Candidates will be taken through the many legal issues and problems that arise from and relate to developments in information and communications technology. The course will build problem-solving skills in dealing with a subject matter that is still evolving in the context of a rapidly evolving technology and innovation environment, and that is impacting socio-economic transactions and stakeholders on a global scale.

New legislative developments will also be considered in detail. In particular, more recent amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act of 2010 relating to e-contracts, e-signature and intermediary liability; the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Act in 2012 relating to data protection, the do-not-call registry and the Spam Control Act; changes to content regulations, specifically the class licensing regulations in 2013; the new Protection from Harassment Act and recent amendments to the Copyright Act in 2014 and 2016. The latest trends and developments in other jurisdictions relating to these topics will also be considered.

Advanced Law of Obligations

Seminars will cover key aspects of the law of obligations, such as contract law, tort law, trust and equity, and the law of restitution. The focus is on cultivating a thorough understanding of how these various aspects interact, while more practically relevant developments will also be emphasised. The various topics will be taught from a comparative perspective with ample references to ASEAN, Asian and leading common law jurisdictions.

Law of Real Estate Securitisation

While space and the built environment is ubiquitous, real estate remains a unique asset class. The rules relating to its current and future value, how it may be securely transferred from one party to another and its very definition all depend on law. Property development, investment and securitisation are all aspects that real estate market players take cognisance of. This course provides a legal primer on the legal fundamentals of real estate practice, with an emphasis on the regulations pertaining to securitisation of real estate via a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or Business Trust (BT). Where relevant, comparisons with other jurisdictions will be made. The course is both practical and academically rigorous and is relevant to students with an interest in real estate transactions and securitisation.

Mediation

This course deals with the rapidly growing area of private international mediation. Imagine the following scenario: You are asked to mediate a professional negligence dispute. The plaintiff is based in England, the defendant accounting firm is in Hong Kong, and the defendant’s insurer has its headquarters in the United States. All agree to attend mediation in Singapore. The preliminary discussions and meetings, however, take place via email and video-conference with all parties in their home countries. The mediation occurs and the parties reach a settlement, which the parties’ legal representatives draft into contractual form. Such cross-border mediations involve:

• international and intercultural competencies;
• online and face-to-face mediation processes and protocols; and
• knowledge of the applicable law in relation to the substantive and procedural aspects of mediation.

Financial Regulation in Asia

This course will outline key financial regulations in Singapore and Hong Kong, two biggest international financial centres in Asia Pacific, focusing on banking and insurance regulation after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Chinese and Taiwanese law will also be introduced and considered to offer a greater understanding of relevant rules in the Greater China region. Main topics covered in this course may include the regulatory structure and power of regulators, systemic risk and macro regulation, licensing and scope of regulation, capital adequacy rules, transfer of control of financial institutions, corporate governance, financial consumer protection, capital market aspect of banking/insurance regulation, and OTC derivatives, etc. Certain private law aspects (such as the interpretation of ISDA master agreement or cross-border loan agreement) may also be incorporated.

This course will feature topics relating to judicial decision-making, judicial stress management and judicial philosophy. To supplement the learning, candidates are required to attend any 3 full-day signature programmes on: (a) the art of judging; (b) assessing of credibility of witnesses; (c) effective engagement of litigants-in-person; (d) judgment writing and oral judgments; and (d) leadership in court governance, at the Singapore Judicial College (SJC).

This 5-day executive training program aims to provide participants with foundational knowledge about: (a) leadership skills and facilitating innovation; and (b) key contemporary legal and regulatory issues linked to the proliferation of cross-border transactions, spurred on by ongoing efforts to integrate the economies of the ASEAN states. Participants can look forward to a set of day-long modules crafted with their particular judicial needs in mind. They will learn leadership skills that they can harness to better manage internal judicial processes and improve on the efficiency and quality with which judicial services are delivered to the general public in their respective jurisdictions.

Every candidate must complete a judicial dissertation that may be considered for publication under the auspices of the SJC’s Empirical Judicial Research Programme. Candidates will be supervised either by an experienced law academic or senior Judge depending on the area of empirical research.

The development of international business serves as a vital factor for national economic growth. This is particularly important for many Asian countries, which have adopted an export-oriented policy and promote the export of goods and services in international markets. It is thus critical for Asia-based business leaders and policy-makers to understand legal aspects of domestic and international transactions, as well as global trade regimes. To this end, the course will provide an overview of legal issues that apply to the sale of goods transactions, the meanings and application of trade terms such as CIF and FOB, and methods of financing sales and of transporting goods across borders.

