SMU Classification: Restricted

YONG PUNG HOW SCHOOL OF LAW

Term 1, Academic Year 2022 - 2023

LGST101 BUSINESS LAW

Instructor: LOO Wee Ling

Associate Professor of Law (Education)
Tel: 68280657
Email: wlloo@smu.edu.sg
Office: Room 4-23, Level 4, School of Law Building
Consultation: By appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is an introductory course designed to help non-law students acquaint themselves with the
framework of Singapore’s legal system and to understand the legal environment within which
businesses operate. A substantial part of the course is dedicated to the study of contract law
principles, as the making and performance of contracts form the rudiment of all businesses.
Students will also be introduced to the law of torts and will, in particular, learn the essentials of
the very pervasive tort of negligence. Other legal areas and concepts which, at the instructors’
discretion, may be taught include privity of contract, agency, business torts, commercial crime, e-
commerce law, law of business organizations, intellectual property and regional or international
legal aspects of business.

Upon completion of the course, students should:

▪ Understand the framework of the Singapore legal system;
▪ Understand and be able to apply the methodology of basic legal reasoning;
▪ Be able to identify key legal issues arising from commercial transactions and apply the
principles learnt to address such issues; and
▪ Be able to better manage legal risks.

PREREQUISITES

None

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PRESCRIBED TEXT

Loo Wee Ling (General Editor), Principles of Singapore Business Law (Cengage Learning,
3rd Edition).
Both the e-book and print version are available at Booklink:
http://www.blinks.com.sg/product/e-book-principles-of-singapore-business-law-3rd-edition/
https://www.blinks.com.sg/product/principles-of-singapore-business-law-3rd-edition/

Copyrighted Course Materials posted in Combined sections eLearn >> Content >>
Course Readings >> click on “Reading List”.

SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCE TEXTS

Students may sometimes find it helpful to look at particular issues in more detail. The
following is a list of some well-known student texts on areas relevant to the course. It is
not necessary to buy any of these texts. They are available in the Library.

Andrew Phang Boon Leong, The law of Contract in Singapore, (Academy

Publishing, 2nd edition, 2022)
Catherine Elliott and Frances Quinn, Contract Law (Pearson Longman, 11th edition,
2017)
Gary Kok Yew Chan & Pey Woan Lee, The law of Torts in Singapore (Academy
Publishing, 2016)
Catherine Elliott and Frances Quinn, Tort Law (Pearson Longman, 11th edition,
2017)

Note: The instructor will explain and demonstrate the technique for answering law
questions in class. Students may also refer to the texts by Catherine Elliott and Frances
Quinn above. The authors include a brief explanation of how one might answer law
questions at the end of their chapters.

LEGAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET

Free access to Singapore statutes and cases is available to SMU students through the
database known as LawNet. The hyperlink to LawNet can be found under the “Law
Databases” column on the SMU Library’s Law Research Navigator at:
http://researchguides.smu.edu.sg/Law.
Free access to local statutes, cases and legal updates/news may also be found at
https://sso.agc.gov.sg/ and www.singaporelawwatch.sg.
NB: You should become familiar with Lawnet as you may be asked to refer to specific cases in
this database. It is also a skill that will come in useful for your other law-related courses. A
short introduction on how to use LawNet will be held during the first or second week of term.

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COURSE METHOD

The course will be conducted in seminar style with 3 hours of instruction time and 15
minutes of break time (worked in at appropriate junctures).

CLASS TIMINGS & VENUE (& TEACHING ASSISTANTS)

TBA

NB:
1. You are to attend your assigned section. Permission must be obtained if you need to
attend another class.
2. Please note the Teaching Assistant assigned to your section. They can be contacted
at the following email addresses respectively: TBA
3. Please note the classes that are affected by public holidays and which have to be
made up on a Saturday as indicated in the table below: TBA

ASSESSMENT METHOD

Class Participation : 20%

Group Assignments
Oral Presentation : This counts towards your Class Participation marks.
Written Analysis : 20%
Mid-term Test : 10%
Final Examination : 50%
Total 100%

No questions from past year papers or published test banks will be used verbatim for the
graded continuous assessments and examinations in this course.

Class Participation

Each student will be assessed on his or her participation in class. The focus is on the
quality of participation. Students should therefore complete the assigned reading and
exercises prior to attending the seminar. Students are reminded that their active
participation is expected and will create a vibrant and interactive environment
conducive for learning at an elevated level. Students will be assigned activities that
encourage class participation, for example, the oral presentation of the group
assignment.

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Good quality participation involves:

✓ an active interest/curiosity in what is being discussed (which is demonstrated by
active listening and attention to what is being said and asked by the instructor or
your classmates); and
✓ the willingness to share a view/information/observation/examples or raise a
question relevant to the discussion; and
✓ the ability to listen when others speak and to respond relevantly without being
disrespectful of others.

High quality participation also demonstrates the ability to be clear in expression,

persuasive in argument (ie, logical, well-supported) and to integrate relevant ideas
already expressed by others.

