Suchergebnisse

The Singapore dispute resolution landscape entered the new millennium with the reconstruction of the dual carriageway for arbitration. In 2002, the old road to arbitral resolution of disputes ( i.e. , the old Arbitration Act and the old International Arbitration Act ) were reconstructed and what emerged were two updated legislations: the Arbitration Act and the International Arbitration Act . At about the same time, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) also diversified with the introduction of a new set of Domestic Arbitration Rules.

English law on the rule against penalty clauses ("penalty rule") has had a stable if unsatisfactory formulation for a while. The courts have long distinguished between liquidated damages and a penalty, on the basis that the former is a genuine pre-estimate of loss and that the latter is an unjustifiable tool used to coerce the performance of a contract. These long-standing principles have now to be re-evaluated in the light of the much-anticipated joint appeals of Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi and ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis (collectively "Cavendish"). The purpose of this case note is to discuss Cavendish and evaluate the impact it might have on Singapore law. The immediate task for English law is to fully work out the basis and principles of the new rule in Cavendish. The impact on Singapore law will depend on how that pans out.

The article examines the role of law and the legal system in catalysing Singapore's development success. It argues that there is a dichotomy in the approach with regard to commercial law and law relating to individual freedom and rights and civil society. Universalism characterises the treatment of commercial laws while cultural relativism and a communitarian-based understanding of rights and obligations are features of the law relating to the rights of the individual. Instrumentalism, driven by a particularistic 'communitarian' political philosophy underpinned by strong Confucianist values, is very much motivated by the need for good governance as a prerequisite for economic growth and to nourish the nascent nation-building process. This helps to explain the universalism-relativism dichotomy in the approach to different laws. While it is argued that there is a strong element of instrumentality in its treatment of the legal system and the law, the government has always been careful to ensure that the laws and the legal system enjoy widespread public support and legitimacy. Such a trend is also anticipated for the Hong Kong SAR, another ethnic Chinese-majority political entity, provided that political expediency and a neo-colonial attitude are not the motivating concerns of the Beijing government.

Introduction / Kenneth Wing-kin Law -- Aging in Singapore: issues and options / William Keng-mun Lee -- Issues in elderly research in Hong Kong: a review of 56 social science research reports / Kenneth Wing-kim Law -- The feminization-of-poverty in an aged popluation in Singapore / William Keng-mun Lee -- New patterns of poverty in Hong Kong: an assessment of current social security provisions / William Keng-mun Lee -- Gender differences in retirement planning: an exploratory study of the middle-aged residents of Hong Kong / Kenneth Wing-kim Law -- The new cultural values of female intellectuals: a comparison between Beijing and Hong Kong / Stephen Shek-lam Lau -- Does a weaking family network inevitably accompany old age? Family networks of older persons in Guangzhou and Hong Kong / Kenneth Wing-kim Law -- Family support network and community development in Hong Kong / Hong-kin Kwok -- Changing family-related values in Communist China / Stephen Shek-lam Lau -- Filial piety in Communist China: is it a myth or a reality? Stephen Shek-lam Lau.