COMMERCIAL LAW & POLICY CONFERENCE 2026
ABOUT
Questions about the role of policy – and its connection to notions of principles, purposes, politics, and pragmatism – continue to define debates in commercial and private law.
This conference and subsequent collection gathers the contributions of established and emerging academics to tackle these issues. It takes a capacious approach to different interpretations of policy, and includes theoretical, doctrinal, comparative and case-study approaches.
Divided into three segments, ‘Theory’, ‘Doctrine’, and ‘Broader Perspectives’, participants cover the theoretical tension between individual and collective justice, and the symbiotic relationship between law and policy. Doctrines of contract law, trusts, and equity are explored from novel perspectives, to reveal the law’s balance between private ordering and social welfare. And to broaden the analysis, contemporary case studies at the cutting-edge of commercial law developments are also discussed. The conference will be of interest to academic lawyers, policy-makers, practitioners, and students in the field.
CONTACT US
EW Barker Centre for Law & Business
National University of Singapore – Faculty of Law
20 College Avenue West
#03-401
Singapore 138529
ewbclb@nus.edu.sg
PROGRAMME
Each speaker to speak for 20 minutes (in panels of 2 or 3), with discussion thereafter. The first member of each panel is kindly asked to moderate the Q&A and keep time.
DAY 1 - 16 July 2026
| TIME | PRESENTER | TOPIC |
| 10.00AM | Tan Cheng Han (NUS Law) Hans Tjio (NUS Law) Ying Liew (Melbourne) Zhong Xing Tan (NUS Law) |
Welcome and Introduction to the Project |
| COMMERCIAL LAW AND POLICY | ||
| 10.30AM | Tan Cheng Han (NUS Law) | Ostriches and Notice in Commercial Law |
| 10.50AM | Hans Tjio (NUS Law) Zhong Xing Tan (NUS Law) |
Policy and Practice in Commercial Law and Crypto Assets |
| 11.10AM | Discussion (morning tea simultaneously) | |
| THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES | ||
| 11.45AM | Andrew Gold (UC Irvine) | Simplifying Justice Between the Parties |
| 12.05PM | Marcus Moore (UBC) | The Limits of Markets and the Logic of Contract |
| 12.25PM | Discussion | |
| 1.00PM | Lunch | |
| CONTRACT LAW AND POLICY | ||
| 2.00PM | Timothy Liau (LSE) | Mitigation and Public Policy |
| 2.20PM | Nathan Oman (William & Mary) | Proportional Breach |
| 2.40PM | Discussion | |
| 3.15PM | Tea Break | |
| 3.45PM | Andrew Godwin (Melbourne) | Competing Principles of Public Policy – Non-Compete Clauses in Employment Contracts and Business Sale Agreements |
| 4.05PM | Katy Barnett (Melbourne) | The Remedial Hierarchy in Contract and the Choice between Specific Performance and Damages |
| 4.25PM | Liu Qiao (City University of Hong Kong) |
Public Policy, Illegality and Commercial Law in Mainland China |
| 4.45PM | Discussion | |
| 5.20PM | Bus pickup to dinner restaurant | |
| ~6.00PM |
Dinner South & East |
|
DAY 2 - 17 July 2026
| TIME | PRESENTER | TOPIC |
| DOCTRINE - TORTS, TRUSTS, COMMERCIAL LAW | ||
| 10.00AM |
Rachel Leow (LSE) |
Express Trusts and Public Policy |
| 10.20AM | Jodi Gardner (Auckland) Rachel Phang (SMU) |
Pure Economic Loss and Policy |
| 10.50AM | Discussion(morning tea simultaneously) | |
| 11.25AM | Poorna Mysoor (Cambridge) | Intellectual Property Transactions and Numerus Clausus |
| 11.45AM | Jeannie Marie Paterson (Melbourne) | Contract Law, Policy and Outcomes-Based Regulation in Consumer Markets |
| 12.05PM | Discussion | |
| 12.40PM | Closing Remarks | |
| 1.00PM | Lunch | |
| 2.00PM | Bus pickup to hotel | |
PRESENTERS
Qiao Liu -- City University of Hong Kong
Hans Tjio -- National University of Singapore
Tan Cheng Han -- National University of Singapore
Tan Zhong Xing -- National University of Singapore
Rachel Phang -- Singapore Management University
Rachel Leow -- The London School of Economics and Political Science
Timothy Liau -- The London School of Economics and Political Science
Marcus Moore -- The University of British Columbia
Andrew Godwin -- The University of Melbourne
Jeannie Paterson -- The University of Melbourne
Katy Barnett -- The University of Melbourne
Ying Khai Liew -- The University of Melbourne
Andrew Gold -- UC Irvine
Jodi Gardner -- University of Auckland
Poorna Mysoor -- University of Cambridge
Nathan Oman -- William & Mary Law School
TRANSPORT & ACCOMMODATION
ACCOMMODATION
National University of Singapore
17 Computing Drive
Singapore 119881
GETTING TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
Changi Airport provides multiple transport options including MRT, taxi/private hire and bus services.
Click here for more information.
GETTING TO/FROM THE CONFERENCE VENUE
Transport is arranged for all attendees from The Ridge to the conference location and back. Bus leaves at 9.30AM on both days.