For many countries, comprehensive tax reform is a panacea for fiscal imbalances. However, structural factors do not fully account for the causation and scale of tax gaps in many countries. For some of these countries, substantial revenue leakages can be fairly easily contained by adopting simple measures to minimise information asymmetry. By leveraging on existing infrastructure, disclosures can be facilitated and incentivised without imposing an onerous burden on compliance. Some of the key developments put in place by leading advanced countries to reduce the payoffs in domestic as well as international tax avoidance and evasion are examined in detail. The article concludes that a discernible convergence in the use of similar tools and strategies to remedy information deficiency is indicative of their efficacy and trends in the tackling of tax evasion and aggressive avoidance on the current global tax reform agenda

The courts have long supported the enforcement of compromise agreements, including settlements arrived at in the course of mediation. However, the recent trend in many countries, including Singapore, of enacting statutory provisions for the enforcement of mediated agreements suggests that the existing legal framework may be inadequate to support the mediation process. This paper examines the current principles used by the courts in determining the enforcement of mediated settlements, assessing them in light of the underlying values of mediation and contract law. This is followed by a brief analysis of how mediation confidentiality has been impacted by the current legal framework. In examining the preferred way forward, the paper also surveys various ways of buttressing the legal framework, and puts forward a few recommendations.

This article presents a critical assessment of s 304A of the Singapore Penal Code, the section setting out the offence of causing death by rash or negligent act. Along with providing a brief history of the offence, this article attempts to address the practical and conceptual difficulties that have come to trouble the application of the offence and to propose a way forward.

Taking its departure from the Court of Appeal decision in Republic of the Philippines v Maler Foundation, this article argues that the authorities support a self-supporting rule for accepting or rejecting a foreign confiscatory law. This rule, not unlike the rule against direct or indirect enforcement of a foreign penal, revenue or other public law, is based on considerations of territorial sovereignty and is not a choice of law rule that selects the lex situs as governing law. The implications of a rule based on considerations of sovereignty and in particular the contrast with an analysis based on the lex situs rule are elaborated.

This article looks at four aspects of by-laws in a strata scheme in Singapore. In particular, it examines: (a) the applicability of by-laws to units in a strata shopping mall; (b) the appropriateness of using by-laws, which do not apply to all unit owners, primarily to finance the running of a strata scheme; © the validity of by-laws not lodged as required; and (d) the enforcement of statutorily prescribed by laws before a management corporation is constituted. The legal position is discussed and solutions proposed, where applicable.

The mandatory bid rule (MBR), one of the basic tenets of takeover regulation, obligates an acquirer who obtains 'control' over a target company to make an offer to acquire the shares of the remaining shareholders. What amounts to 'control' is far from clear; some jurisdictions follow a quantitative approach based on a specific shareholding threshold such as 30% voting rights, while others follow a qualitative approach through a subjective determination based on several factors, such as the specific rights available to an acquirer under a shareholders' agreement or the constitutional documents of a target. The goal of this article is to consider the merits and demerits of these approaches. It seeks to do so by examining various models adopted in jurisdictions for pegging 'control' so as to invoke the MBR. It delves into the regulatory experience in India as that jurisdiction not only adopts a combined approach (taking into account both the quantitative and qualitative tests for control), but has also been subject to a great deal of controversy and litigation in recent years that have helped tease out the jurisprudential contours of the concept. It concludes with a normative assessment that points towards partial harmonisation.

The parents of a child who is born as a result of medical negligence may bring an action to seek compensation from the relevant medical authorities for the cost of raising the child. The action, known generically as 'wrongful birth', most commonly arises either when a child is born following a failure to identify foetal abnormalities which would have led to termination of the pregnancy, or when a child is conceived and born following a failed sterilisation procedure (when the more specific term 'wrongful conception' is often employed).

An agreement for the sale and purchase of real property often begins with an option to purchase ("OTP").2 Usually, upon agreeing on the purchase price, the vendor will grant the purchaser an OTP in return for an option fee. During the specified option period, the vendor is bound to keep the property for the purchaser. This affords the purchaser an opportunity to reconsider his or her decision to purchase the property and time to source for financing for the purchase. If the purchaser decides to proceed with the purchase, he or she will exercise the OTP by the prescribed method and within the option period, upon which the vendor is obliged to complete the transaction. In Woo Kah Wai CA, the issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the vendors were contractually obliged to grant an OTP containing terms demanded by the purchaser in the first place. To determine whether a contract to this effect has arisen, it is necessary to examine the method by which the OTP was sought to be procured. This case provides the opportunity to consider how basic principles of contract formation apply in the process of procuring an OTP, and also how subtle legal distinctions between the different methods of procuring an OTP have bearing on practical matters.

This article will assess the changes brought about by the SMA and the amendments in the following areas in respect of the period after the management corporation has been constituted: (i) the two-tier management corporation concept; (ii) the dispute resolution mechanism provided by way of the Strata Management Tribunal; (iii) the concept of common property; and (iv) voting by proxies.

The Prevention of Human Trafficking Act 20141 developed by MP Christopher de Souza together with the Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons set up in 2010, came into effect on 1 March 2015. POHTA is an important step in Singapore's anti-trafficking efforts. First, existing laws do not specifically address trafficking in persons ("TIP"), focus on outcomes rather than process, are couched in vague terms, and in some cases have not been utilised at all. For example, sexual exploitation cases with TIP elements are often prosecuted as prostitution-related offences under the Women's Charter 3 or the Penal Code. These aim towards protection of women and minors, not men. Further, such provisions do not distinguish between consensual and forced prostitution. Secondly, POHTA comprehensively provides for various aspects of tackling TIP, eg victim protection and enforcement procedures. Thirdly, it signals the seriousness with which the Government views TIP. In this note, we critically analyse POHTA, highlighting its issues and uncertainties which would, it is hoped, be addressed by the courts in the course of applying the POHTA.