Neighbour disputes are increasingly common in Singapore’s high-density housing landscape. The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (“CDRT”) offer a legal avenue for resolving such conflicts, but filing a claim is far from immediate. Year 4 LL.B. student Aretha Quek explores the process of bringing a claim before the CDRT. She also highlights the importance of mediation, as legal proceedings before the CDRT should remain a last resort in preserving neighbourly harmony.
Order Amidst Disorder: The Value and Challenges of Upholding the International Rule of Law
Amidst increasing geopolitical tensions and upheaval, this article examines the critical, albeit challenged, role of public international law (“PIL”) in upholding the international rule of law (“ROL”). Traditionally, public international law has played a pivotal role in this endeavour through hard and soft law mechanisms. However, its limitations in ensuring compliance and enforcement, coupled with the emergence of non-legal solutions, has called into question whether PIL is still effective and necessary in upholding the ROL. This article explores what PIL and non-legal solutions entail, how they complement each other, and, where they may fall short. Despite examples of numerous breaches of PIL, this article posits that it remains a bedrock of the international ROL by shaping norms, influencing state conduct positively, and reinforcing the global legal order. Further, the international community’s response to recent crises reflects a continued belief in the international ROL, which states should strive towards through legal rules, norms, and extra-legal solutions.
In The Pursuit of Employment Justice: Making Claims In The Employment Claims Tribunal
Employment disputes are very commonplace in Singapore, with over 9,000 employment claims and appeals lodged in 2023 alone. In Singapore, the Employment Claims Tribunal (“ECT”) hears and determines such employment dispute claims. However, while a claimant might immediately want recourse to the ECT, the process is not so straightforward.
Sentencing of Young Offenders charged with Serious Offences
The sentencing of young offenders charged with serious offences in Singapore, such as murder, sexual offences and drug-related offences, has always garnered considerable attention. More particularly, one might wonder how an accused's young age might factor into the sentencing process. In this regard, this piece explains that while rehabilitation is generally presumed to be the dominant sentencing consideration, the courts will, in calibrating the appropriate sentence, also consider various other factors, which might enhance or counterbalance the weight given to an accused’s young age. This is so especially in cases of young offenders charged with serious offences.
Murder: The Crime and Punishment
An accused charged with murder may be facing the harshest of punishments: death. Intuitively, it might seem only fair that such a grave punishment is meted out for an equally heinous act. However, legally speaking, whether an accused will be sentenced to death ultimately turns on the specific murder charge brought by the Public Prosecutor and the facts of each case. This is by no means a straightforward inquiry. This article seeks to shed some light on this area of the law by explaining the various murder provisions in the Penal Code 1871, as well as how sentencing for murder is generally done.
Open Justice: Exploring Illustrations of the Principle in Singapore
“Justice must not only be done but must also seen to be done.” Open justice is a fundamental principle that ensures transparency, accountability, and public trust in the legal system. When, then, can the Singapore courts decide that its proceedings should be heard in private? What considerations do courts take into account, and how do they balance public interest in hearings against interests of the defendants and victims in the cases? This article seeks to answer these questions, with reference to recent cases concerning Bar admission, voyeurism, and arbitration.
The Murderer’s Defence: challenging a murder charge under s 300 of the Penal Code
A conviction of murder is one with grave implications, one which may result in a sentence of death, or of life imprisonment. Against this backdrop, it is crucial to understand what defences are available to an accused person alleged of criminal homicide. Was the accused provoked into killing the deceased? Was the accused unable to comprehend his actions due to a mental infirmity? And more importantly, do these factors alone justify one’s exculpation? These questions are explored in this article, where focus is placed on several defences typically raised by an accused where the charge of murder is concerned.
Don’t judge a prosecution by its cover – Equality in Implementing Prosecutorial Discretion
The prosecution performs an important task of maintaining law and order, and upholding the rule of law. In exercising their discretionary powers as vested to them under Article 35(8) of the Constitution, this may lead to differential treatment between seemingly equally situated accused persons. While this may raise questions regarding the constitutional right to equality, this article will illustrate why these prosecutorial decisions are nonetheless in accordance with Article 12 of the Constitution.
Trial by media? Understanding the contours of the sub judice rule
High-profile court cases are often newsworthy precisely because they involve sensational or shocking facts, or because they implicate current or controversial sociopolitical issues. However, while such cases naturally attract a good deal of public interest, excessive speculation or highly emotive commentary risk undermining the proper and impartial conduct of the case in question, by placing undue pressure on the court and parties, and affecting the availability and reliability of witness testimony. It is therefore crucial to understand the sub judice rule, which aims to protect the proper administration of justice by governing what can and cannot be published in respect of ongoing cases.
The Rule of Law: A Brief Explanation
Joel Soon Jian Wei & Chang Wen Yee I. IntroductionIn Tan Seet Eng v Attorney-General, Chief Justice (CJ) Sundaresh Menon famously quipped that “[t]he rule of law is the bedrock on which our society was founded and on which it has thrived.”[1] Yet, the rule of law “is not one that admits of a fixed … Continue reading The Rule of Law: A Brief Explanation
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