Moreover, the course will discuss the resolution of commercial and investment disputes, and regulatory issues involving trade barriers to foreign direct investments and WTO principles. In particular, we will explore law and policy related to Asian countries and enterprises. You will examine international trade cases and problems from interdisciplinary angles, gain presentation and advice-giving experience and, more importantly, learn to use legal concepts to improve the decision-making process in managing transnational business from the Asian perspective.

This course provides an overview of the fundamental principles and methodologies of the conflict of laws (also known as private international law), with focus on their application in commercial transactions.

Cross-border commercial transactions are common in a modern globalised era. The conflict of laws addresses three large questions: (1) In which country should the case be tried? (2) Which country’s law should be applied to resolve the dispute? (3) What should be the legal effect in one country of a judgement given in another? From the perspective of Singapore law, the questions translate into: (1) When would or should a Singapore court hear the case (and sometimes try to stop it from being heard in another country)? (2) Which country’s law would or should the Singapore court apply to resolve the issue before it? and (3) What legal effect would or should a foreign judgement have in Singapore? This is a course on Singapore conflict of laws, but comparisons will be made from time to time to the laws of other countries.

Law is the leading but certainly not the only regulatory mechanism in the political, social and economic realms. Indeed, a simplistic over-reliance on the law and the legal system in the conduct of business, social and economic matters is inadequate in protecting one’s rights, interests and needs especially when the rule of law is weak. Other regulatory mechanisms that can aid in governance in the public and private realms include ethical value systems, soft law, networks in the various facets of human endeavours. Together with the law, they help to ensure a nuanced way to protect and enhance one’s rights, interests and concerns. This module seeks to develop an appreciation and understanding of these quasi-legal regulatory mechanisms, and how they can be used in conjunction with hard law and the legal system to protect one’s rights and interests, with particular reference to Asia. How can such regulatory mechanisms advance accountability, regulate affairs in the different spheres of human endeavours?

You will be taken through the many legal issues and problems that arise from and relate to developments in information and communications technology. The course will build problem-solving skills in dealing with a subject matter that is still evolving in the context of a rapidly evolving technology and innovation environment, and that is impacting socio-economic transactions and stakeholders on a global scale.

New legislative developments will also be considered in detail. In particular, more recent amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act of 2010 relating to e-contracts, e-signature and intermediary liability; the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Act in 2012 relating to data protection, the do-not-call registry and the Spam Control Act; changes to content regulations, specifically the class licensing regulations in 2013; the new Protection from Harassment Act and recent amendments to the Copyright Act in 2014 and 2016. The latest trends and developments in other jurisdictions relating to these topics will also be considered.

Advanced Law of Obligations

Seminars will cover key aspects of the law of obligations, such as contract law, tort law, trust and equity, and the law of restitution. The focus is on cultivating a thorough understanding of how these various aspects interact, while more practically relevant developments will also be emphasised. The various topics will be taught from a comparative perspective with ample references to ASEAN, Asian and leading common law jurisdictions.

Law of Real Estate Securitisation

While space and the built environment is ubiquitous, real estate remains a unique asset class. The rules relating to its current and future value, how it may be securely transferred from one party to another and its very definition all depend on law. Property development, investment and securitisation are all aspects that real estate market players take cognisance of. This course provides a legal primer on the legal fundamentals of real estate practice, with an emphasis on the regulations pertaining to securitisation of real estate via a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or Business Trust (BT). Where relevant, comparisons with other jurisdictions will be made. The course is both practical and academically rigorous and is relevant to students with an interest in real estate transactions and securitisation.

Mediation

This course deals with the rapidly growing area of private international mediation. Imagine the following scenario: You are asked to mediate a professional negligence dispute. The plaintiff is based in England, the defendant accounting firm is in Hong Kong, and the defendant’s insurer has its headquarters in the United States. All agree to attend mediation in Singapore. The preliminary discussions and meetings, however, take place via email and video-conference with all parties in their home countries. The mediation occurs and the parties reach a settlement, which the parties’ legal representatives draft into contractual form. Such cross-border mediations involve:

• international and intercultural competencies;
• online and face-to-face mediation processes and protocols; and
• knowledge of the applicable law in relation to the substantive and procedural aspects of mediation.

