Singapore and Hong Kong share a common legal heritage in income taxation. Given the spectacular economic growth enjoyed by both, it is instructive to analyse how the common inheritance and values have produced very different taxation systems in both states. This article commences with a brief historical account of the development of those systems, and the role the common law has played in shaping them. It then attempts to identify the unique imperatives that are absent in other areas of law to account for the diversions in the two systems of taxation. That is followed by an analysis of how both systems meet the challenge of maintaining a viable tax base without compromising the ease of compliance and the rights of taxpayers. It concludes with observations on how both taxation systems are poised to meet the challenges posed by the economic conditions prevalent in the 21st century, and to articulate the role the common law will play in that context.

It is evident in current legal literature that the potentially vital role played by grandparents in the lives of children affected by parental divorce is not given serious consideration in court decisions on the custody, care and control of children since parents are recognized as the only persons with parental authority. The law is slow to intervene with the natural authority accorded to parents over their child. A central issue in this article is this: what place should grandparents occupy when a child is undergoing the trauma of parental divorce? In particular, when a judge adjudicates or conducts mediation in a case where two parents are seeking care and control of a child, should he or she also have regard to, or even seek out more information on the support that the grandparents can give to the child? We present a three-fold argument in this article: (a) the grandparent's role does not inevitably interfere with the rights of natural parents protected by the common law; (b) grandparents can contribute significantly to the well-being of the child when parents face serious crises and/or are unable to perform their normal role obligations; and (c) the court should take on a more inquisitorial role in cases involving children of divorced parents and have regard to the presence of grandparents in determining what is the welfare of the child. We discuss this three-fold argument in the light of findings from studies in several countries with particular attention to the situation in Singapore.

What is the appropriate way of theorising about corporate bankruptcy law? That lies, argues this paper, in rejecting Pareto and Kaldor-Hicks efficiency in favour of a particular conception of transaction cost efficiency, and in rejecting the 'contractarian' Creditors' Bargain Model in favour of the 'contractualist'Authentic Consent Model. The paper vindicates these arguments with an analysis of the automatic stay which characterises the collective liquidation regime, of the pari passu principle often said to be at the heart of this regime, and of the liability imposed in some jurisdictions on the managers of terminally distressed companies for failing to take reasonable steps to avoid further loss to their company's creditors.

Focusing on places of worship in Indonesia, this paper examines whether the right to freedom of religion for religious minorities is protected by recent changes to the law. The paper begins by looking at an Old Decree, which was an attempt by the New Order to control religion and came to be used as justification by radical Islamic groups to close churches. Given a number of key changes in the law since the end of the New Order, this Old Decree became obsolete. The second part of this paper analyses the New Regulation. It does this by charting the debate surrounding the New Regulation, outlining the present framework of the Regulation and then discussing the response of the public since its introduction. The final part reflects on why the New Regulation was passed by the government and suggests options to restore the right to freedom of religion for religious minorities in relation to places of worship.