PublicationsRoundtable on Competition Policy Implementation and Enforcement in South East Asia : Consumer Welfare and its Role in Promoting Economic Development
1 August 2006
The explosion in the number of competition laws throughout the world during the last decade or so has created a need for a common understanding of the normative principles of competition policy and how soundly administered competition regimes can stimulate economic development. In this context, the National University of Singapore and the International Roundtable on Competition and Trade Policy, Inc (the "Roundtable") have partnered to bring expertise from various countries to engage in dialogues amongst the competition agencies and regulators present and for each panel to come up with some policy recommendations.
Chairperson : Mr Shanker A. Singham
No. of Participants : 8
Seminar - Undue Influence: Vindicating Relationships of Influence
10 July 2006
When we trust our friends or family in consenting to a transaction have we abdicated our autonomy or exercised it? When the transaction is avoided for undue influence, what is the precise pathology? The quest to identify the basis of undue influence has ossified in bipolar form: either the claimant's consent is said to be defective or the defendant is said to have acted wrongly in procuring that consent. This 'either or' approach has the attraction of simplicity, clarity and easy marketability, but it risks missing the target when superimposed on the subtle and complex dynamics of relationships of trust, dependence or attachment. Any credible theory of undue influence must accommodate a multi-dimensional approach.
The new relational theory advanced argues that trust, dependence or allegiance is constitutive of close relationships which, in turn, facilitate human flourishing and characterize a good life. To uphold the integrity of such valuable relationships, the law requires the defendant to have due regard for the substantive and procedural norms implicit in the relationship of influence he shares with the claimant when he transacts with her. If he violates these norms, he cannot enforce or retain the benefits of the transaction even if he has done nothing illegitimate to procure the claimant’s consent and even if he acts in good faith. A defendant cannot always accept a transaction just because the claimant agrees and even if she offers; he certainly cannot do so if the transaction is grossly improvident to the claimant unless, and sometimes even if, he takes additional steps to protect the claimant. This is consistent with: (i) a proper regard for the value of trusting relationships, (ii) the richness of the Common Law, (iii) the stated burden of proof for undue influence, (iv) the recent House of Lords pronouncements in Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge (No 2), and (v) the classical but curious case of Allcard v Skinner.
Speaker : Ms Mindy Chen-Wishart
No. of Participants : 20
Seminar on Corporate Governance in the UK and its Application to Not-for-Profits: Recent Developments
20 March 2006
The UK has, since the early 1990s, seen increasing attention being given to the ‘governance regime’ applicable to its corporations. This began with the adoption of ‘voluntary’ codes of practice applicable to listed companies, but subsequently embraced a raft of legislative initiatives, including the Department of Trade and Industry’s ‘root and branch’ reform project, ‘Modern Company Law’. Initially, the focus of these various projects was business (ie. for-profit) companies. From the early part of this decade, however, this imbalance has been redressed somewhat, as government has begun to recognise both the importance of the not-for-profit sector, and the significance of its governance regime.
The seminar began by examining the various recent measures that have sought to reform and improve corporate governance generally within the UK. This would encompass both self-regulatory schemes, and those involving legislative interventions. The seminar examine whether this patchwork of governance projects is underpinned by a coherent, underlying philosophy, or is merely a rag-bag of poorly co-ordinated ‘local’ (and sometimes ‘knee-jerk’) initiatives.
The seminar then turned to the not-for-profit sector, and focused upon two moves to reform that sector’s governance. The first was the creation of a new corporate form, devoted to the (non-charitable) not-for-profit organisation, namely the ‘Community Interest Company’. The second was the more fundamental reform of charity law, the Bill for which is currently passing through Parliament.
In addressing these areas of reform to not-for-profits, the seminar examined whether the ‘general’ governance regime described in the first part of the paper provided a firm foundation for the particular rules that were specified for not-for-profits? If it did not, was that important – or should not-for-profits be seen as a separate class of organisation anyway, that required distinctive and segregated rules.
