Read the pdf version of this issue: Juris January 2007.
From the Chief Editor:
One of the most exciting legal developments in late 2006 and early 2007 has to be the proposed amendments to the Penal Code.
I am certain this will be something of interest to most law students, as we have spent many engaging hours debating passionately with each other and our lecturers/tutors over various issues in the Penal Code. Now that the month-long public consultation exercise has concluded, I am definitely looking forward to the parliamentary debates on these proposed …

It is not often that Singapore appears on the front page of Slashdot, a news site for tech-savvy Internet users, but when news of a 17 year old being charged for the crime of stealing his neighbour’s wireless Internet access was reported, readers protested at what some see as a “draconian” law coming from a “fine” country. Sympathies poured out for an act that did not seem like a crime, or one justifying three years of jail and a hefty fine, not to mention a criminal record. Wireless Internet is, …

Arguably, extra territorial jurisdiction affronts the right of sovereign nations to govern their own affairs. The issue is not whether these nations are able to enforce their own laws but rather whether they see fit to even declare a pursuit or activity so socially objectionable as to designate it as a crime. If their society does not, how is it justifiable for another nation to ‘legislate’ that such activities are not to be performed in that country, albeit applying only to their citizens? In the particularly emotive area of child …

Muhammad Aidil
The proposed repel and re-scoping of s.377 decriminalises anal and oral sex done privately between consenting adult heterosexual couples aged above 16. However, homosexual acts, even when consented and done privately, still remain to be criminalised (s.377a). I will argue that there is a strong jurisprudential basis for the continued criminalization of homosexual acts.
It is recognised that modern society is more liberal now than ever. Therefore, assuming that most in society are at the very least indifferent to homosexual relationships/acts conducted privately, why should the law still criminalise homosexual …

In this special interview, the President of the Association of Women for Action & Research (AWARE), Ms Tan Joo Hymn, shares with us AWARE’s position on the recent Penal Code amendments.
Q: AWARE has declared its position on the amendments to the Penal Code. Echoes of similar sentiments have also been heard from the community. Overall was it a welcomed development?
AWARE welcomes the proposed amendments to s. 375 and s. 376 of the Penal Code. As these proposed amendments are happening years behind other countries, we suggest that the strategy is …