This article examines the source, nature and scope of the inherent powers of the court, as well as the relationship between these powers and the court's procedural mechanism. It has often been the view that the inherent jurisdiction of the English court is applicable in Singapore without qualification. This assumption must be considered in the light of the jurisdictional developments which have occurred since the 1960's. The article also focuses on the willingness of the court to use its inherent powers to ensure a fair and effective process of litigation, and the justification of such a role in the absence, or even in the face, of statutory provision.

This article examines the law relating to the forfeiture of deposits, and the relevance of the law on contractual penalties. Deposits are very much like agreed sums payable upon a breach of contract, except for the fact of advance payment. However, there are very strong judicial statements to the effect that deposits are not subject to the same rules that apply to agreed sums payable upon a breach of contract. Consequently, while agreements to pay penalties are not enforceable, a reasonable penalty may be retained if paid in advance as a deposit. This article examines the legal position from both technical and policy perspectives.

The question of how the criminal law should treat negligently caused harm has always been practically and ethically problematic. While a wealth of authority exists for criminal negligence on the road, negligence in other contexts, particularly in the medical sphere, has rarely reached the criminal courts. This article explores the different ways in which negligence can be criminalised and argues that the law should not be held hostage by the peculiarities of road traffic negligence, and that the matter should be considered afresh for medical negligence. The conceptually difficult role of the Coroner in making pronouncements on criminal liability where the injury is fatal is also examined.

This article discusses the new provisions in the Evidence Act that provide for the admissibility of computer output as evidence. In Part II of the article, the author describes and explains the operation of these provisions. And in Part III, the provisions are analysed in detail. It is contended in this article that the provisions represent an elaborate scheme for authenticating computer output as a precondition to its admissibility in evidence, that the distinction between computer output as real evidence and as hearsay continues to be useful in applying the provisions, and that the evidential device of authentication supersedes the distinction between primary and secondary evidence.

It has always been acknowledged that the duty of disclosure has suffered from an uneven development. Although the duty of utmost good faith has been recognised as a reciprocal one owed by both parties to an insurance contract, it is only in recent years that the duty as owed to the insured has seen any real development. However, although the Skandia litigation did result in a certain degree of clarification, it raised more questions than it answered. This paper will seek to examine some of the uncertainties brought about by the resurrection of this duty. It will further re-examine the issue of damages as a remedy for the breach of the duty, scrutinising in particular the reasons given by the Court of Appeal for rejecting such a remedy.

This article evaluates recent trends in the development of constitutional jurisprudence in relation to constitutionally safeguarded fundamental liberties. Particular attention is directed towards the methodology employed in constitutional interpretation in the 1995 Court of Appeal decision of Jabar v PP.