine pre-estimate” of the likely loss caused by the breach.
Levelling the Playing Field between the Prosecution and the Defence: Steps in the Right Direction
Developed by Herbert Packer, the Crime Control Model and Due Process Model espouse different ideologies in criminal justice – the former prioritises efficient crime suppression in the interests of public order, while the latter emphasises the primacy of individual rights in relation to the state. While Singapore’s criminal justice regime incorporates characteristics of both, historically, experts have argued that it bears greater similarity to the Crime Control Model.
Fair Enough? An Examination of Existing Legal Limits on Prosecutorial Discretion
The story of Ms Parti Liyani is one of a harrowing journey through the criminal justice regime, resulting in eventual victory, but at great cost. In March 2019, Ms Liyani stood trial for four theft-related charges and was found guilty of all four charges. On appeal, it was found that the Prosecution had led Ms Liyani to make an admission at the trial below, by failing to disclose the non-functional state of a DVD player she was accused of stealing. Although she was eventually acquitted, Ms Liyani’s story is a demonstration of the impact of prosecutorial decisions on accused persons.
Judicial Review of Prosecutorial Decisions
Written by Fun Wei Xuan, Joel* I. IntroductionProsecutorial discretion, broadly speaking, refers to the Public Prosecutor’s ability to, in its sole discretion, make a myriad of decisions, including: whether to initiate prosecution, what charge to prefer, whether to amend a charge, and whether to discontinue prosecution.[1] This power is provided for in Article 35(8) of … Continue reading Judicial Review of Prosecutorial Decisions
The precise ambit of the sealing requirement for deeds: Lim Zhipeng v Seow Suat Thin [2020] SGCA 89
Parties (“creditors”) who loan money to others (“debtors”) are often concerned that the debtors will be unable or unwilling to repay them. Such creditors may then enter into deeds of guarantee with third parties (“guarantors”) to secure the repayment of their loans if their debtors default on payment of the same. Unlike a contract, a deed does not require consideration to be legally enforceable.[1] However, for a deed to be legally enforceable, several other formalities must be fulfilled. In particular, the deed must be “signed, sealed, and delivered”.
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