As noted (at p. vii) by the contributors to this book, the Indian Penal Code 1860 (Central Act 45 of 1860) ("IPC"), largely the work of Thomas Macaulay, "was the first codification of criminal law in the British Empire and is the longest serving code in the common law world". Upon its enactment, the influential IPC was adopted in various British colonies, such as Singapore. The continuing use of legislation of such pedigree, however, brings about several problems. Any legislative inertia to update the statute from time to time will put the judiciary in a dilemma, whenever the latter is asked to either resolve newfound ambiguities and loopholes in the pro-visions, or interpret provisions in the context of evolving social norms. Lacking a democratic mandate, different judges will also have different conceptions of how much judicial activism can and should be accommodated.

With the growing number of economies opening up to the world in the last few decades, it has become increasingly common for lawyers to be engaged in transactions involving elements from more than one country. No matter how complex a deal may be, the crux of the matter at the end of the day is whether the rights of the parties can be satisfactorily enforced. For cross-border commercial disputes, this question often depends on the forum in which they are resolved than on the substantive law governing the transactions. It is therefore essential for lawyers to have a good grasp of the issues involved in international commercial litigation in order to appropriately advise their clients of the legal risks involved in their transnational transactions. However, it is difficult to find in the market a readable and erudite book on a subject largely governed by procedural rules and commercial considerations. Nonetheless, Richard Fentiman has shown that it is possible to produce a scholarly work which is not only of a high quality, but at the same time palatable to practitioners.