33rd Singapore Law Review Annual Lecture: “Penalties, Not Punishments, in Private Law” (Professor James Ernest Penner)

Each year, the Singapore Law Review (SLR) organises the SLR Annual Lecture, featuring legal luminaries on topics of their specialisation or interest. The SLR Lecture remains a hallmark and tradition in the local legal fraternity — it is the longest-running lecture series in Singapore and accredited by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education for CPD Points. This year the 33rd Singapore Law Review Annual Lecture was delivered by Professor James Ernest Penner on Monday, 29 November 2021. The title of the Lecture is “Penalties, Not Punishments, in Private Law”.

Synopsis of Lecture:

Punitive damages as a form of punishment in private law has received extensive attention in recent years, both in the courts and the academic commentary. But very little has been said about what might be called penalties in private law. This lecture will begin by exploring the distinction between punishments and penalties before examining some examples of the latter, including the forfeiture rule in probate and the stripping of unauthorised profits or bribes received by a fiduciary. The lecture will then return to the topic of punitive damages, querying if some cases conventionally regarded as instances of punitive damages may instead be better understood as instances of penalties.

Click the video below to view the lecture: