The Promise of Universality: The Spandeck Formulation Half a Decade On

• Main Authors: Tan, David, GOH, Yihan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility; Legislation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1400
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The landmark decision by the Court of Appeal in Spandeck Engineering (S) Pte Ltd v Defence Science & Technology Agency [2007] 4 SLR(R) 100 undoubtedly broke new ground in Singapore by unifying inconsistent case law into a single, universal test for determining a duty of care in the law of negligence. This article surveys how the Spandeck formulation has been applied by the Court of Appeal in the last half decade, and evaluates its effectiveness in the determination of duty in a wide range of scenarios involving different types of harm. It aims to provide a set of practical guidelines that will benefit the legal community in advising clients, drafting pleadings, framing submissions for court, and even drafting of judgments.