This article looks at the question of trading in the Singapore and Malaysian contexts. The focus in on transactions in real property. It seeks to establish that, contrary to what has been argued, an isolated transaction in real property can amount to the carrying on of a trade or a business under the Singapore Income Tax Act. Reference is made to relevant Malaysian cases on the matter. This article further examines the factors which the Singapore and Malaysian courts (including the Income Tax Board of Review and Special Commissioners, as the case may be) take into consideration in determining whether a trade/business has been carried on. A proper assessment of these factors is most crucial so as to steer clear of the pitfalls of trading.

This article explores the danger of using words like "due and owing" in a guarantee when the debtor becomes bankrupt and is discharged. Despite statutory protection aimed at keeping the liability of the guarantor alive the words may be viewed as releasing the guarantor from liability. This article explores the interpretation and application of Re Moss; Ex parte Hallett in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and how to avoid the problem in the first place.

Business to business (“B2B”) artificial intelligence (“AI”) transactions raise challenging private law liability issues because of the distinctive nature of AI systems and particularly the new relational dynamics between AI solutions providers and procurers. This article advances a three-stage framework comprising data management, system development and implementation, and external threat management. The purpose is to unpack AI design and development processes involving the relational dynamics of providers and procurers in order to understand the parties’ respective responsibilities. Applying this framework to English commercial law, this article analyses the potential liability of AI solutions providers and procurers under the Supply of Goods and Services Act and the Sale of Goods Act. The assumption that only AI solutions providers will be subject to liability, or that no party will be liable due to the “autonomous” nature of AI systems, is rejected.

Equity crowdfunding, a fairly new form of financing, has promise as a means to finance legitimate start-up businesses or projects which are unable to obtain funds from traditional sources, eg, banks, venture capitalists and angel investors. However, the cost of complying with existing securities regulations is likely to make equity crowdfunding impractical for the businesses most likely to need it. This paper will consider the rationale for facilitating equity crowdfunding in Singapore, assess the need for additional exemptions for equity crowdfunding, and propose legal reforms which seek to strike a balance between capital formation and investor protection.

The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index has significantly affected regulations and policies regarding corporate matters around the world, and yet there has been scant academic attempt examining the use and implication of the index, especially in the area of investor protection, which is an essential element in doing business. In this paper, we examine in depth the research methodologies employed by the Doing Business project in measuring the strength of investor protection, especially in light of the recent renaming of this indicator from Protecting Investors to Protecting Minority Investors in Doing Business 2015. Using Singapore as a case study, we argue that, notwithstanding the positive changes brought in by Doing Business 2015, the variables and components chosen in_x000D_ this indicator essentially fail to capture the salient features of minority investor protection. We argue that minority investor protection is an area that is inherently too context-specific to be evaluated based on a unified business assumption or by pure quantitative methods. Lastly, we also provide specific suggestions to improve the Protecting Minority Investors indicator.

There has been a difference in opinion between the courts in Singapore and the United Kingdom as to whether there is a nullity exception to the autonomy principle in letter of credit transactions. This article analyses the applicable principles and judicial decisions. It assesses whether the law should include a nullity exception over and above the fraud exception, and the circumstances under which such an exception might apply. The formulation of the nullity exception by the Court of Appeal in Singapore as well as possible future developments are also considered.

This article, as its title suggests, surveys the historical background to the major criminal enactments of Singapore. As a subsidiary function, it also attempts to illustrate the possible ideology underlying the enactment of one particular statute, viz, the Penal Code - a possibility that might point the way toward broader conclusions as well as studies encompassing the role and function of the law in colonial Singapore from a more general point of view.

This discussion explores how the inability of the law of evidence to decide how to deal decisively with character evidence in general and similar fact evidence in particular has spawned the ambiguous formula of weighing probative value and prejudice. It also suggests that this weakness gives extraneous "political" factors the opportunity to insinuate themselves into actual decision-making. Because of this, decisions from other jurisdictions cannot be taken at face value, as may have been done in the most recent case in Singapore, Lee Kuan Peng.