This course will introduce the various concepts relating to the admiralty action in rem, which is the primary means by which a maritime claim is enforced. Topics will include: the nature of an action in rem; the subject matter of admiralty jurisdiction; the invocation of admiralty jurisdiction involving the arrest of offending and sister ships; the procedure for the arrest of ships; liens encountered in admiralty practice: statutory, maritime and possessory liens; the priorities governing maritime claims; and time bars and limitations. This course is essential to persons who intend to practice shipping law.

This course introduces core finance concepts tailored specifically for law students. Adopting a classical finance approach, it covers topics such as asset pricing, diversification, the Efficient Market Hypothesis, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, derivative pricing, financial intermediation, macroeconomic fundamentals, and capital structures. Additional coverage of mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance/law, and securities regulation where relevant highlights essential intersections with legal practice. By bridging the gap between law and finance, students will gain practical insights into how future clients such as investment bankers, traders, institutional investors, and other financial professionals operate.

 The development and deployment of artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems can have ethical implications. Developers and deployers of AI systems are therefore expected to exercise good governance over their AI systems, to ensure that ethical norms are not violated. This course will cover basic concepts of AI governance, and address key ethical issues in relation to AI.

The aviation industry enables over US$3.5 trillion in Global Gross Domestic Product supporting over 87.7 million jobs around the world (half of which were in Asia). Core to this industry are its tools of trade, aircraft. The aircraft financing industry (in a typical year) is a US$200-250 billion industry. The Asia Pacific region (coming out of COVID-19) continues to be the region with the most number of new aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years according both Boeing and Airbus. As such the need and demand for the financing of this massive future fleet of aircraft deliveries is going to be considerable.

The financing of aviation assets is a hyper-competitive landscape giving rise to some of the most innovative, creative and complex financing products and methods not seen in the financing of any other asset class.

This course provides an insight into international civil aviation and the legal and regulatory issues facing airlines, governments and the common passenger. Issues raised include public air law and policy, private air law, aviation security, climate change and aviation, and of course, the unprecedented coronavirus crisis that is decimating the airline industry. Emphasis will be placed on issues relevant to Singapore and Asia, given Singapore’s status as a major aviation hub and the exponential growth of the industry in the Asia-Pacific. Topics to be discussed include the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, bilateral air services agreements, aircraft safety, terrorism and aviation security, and air carrier liability for death or injury to passengers. Competition or antitrust law issues in the industry will also be analysed, alongside business strategies such as code-sharing, frequent flier schemes and airline alliances. The severe competitive environment introduced by weakening economies, war and terrorism and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be discussed. This course is relevant for individuals who are keen on air travel and/or interested in joining the aviation industry, governments/civil aviation authorities or law firms with an aviation practice.

Law is a behavioural system. Most law seeks to regulate, incentivize and nudge people to behave in some ways and not in others – it seeks to shape human behaviour. Traditional economic analysis of law is committed to the assumption that people are fully rational, but empirical evidence suggests that people very often exhibit bounded rationality, bounded self-interest, and bounded willpower. This course about behavioural law and economics, with an emphasis on regulation, looks at the implications of actual, not hypothesized, human behaviour for the law. It considers, in particular, how using the mildest forms of interventions, law can steer people’s choices in welfare-promoting directions.

This course will focus on charterparties, which are contracts between the shipowner and the charterer for the hire of the vessel, either for a specific voyage (voyage charterparties) or over a period of time (time charterparties). There are other variants of these basic types, which will also be referred to. This course will examine the standard forms for each of the charterparties being studied and examine the main terms and legal relationship between shipowners and charterers. This dynamic and important aspect of the law of carriage of goods by sea is frequently the subject of arbitral proceedings and court decisions.

This course will introduce students to the fundamental legal concepts and principles relating to Chinese corporate and securities law. The principal objective of this course is to provide an understanding of the various legal and practical issues involved in doing business and obtaining financing in China. Major topics to be covered include: types of business vehicles, formation of companies, corporate governance, IPOs, corporate finance, private equity and venture capital investments, stock market, as well as securities regulation in China. The course will also draw on relevant comparative perspectives from major jurisdictions.

Commercial conflict of laws is a significant area of legal scholarship and practice. The chief aim of the course is to examine the foundational principles of commercial conflict of laws in Singapore. First, the course identifies and assesses the set of rules based on which Singapore courts decide whether to entertain international commercial disputes. Second, the course outlines the provisions based on which Singapore courts determine the law governing the parties’ cross-border disputes. Finally, the course outlines the rules according to which courts in Singapore give effect to foreign judgments.

The course concerns the remedies commonly claimed in commercial litigation and arbitration. These include, for example, compensatory damages, restitution, accounts of profits, injunctions, specific performance and actions for an agreed sum, rescission, termination for breach, declarations and interest. These topics will be approached by a close analysis of case law. This analysis will give access to deeper questions such as the nature and purpose of a remedy; the relationship between substantive rights and remedies; the considerations that are relevant in crafting relief; the nature and varieties of judicial discretion; and the modern relationship between the law and equity.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the legal principles that form the foundation of construction law and to the common practical problems that arise in this field. Topics will include: (a) general principles of construction law, including completion, variations, defects, retention and certification; (b) basic provisions of construction contracts; (c) claims procedure & dispute resolution, including adjudication proceedings; and (d) relevant provisions of standard form building contracts. This course will be of interest to students interested in construction practice or being exposed to a practical approach to resolving construction-related issues that arise in the local industry.

Insolvency law is relevant to virtually all aspects of commercial activity. This course consists of three major components of insolvent winding up, rescue and cross-border insolvency. For insolvent winding up, the topics include the initiation and effects of insolvent winding up, assets of the insolvent company, disclaimer, pari passu principle, proof of debts, set-off, avoidance provisions and improper trading. The topics for rescue include informal workout, receivership, judicial management and scheme of arrangement. The part on cross-border insolvency is mainly concerned with examining Singapore’s enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.

Cautionary note for students from Civil Law Jurisdictions: a background knowledge of common law subjects is assumed, including contract, tort, equity, and company law.