This article examines the extent to which it is possible and desirable for a respondent to oppose a divorce petition under the Woman's Charter. It is suggested that the present approach taken by the Singapore courts is very much dependent on the perceived role of the law and the values placed on marriage, divorce and individual autonomy.

The insider trading laws in Singapore have been revamped with the passing of the Securities and Futures Act 2001, a comprehensive legislation dealing with the regulation of securities and futures markets in Singapore. Our new insider trading provisions have been largely modelled after the equivalent provisions in the Australian Corporations Act 2001. This paper seeks to discuss the background for the reforms to insider trading law in Singapore and will argue that these reforms have come about because of an earlier adoption of Australian legislation on securities regulation in the area of initial public offers, entailing a continuity and coherence in the policy rationale for the securities laws in Singapore. This paper will also discuss the Australian origins of the new Singapore provisions and examine comparatively our Singapore provisions with their Australian precedents. I will discuss how the Australian origins may affect the interpretation of these provisions in Singapore. I will also point out a significant difference between our legislation and our Australian precedent, namely, that we have retained a specific provision on connected persons as insiders and have shifted the onus of proof to connected persons to deny that there was insider trading upon the satisfaction of the existence of certain factors.

The Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 caps the recent round of reforms to Singapore's insolvency regime, and represents the immense work that has been done to turn Singapore into an international centre for debt restructuring. Many aspects of the Act are new to Singapore and have elicited widespread discussion, such as the restrictions placed on ipso facto clauses. However, one area that has been overlooked is the drafting of provisions that were in place in one form or another under the old regime. The modification and transposition of these provisions to the omnibus act introduced new drafting oddities, rendering some of the provisions difficult to interpret. This paper aims to highlight some of these drafting issues, clarify the meaning of the relevant provisions, and provide some thoughts on how similar issues can be avoided in the future.

This essay examines Finnis' theory of natural law by addressing Finnis' solution to the problem of justification that besets any theory of law. It assesses the quality of Finnis' theory from its purported justification of self-evidence, and by asking if Finnis' theory adds anything of value to classical natural law discourse, the scholarship of which he purports to develop.

Parties on the losing side in international arbitration have long argued that an error of law is a defence to the enforcement of foreign awards. Citing article V(2)(b) of the New York Convention, such parties have argued that a manifest error of law is a violation of public policy. While national courts have generally paid little heed to this line of argument, this article seeks to raise the possibility that there may yet be the exceedingly rare instance in which a court should preclude enforcing an award marred by a hideous error of law. Limited review of an arbitrator's application of the law in international arbitrations should exist where enforcing the award would be contrary to the forum's most basic notions of justice. By way of case law, natural justice and general principles of arbitral law, this article argues that if indeed such egregious awards arise, they should be denied enforcement under the Convention.

Singapore has embarked on an introspective review of its securities market and the legal regime complements it. The resultant recommendations embrace a disclosure based regulatory philosophy. In a predominantly disclosure based regulatory regime, emphasis is placed on fostering and maintaining a fair and transparent market by the establishment of comprehensive disclosure obligations. The legal and regulatory framework must then provide for effective sanctions and remedies when breaches of such obligations occur, and the regulator's role in enforcing disclosure standards takes on added importance. In this vein, it is proposed that the securities regulator be empowered to take civil action against misfeasors where it is in the public interest to do so. This article discusses the recommended role and potential power of the securities regulator as a new enforcement option.

Taking the lead from the UK's Insolvency Act 1986, the Bankruptcy Act 1995 introduced into our bankruptcy laws novel concepts of transactions at an undervalue and extortionate credit transactions. At the same time, it revamped the law with regard to the giving of preferences. These new features are also made applicable to companies in winding up and judicial management. The following paper analyses the new provisions and the likely problems faced in their application. Particular attention is directed at the special difficulties which arise in their application to companies.

A wide range of digital initiatives have an impact on 'financial inclusion', ie, access to banking services both for underbanked and low-income customers. Promoting financial inclusion using virtual platforms in low and middle-income countries enables reaching vulnerable and excluded customers. This article examines the new frontiers of open banking and cryptocurrencies for payment systems from the perspective of inclusive financial development. The possibility for technology-based change in the financial markets is demonstrated in the online delivery of banking services and in the business models and operations of intermediaries that provide them. Enhancing the appropriate public policy_x000D_ on financial data and the availability of 'open data' for use by other firms and investors represent the main challenges for regulators. This article argues that there is a public interest in data access that requires coordination at industry level and may also require regulatory intervention to ensure the governance of data technologies.

In this article, the author sets out the case for punishing a person who unsuccessfully attempts the commission of a criminal act to a lesser extent than one who actually completes the same act. A common objection to such a position is that one who attempts should not escape equal punishment on a mere quirk of fate, for it is this, in essence, that separates the attempter from the perpetrator of the completed crime. This objection is misconceived. The rationale behind laying down a lesser punishment for attempts lies not in surrendering what is really a normative judgment to the vagaries of luck, but in the fundamental reality that harmful consequences-which only manifest upon completion of a crime-form a basic part of the societal response and reaction mechanism that is our criminal justice system.

This article deals with the traditional conception of purchase of a conforming tender of documents under a negotiation letter of credit and the extent to which that understanding has evolved in the courts in recent years to meet the changing needs of bankers involved in credit operations. In particular, it provides a thorough analysis of the conventional view of negotiation as the purchase of complying presentation by a nominated bank. Along the way it tackles thorny problems involving a nominated banks's promise to pay upon receipt of funds from the issuing bank; the legal nature and effect of the banks's discounted payment of the amount of a credit after having been advised by the issuing bank that the documents are complying; the question of ascertaining the conformity of a negotiation with the negotiation period stipulated in a credit; and finally the vexed issue of what amounts to good faith purchase by a nominated bank.