Speaker : Mr Christopher Riley
No. of Participants : 17
Seminar - The Legal Conception of Money as Incorporeal Property
26 September 2007
The traditional legal conception of money held by many property lawyers is that it is a kind of corporeal chattel. It treats the primary forms of money as coins minted by the state or banknote issued by central or depository banks.
The seminar argued against that view, and contended that the primary form of money for most legal purposes should now be regarded as incorporeal claims enforceable against banks and financial institutions. This view accords better with common commercial experience and economic theory.
It is legally important to take a correct view of the proprietary status of money. If courts and commentators apply too rigidly the old paradigm of money as a corporeal chattel, then they are likely to adopt an incorrect analysis of some of the common legal transactions involving money. The effect of transfers and mixtures, and of theft and mistake on the passing of title to money all need a substantively different analysis once it is accepted that the primary form of money is incorporeal.
In contending for this view, the seminar rejected the argument recently made by some commentators (and founded on civil law reasoning) that the law of property has no place in describing rights to incorporeal assets. It is argued that civil law conceptions of the distinction between the law of property and the law of obligations cannot necessarily determine the common law analysis of property and property rights. Even a brief historical account of banking and financial practices in Roman times indicates that they do not provide a sound foundation for explaining the property regime to money in modern financial systems.
Speaker : Dr David Fox
No. of Participants : 38
10th Singapore Conference on International Business Law – The Regulation of Wealth Management
22 & 23 August 2007
(Jointly Organised By NUS Faculty of Law & Singapore Academy of Law)
Singapore has positioned itself as a wealth management centre to rival others such as Switzerland. While it has a long way to go in that respect, its current rate of growth and future potential in the area has created a great deal of buzz and excitement in the marketplace. In a sense, however, it is simply reverting to its core strengths in private banking, political stability and the rule of law.
This Conference in particular, examined the unique characteristics of Singapore in the area of wealth management, namely:
| i. | its common law legacy and the flexibility of trust law and equity; |
| ii. | innovative approaches to the use of tax incentives; |
| iii. | the plethora of alternative business and investment vehicles now found in Singapore; |
| iv. | the willingness of its Government to encourage and develop the area at a time when restrictions are appearing elsewhere in the wealth management world; |
| v. | its sound regulatory framework in a globalised environment; |
| vi. | the promotion of hedge funds and private equity. |
The tenth conference in the SCIBL series, this two-day examined the unique characteristics of Singapore in the area of wealth management. An ensemble of distinguished international and local experts provided a blend of comparative, academic and practical perspectives on the topic. Prof Robert Sitkoff, Harvard University and Prof Henry Hu, University of Texas were among others on this year's panel of speakers.
For more information, please refer to our conference website at http://law.nus.edu.sg/ccls/scibl2007
No. of Participants : 120
Regulating Financial Risk: The Case of OTC Derivatives on International Financial Markets
25 April 2007
The over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives market is one of the fastest growing and largest financial markets in the world. Over 200 of the world’s largest financial institutions actively trade OTC derivatives as dealers with tens of thousands of smaller institutions. The seminar sought to provide a brief overview of the international derivatives market, providing introductory background regarding its size, typical transactions and participants, focusing particularly on cross border and systemic risks. The presentation described the potential risks that occur due to the expanding and interlinking relationships of large financial institutions that trade OTC derivatives across international borders. The seminar also focused on the efforts of US and other regulators and other participants to minimize and control these risks and provide additional suggestions and ideas.
Speaker : Prof Christian Johnson
No. of Participants : 30
Seminar – Investment, Merger and Acquisition in China
29 March 2007
The seminar sought to provide with exposure to the latest legal developments in China, with a particular focus on the legal strategy on corporation’s M&A and design of criterion concerning MBO & stock options, as well as how they affect the role of such professionals and the conduct of business by their clients.
The seminar was conducted in Mandarin and simultaneously translated in English by Ms Cheryl Xu Chenbin, a China Law Consultant with Central Chambers Law Corporation.
Speaker : Mr Xiao Jinquan
No. of Participants : 72
