1,720,990 research outputs found
Criminal Due Process in Hong Kong and Singapore: A Mutual Challenge
No full textThis article explores what the author believes to be the fruitful task of comparing the divergent development of criminal due process jurisprudence in Hong Kong following the enactment of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and the Basic Law, with that in Singapore. Whilst Singapore cases have remained conservative, Hong Kong courts have begun to develop what promises to be a robust attitude toward due process issues. It is argued that the comparison between the two jurisdictions is especially apt given the many similarities between the peoples of Hong Kong and Singapore. The article also ventures to sketch out the predictive exercise of asking whether Singapore is likely to become more like Hong Kong, or whether it is Hong Kong which will move closer to Singapore
Illegal Immigration: Principle and Pragmatism In the Criminal Law
No full textIn recent years, few offences have taken up as much government time as the prohibition against the employment and harbouring of illegal immigrants under the Immigration Act. Parliament has amended the legislation no less than 6 times since 1984, and the cases keep coming up to the High Court on appeal. All quarters are anxious to deal with the situation, but in our zeal to do so, the fundamental principles of criminal liability should not be tampered with without a clear and convincing justification for doing so. This article examines some of the changes to the normal principles of criminal liability occasioned by this 'war' against illegal immigration to see if such a justification exists
Terrorism and the Criminal Law: Singapore's Solution
No full textSingapore's legal system has always made provision for dealing with terrorism directed at Singapore - this is its historical heritage. The centre-piece is the Internal Security Act which confers the power of indefinite detention without trial. Singapore was traditionally indifferent towards terrorism targeted outside of Singapore. This stemmed from the principle of territoriality. Things changed with the enactment of the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism) Regulations 2001 - a legislation which creates extraterritorial crimes for the funding and assisting of terrorist activities outside of Singapore. This discussion considers and compares both the old and the new
The Burden of Proof In Criminal Justice
No full textWhatever is thought to be the purposes of criminal punishment, one fundamental principle seems to have evolved in the jurisprudence of the common law legal tradition; that, before an accused person can be convicted of a crime, his guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. One may be tempted to conclude that the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt is alive and well and little more need be said of it. Unfortunately, this is not so and the principle has been severely eroded and is in danger of being crippled beyond recognition. The makers and interpreters of our law seem bent on the creation of exceptions to the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt for a host of insubstantial and unsubstantiated reasons
Managing Mens Rea in Singapore
No full textThis article looks at some of the most important issues surrounding the requirement of mens rea in Singapore criminal law today. The purpose is to measure the state of its health. It concludes that, although not all developments in recent years have been in that direction, the doctrine appears to be in general retreat. It makes a plea that the need for a strong mens rea ought to be respected in practice as it is in rhetoric, and argues that this can be done without any significant adverse impact on crime control
Evidential Privilege: Sacrifice in the Search for Truth
No full textThe decision of the High Court in PP v Knight Glenn Jeyasingam contains what is probably the most important discussion of the law of privilege in recent years. A plea negotiation privilege was brought into existence, without express statutory sanction, through the medium of 'purposive interpretation'. This article uses this decision as a springboard to discuss the two core issues in the law of privilege - the determination of whether a privilege should exist at all, and the task of marking the boundaries of an existing privilege. The meaning of 'purposive interpretation' in the context of a clash between contending and incompatible social values -the integrity of the judicial factfinding process and the value sought to be protected by the privilege - is explored
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