Humour (even irreverent humour) that lightens the mood and adds to a conducive
learning environment is appreciated. Comments that are needlessly repetitive or totally
irrelevant to the topic being discussed which demonstrates inattention to or disinterest
in the class discussion, or that are disrespectful of others are discouraged.

Group Assignment – Oral Presentation & Written Analysis

Students will be randomly assigned to groups of 5 or 6 persons each. Assignments

typically take the form of hypothetical problems that students will analyse in groups,
submit a written analysis per group as well as present orally in class. The oral
presentation and responses to questions (after the presentation) will count towards the
individual student’s class participation marks while a common mark will be given for the
group written analysis. However, any disparity in contribution to the group effort will
result in the free rider’s class participation marks being reduced as a penalty.

Please note that plagiarism is strictly forbidden and may result in a failed grade for the
entire group. All materials and ideas gleaned from other sources must therefore be
attributed accordingly.

Mid-Term Test

A mid-term, open-book test will be held midway through the course. The duration of the
test is 1 hour. It is an online, open-book test where only hard-copy reference materials
are allowed.

Final Examination

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The final examination is an online, 2-hour open-book examination comprising

hypothetical questions. Please note that only hard-copy reference materials are allowed
and that extensive reference to materials during the examination itself may prove
detrimental to your final grade, as you would likely run out of time.

You are only given enough time to read the questions, do some quick planning of your
answer and answer the question. Reference to materials should only be to confirm a
section in a legislation, to confirm a case name, etc.

Academic Integrity

All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating,
fabrication, facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized
possession of exam questions, or tampering with the academic work of other students)
are serious offences.

All work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the
student’s own work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the
component assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offence.

When in doubt, students should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU
Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at:
https://smux.smu.edu.sg/sites/default/files/smu/pgpp/SMU%20Student%20Handbook_C
ode%20of%20Conduct_Plagiarism_ReferenceDoc%20%281%29.pdf
A resource on what is plagiarism and how to avoid it can be found at:
https://library.smu.edu.sg/sites/library.smu.edu.sg/files/elearn/LO01_Introduction/launch.
html

Copyright Notice

Please note that all course materials are meant for personal use only, namely, for the
purposes of teaching, studying and research. You are strictly not permitted to make
copies of or print additional copies or distribute such copies of the course materials or
any parts thereof, for commercial gain or exchange.
For the full copyright notice, please visit: https://smu.sg/Copyright-notice or OASIS ->
CAMPUS LIFE & EXCHANGE -> CONDUCT & DISCIPLINE -> UNIVERSITY COUNCIL OF STUDENT
DISCIPLINE

Accessibility

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SMU strives to make learning experiences accessible for all. If you anticipate or experience
physical or academic barriers due to disability, please let me know immediately. You are
also welcome to contact the university's disability services team if you have questions or
concerns about academic provisions: included@smu.edu.sg.

Please be aware that the accessible tables in our seminar room should remain available
for students who require them.

CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change)

Week No. Topic Readings (TBA)

1 Introduction: Law & Business Refer to Seminar

▪ What is law? Role of law in Business? Outline
▪ The Singapore Legal System
▪ Sources of Law in Singapore
▪ Enforcement and Resolution of Disputes

2 What makes a Contract? (1) Refer to Seminar

▪ Offer Outline
▪ Acceptance

3 What makes a Contract? (2) Refer to Seminar

▪ Consideration Outline
▪ Intention to Create Legal Relations

4 What was agreed in the Contract? Refer to Seminar

▪ Pre-contractual statements Outline
▪ Terms (express/implied)
▪ Relative Importance of Terms
▪ Exclusion and Limitation Clauses

5 What invalidates/vitiates a Contract? (1) Refer to Seminar

▪ Illegality (focus on Restraint of Trade) Outline
▪ Incapacity, Duress, Undue Influence &
Unconscionability (in brief)

6 What invalidates/vitiates a Contract? (2) Refer to Seminar

▪ Misrepresentation Outline
▪ Mistake (in brief)

7 How is a Contract discharged? Refer to Seminar

▪ Performance Outline

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▪ Agreement
▪ Breach
▪ Frustration

8 Mid-term Break

9 What are the remedies for breach of Contract? Refer to Seminar

▪ Damages (including liquidated damages Outline
clauses)
▪ Injunction
▪ Specific Performance

10 - 11 Law of Negligence Refer to Seminar

▪ The nature of torts Outline
▪ The Tort of Negligence
▪ Negligent Misstatements

12 Privity of Contract
Refer to Seminar
▪ Privity of Contract: General rule
Outline
▪ Some techniques to get around the general
rule including the Contracts (Rights of Third
Parties) Act
Agency
▪ Creation of Agency
▪ Principal-Agent Relationship
▪ Principal-Third Party Relationship
▪ Agent-Third Party Relationship

13 Last presentation and Review

14 Self Revision & Review

15 Final Examination