Dear Law School and Friends,
As the academic year draws to a close, we are happy and proud to present the last edition of Juris Illuminae for AY 12/13. This month’s edition features an in-depth analysis on privacy law and well-thought out essays on gun control, legal philosophy and the Lasting Power of Attorney. We hope you find this month’s essays interesting and meaningful.
Analysis: Help! Someone stole my Facebook photos! by Desmond Chng
Do we take our gun control legislations for granted? by Reynard Chua
Of Causation and Chance: The Trolley Problem Redux …

By Ryan Hong
A famous thought experiment known as the trolley problem goes like this:
“A driver of a runaway tram which can only steer from one narrow track on to another, is hurtling out of control, and it cannot be stopped. One track has five men working on it, and another only has one man. Suppose that anyone on the track that the driver steers into will die. Which track would you choose if you were the driver?”[1]
Undoubtedly, given no choice, most people would give in to rather rational utilitarian considerations …

By Wong Wen Jian
We all know the sad reality that our loved ones will fall sick and pass away someday. In their last days, many of them may lay bed-ridden, muttering incoherent words and becoming increasingly unable to make decisions for their own affairs, such as any debts they may owe. This creates a deadlock as they are unable to make decisions to resolve their problems, but no one else, including their loved ones, can legally help them make the proper arrangements. Fortunately, Parliament has taken note of the issue, …

By Reynard Chua
On 14 December 2012, a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle fatally shot twenty children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, United States (US). 2 years after the Virginia Tech massacre and 13 years after the Columbine High School massacre, the US still struggles with the issue of gun control. In the wake of these events[1], the President, Congress and citizens erupted in a furore of debate over the restriction of firearms in the country.
The future of gun control law in the US
The starting …

An analysis by Desmond Chng
Increasingly, people spend their lives online. We record important personal milestones on our Facebook timelines and, perhaps more importantly, keep track of what they had for lunch or their outfit for the day on Instagram.
Social media platforms have made it a point to highlight the images that are uploaded onto their sites. Facebook recently launched a freshly redesigned News Feed[1]. Among other things, it has a strikingly “new focus on imagery”[2] – with images made larger to tell more visual stories, and these images make up …