“In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law

It has been accurately observed that the incremental nature of the common law’s development makes it inherently unsuited to dealing with unprecedented crises.208 This is particularly true of what I shall refer to (for convenience) as the law of changed circumstances, which in the common law regime c...

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Main Author: LIU, Nicholas
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3225
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5183/viewcontent/In_case_of_emergency__break_contract.pdf
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spelling sg-smu-ink.sol_research-51832022-07-19T05:12:43Z “In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law LIU, Nicholas It has been accurately observed that the incremental nature of the common law’s development makes it inherently unsuited to dealing with unprecedented crises.208 This is particularly true of what I shall refer to (for convenience) as the law of changed circumstances, which in the common law regime comprises the doctrine of frustration and the operation of force majeure clauses, but could potentially encompass other doctrines and issues as well.209 I suggest that in this area, the flaws of the common law run deeper and broader than its inability to respond quickly to unprecedented crises. Rather, from a lay user’s point of view, the common law on its own or layered with statute is necessarily unsatisfactory for dealing with changed circumstances – whether unprecedented or mundane – due to the uncertainty it creates in a context where certainty is vital. Further, the courts are poorly placed to implement the root and branch reform that is needed to provide certainty; what is needed is a unified statutory regime dealing with changed circumstances, not one cobbled together from disparate pieces of common law and legislation. The COVID-19 pandemic did not cause these problems. It merely brought issues of changed circumstances to the fore through their prevalence, and shone a light on the generally unsatisfactory state of the common law. This chapter is primarily exploratory and diagnostic. I begin by explaining what I mean by uncertainty and why (and when) it is a problem for the law. I then assess the degree of uncertainty surrounding the law of changed circumstances in Singapore. Finally, I outline some of the attributes that an appropriate solution to this uncertainty should have. 2020-09-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3225 info:doi/10.2139/ssrn.3686357 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5183/viewcontent/In_case_of_emergency__break_contract.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Courts Singapore COVID-19 pandemic public health Asian Studies Contracts Public Health
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Courts
Singapore
COVID-19
pandemic
public health
Asian Studies
Contracts
Public Health
spellingShingle Courts
Singapore
COVID-19
pandemic
public health
Asian Studies
Contracts
Public Health
LIU, Nicholas
“In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law
description It has been accurately observed that the incremental nature of the common law’s development makes it inherently unsuited to dealing with unprecedented crises.208 This is particularly true of what I shall refer to (for convenience) as the law of changed circumstances, which in the common law regime comprises the doctrine of frustration and the operation of force majeure clauses, but could potentially encompass other doctrines and issues as well.209 I suggest that in this area, the flaws of the common law run deeper and broader than its inability to respond quickly to unprecedented crises. Rather, from a lay user’s point of view, the common law on its own or layered with statute is necessarily unsatisfactory for dealing with changed circumstances – whether unprecedented or mundane – due to the uncertainty it creates in a context where certainty is vital. Further, the courts are poorly placed to implement the root and branch reform that is needed to provide certainty; what is needed is a unified statutory regime dealing with changed circumstances, not one cobbled together from disparate pieces of common law and legislation. The COVID-19 pandemic did not cause these problems. It merely brought issues of changed circumstances to the fore through their prevalence, and shone a light on the generally unsatisfactory state of the common law. This chapter is primarily exploratory and diagnostic. I begin by explaining what I mean by uncertainty and why (and when) it is a problem for the law. I then assess the degree of uncertainty surrounding the law of changed circumstances in Singapore. Finally, I outline some of the attributes that an appropriate solution to this uncertainty should have.
format text
author LIU, Nicholas
author_facet LIU, Nicholas
author_sort LIU, Nicholas
title “In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law
title_short “In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law
title_full “In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law
title_fullStr “In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law
title_full_unstemmed “In case of emergency, break contract”? The case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in Singapore contract law
title_sort “in case of emergency, break contract”? the case for a unified regime for changed circumstances in singapore contract law
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2020
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3225
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5183/viewcontent/In_case_of_emergency__break_contract.pdf
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