Financial Regulation in Asia

This course will outline key financial regulations in Singapore and Hong Kong, two biggest international financial centres in Asia Pacific, focusing on banking and insurance regulation after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Chinese and Taiwanese law will also be introduced and considered to offer a greater understanding of relevant rules in the Greater China region. Main topics covered in this course may include the regulatory structure and power of regulators, systemic risk and macro regulation, licensing and scope of regulation, capital adequacy rules, transfer of control of financial institutions, corporate governance, financial consumer protection, capital market aspect of banking/insurance regulation, and OTC derivatives, etc. Certain private law aspects (such as the interpretation of ISDA master agreement or cross-border loan agreement) may also be incorporated.

To be updated

To be updated

To be updated

This course introduces you to the blockchain ecosystem, from concept to evolution, from technologies to applications. It analyses governance structures adopted by the blockchain community and investigate the impact of the blockchain technology on business and commerce. Students will learn the defining characteristics of blockchain technologies and the core components as the foundation of trust in a decentralized setting. Applications of blockchain technology in various domains will be examined, and the appropriate legal and regulatory framework for such applications will be discussed. Co-taught by the faculty members from SOL and SCIS, this course links the technological aspect of blockchain with its socio-economic aspect, and explores sensible regulations built on both aspects. Students will be able to develop a rational view about the potentials and limits of blockchain.

As businesses increasingly embrace the use of technology in domestic and cross-border operations, such as blockchain technology, cloud technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) and digitalized trade documents, it is necessary for lawyers and legal policy-makers to not only appreciate the complex legal and policy issues arising from such use of technology, but to also help provide clear legal thinking and innovative ideas in resolving such issues.

This unique course aims to provide students with an opportunity to learn about and confront a selection of such issues, develop an understanding of real-world legal-policy issues and exercise skills in critical thinking and creativity to produce usable law and policy recommendations. The issues are selected based on their topicality, feedback from industry, importance to Singapore and ASEAN and a review of academic and business literature.

Students will be guided in an exploration and analysis of cross-border trade law issues relating to the intersection of commerce and technology. In the first part of the course, an explanation of the some key issues will be provided to help students understand the broader context of trade in the digital economy. Students will then be exposed to a number of issues which are confronting policy-makers and the private sector, so that they may conduct legal research and craft clear and cogent law and policy recommendations from their findings. Industry professionals will help to provide feedback and discuss students’ findings and recommendations. Industry contacts in this course are likely to be from the fields of finance, technology, commerce, policy/strategy and law.

This course focuses on the law of defamation applicable to both domestic and international business contexts. The publication of defamatory statements by business competitors, consumers, employees and members of the public via the Internet and other business modes of communication is a common phenomenon in this globalised world. Cross-border defamation issues such as jurisdiction, choice of law and the enforcement of judgements in Internet defamation cases have assumed greater significance in recent years.

The protection of corporate, business and trading reputations and the available remedies will be examined in light of the right of free speech in international human rights instruments, domestic constitutions and statutes. In addition to the tort of defamation and malicious falsehood (or trade libel), the course may from time to time refer to associated torts such as privacy and passing off, where relevant to business defamation. It will discuss, from a comparative perspective, business defamation in the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore and selected common law and Asian jurisdictions.

This course provides an overview of the fundamental principles and methodologies of the conflict of laws (also known as private international law), with focus on their application in commercial transactions. Cross-border commercial transactions are common in a modern globalised era. The conflict of laws addresses three large questions: (1) In which country should the case be tried? (2) Which country’s law should be applied to resolve the dispute? (3) What should be the legal effect in one country of a judgement given in another? From the perspective of Singapore law, the questions translate into: (1) When would or should a Singapore court hear the case (and sometimes try to stop it from being heard in another country)? (2) Which country’s law would or should the Singapore court apply to resolve the issue before it? And (3) What legal effect would or should a foreign judgement have in Singapore? This is a course on Singapore conflict of laws, but comparisons will be made from time to time to the laws of other countries.

This module provides an opportunity for you to undertake in-depth research on a legal topic of your choice. It contributes to the development of a wide range of transferable skills such as writing skills, research and methodological skills, analytical skills, independent thinking and project management skills (action planning, time management, monitoring and evaluation). The capacity to produce a clearly structured and well-written piece of work can be highly rewarding from an academic and personal perspective.

Note: The list of electives is indicative and subject to availability. Course offerings are confirmed a year prior to the start of the programme.