Singapore Business Laws

Singapore Business Laws

Companies in Singapore are entitled to an Employment Act that is efficient and embraces fairness. In case of a dispute, Singapore has set up an arbitration institution and has encouraged citizens to engage in mediation before going to courts. Singapore law has been split into different classes depending on the nature of the issue at hand. Business-related disputes are solved under business law and so on. In cases where there exists a legal contract, and the contracting party fails to perform without a contractual obligation, a breach of contract occurs. A breach of contract is simply the Act of not keeping your word or breaking an agreement set in a contract. A violation of a contract happens when one party fails to perform as per the agreement, fails to deliver on time, or fails to perform completely (Sakai, 2017). However, the breach of contract is only acceptable where legal documents have been signed between the subject party. This paper explains the cases in which a breach of contract is acceptable thus can be filed in court.

Using the common law, discuss if Eric was entitled to rely on Rodney’s statements, which if

proved untrue would enable Eric to take up proceedings against Rodney for breach of contract

and therefore claim damages.

To begin with, Eric may not be able to take up proceedings against Rodney for a breach of contract. Eric only focused on what Rodney told him, forgetting the Singapore laws on renovations. He accepts all that Rodney says and is not even bothered to check if Rodney is an accredited contractor. In Singapore, there are organizations such as the Renovation and Decoration Advisory Centre (RADAC) that are obliged to enhance high standards and the good conduct of the accredited contractors. This is done by providing accreditation schemes (Chow et al., 2018). Secondly, Eric did not sign any legal document with Rodney regarding the contract. The law provides that an agreement with no legally signed documents between the parties is invalid before the court of law. Before signing the contract, one must read the terms of the contract carefully so that he understands his obligations and rights. This is because some contractors may draft an agreement that only favors them. It is also essential to request a copy of the contract and keep it safe. Lastly, the contract must spell out specific terms that bind the contractor and the homeowner. For instance, renovation works require permits and approval from the Building and Construction Authority (Marzukhi, 2019). Eric is aware that demolishing walls needed approval that is not easily given but ignorant of the law because of the assurance he gets from Rodney. Rodney made oral promises to Eric before they agreed on the commencement of the renovation. This may be difficult to help him if he decides to file a case against Rodney since there will be no visible evidence to prove to the court. In this case, Eric is most likely to suffer as he might end up reconstructing the walls on his own as Rodney might get out of the court innocent.

2. Using the relevant law governing professional advice, would the parents succeed in their

action against KHEA for the misleading advice given by Eric?

Eric is not well informed to advise students and parents on the degrees offered in KHEA. He goes ahead and negligently assures the student that he could sit for the bar examination soon after complete the law degree. In Singapore, there are various educational stages one must undergo to qualify as a lawyer. The very first step is completing the law degree from an accredited university since not all universities offer certified law degrees. According to the Legal Profession Act, admission to the Singapore Bar requires one to be a Qualified Person. The university in which one studies the Degree of Law a key determinant for one to be a Qualified Person (Hagenmeier et al., 2016). KHEA is, however, not certified to offer the law degree; thus, the student who studies law in this university may not make to practice law in the future.

According to the law, the subject student does not qualify to sit for the bar examination. A legal wrong that a party suffers on because another party is referred to as a tort. Negligence is, therefore, a form of tort that occurs when a loss or damage occurs between parties, and no one can sue the other since there is no contract between them (Bell, 2016). The move taken by the parent to sue KHEA will not go through since there is no evidence of a breach of contract. The parent only talked to Eric, who mislead them; thus, there was no agreement between them and KHEA that their son will qualify for the next step after graduating. According to the Singapore law, KHEA has not failed them in a way, but they were unable to check whether on the university’s credibility to offer a degree in law. However, Eric should be responsible for his actions, which are not covered by the law.  The parents and the son will, therefore, suffer the loss and a waste of the years their son spent studying law in KHEA due to Eric’s negligence. The Singapore law covers any party affected by the other party either by underperforming or not performing at all. However, everyone is obliged to be careful before entering into a contract with any party. It is the role of the public to research the credibility of any organization to avoid being misled as it would cost them a lot in the future.

Would KHEA be able to succeed in restraining Eric (and ESS) from selling educational expertise

to MBIS?

The Companies Act governs companies in Singapore. A company registered or incorporated under the Companies Act is considered a separate entity from the owner. The assumption is that any transaction conducted by the company is separate from those of the owners; thus, the name a separate legal entity. The law provides that a company has a distinct personality different from its owners (Lin, 2019). Despite being owned by Eric, Eric’s Education Specialists (ESS) is a separate legal entity on its own. The plan that KHEA has to sue Eric over a breach of contract will not be successful. The employment contract between Eric and KHEA only restricted Eric from competing with it. Eric’s decision to open a company that offers educational expertise to KHEA’s competitor is not a breach of contract. The Singapore law starts clearly that   Eric’s conduct is separate from his company the Eric’s Education Specialists. Although, in this case, there is a signed agreement that Eric should not offer his expertise to KHEA’s competitors for one year after resigning, Eric and his company are not related according to Singapore law. KHEA can only restrict Eric from selling his educational expertise as an individual but cannot limit the ESS from doing business. The step that KHEA wants to take could only succeed if Eric was selling educational expertise to MBIS by his name.

For any legal authorities to consider a breach of contract valid, there several things that are put into consideration. There must be a written or oral evidence presented to the court that is valid and legally binding the two parties, failure to which, the party filing the case may not succeed.  Lack of binding legal evidence between the parties makes it unnecessary for the offended party to file a lawsuit to sue the other party involved. It is, therefore, necessary for one to be careful when entering into a contract to ensure that in case the other party fails, cater for any damages or losses that might occur. Singapore law, for instance, provides clear clarifications regarding businesses and contracts. Negligence or ignorance of the law may cause irreversible problems to the client or the individual at hand.

References

Bell, G. F. (2016). Global Lawyers for a Global City: Legal Education in Singapore. In The Internationalisation of Legal Education (pp. 233-254). Springer, Cham.

Chow, K. F., Chuah, C., & Pillay, M. (2018). Building and Construction Law. SAL Ann. Rev., 105.

Hagenmeier, C., Shumba, T., & Mireku, O. (2016). The admission and enrolment of foreign legal practitioners in South Africa under the Legal Practice Act: international trade law and constitutional perspectives. PER: Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad, 19(1), 1-27.

Lin, L. (2019). Private Equity in Singapore.

Marzukhi, M. A., Omar, D., Arshad, A. F., Leh, O. L. H., Yusup, M., & Jaafar, A. (2019). ONE STOP CENTRE (OSC): LESSONS ON BEST PRACTICES IN PLANNING SYSTEM DELIVERY. PLANNING MALAYSIA, 17(9).

Sakai, K. (2017). Optimal Default Rule for Breach of Contract. In Applied Approaches to Societal Institutions and Economics (pp. 101-112). Springer, Singapore.