The Singapore Law Review (SLR) Writing Competition & Symposium returned in AY 2006/2007 after a brief hiatus. The theme of the Competition was “Legal Developments in a Changing World”. We decided on this broad theme because we wanted to give students the greatest flexibility to write on any topic they wanted, in order to encourage as many students as possible to submit their essays. Well, it worked! We received entries from Law undergraduate, graduate and exchange students. There were so many entries that we had a hard time selecting the finalists. After much debate, we finally selected our six finalists, who had to present and defend their essays in front of a panel of judges and audience. The six essays discussed very current and interesting topics, including preventive detention, Islamic law and human rights issues.

The presentations were held in mid-February just before the Lunar New Year. This meant that all finalists were assured of a nice ‘ang pow’ even before the New Year festivities began! The judges for the presentation were Mr Oon and Mr Bazul, partners from sponsoring firm T S Oon & Bazul. Professor Michael Hor and constitutional law expert Dr. Kevin Tan, both SLR Advisors, completed the panel.

Each finalist gave a 10-minute presentation, following which the judges and audience grilled them, oftentimes rather mercilessly it seemed, on their essays. This “intellectual thrust and parry” not only gave the finalists the opportunity to dazzle all present with their scintillating arguments, it also provided a highly exciting and entertaining show for the audience!

Everyone then enjoyed a sumptuous buffet dinner beside the Upper Quadrangle, which looked particularly beautiful that night. Good food, great company, a stunning, moonlit campus – what a wonderful way to end the SLR Writing Competition & Symposium!

After over 2 hours of stimulating presentations and intense debates, Ms Eunice Chua (LLB ’07) emerged the champion. Her essay, titled An Analysis of How The Singapore, United Kingdom and American Judiciary Give Voice To The Law In The Face Of (Counter) Terrorism won her the top prize of $1000. Mr Emmanuel Cai (LLB ’08) clinched the 1st runner-up prize of $500 with his essay on the subject of knowing receipt – Knowing, Dishonest or plain Unjust? A Commentary on the Past Present and Future of Knowing Receipt. Mr Teo Jin Huang (LLB ’08) (Preserving the Legal Order in Times of Emergency: Should State responses to emergencies ever be extra-constitutional?) and Mr Yang Ziliang (LLB ’08) (Preventive Detention As A Counter-Terrorism Strategy: They Have Stopped Using It And So Should We) were both 2nd runner-ups, receiving $250 each. Rounding up the prize winners were 3rd runner-ups Mr Leonardo Bernard (LLM ’07) (A New Look on Human Rights Through The Eyes of Islam) and Mr Ang Hou Fu (LLB ’10), the only first year student who wrote A Test of Fire: Re-looking Mistake in Contract. They won $100 each. Al the winning entries will be published in the next issue of the Singapore Law Review Journal – watch out for it!

We would like to thank our Advisors, Professor Michael Hor and Dr Kevin Tan for taking time off their busy schedules to judge the Competition.

We are very grateful to T S Oon & Bazul for their very generous sponsorship, without which the SLR Writing Competition & Symposium would not have been possible. Thank you!

T S Oon & Bazul started out primarily as a boutique shipping and admiralty practice. Besides litigation, it also advises on non-contentious matters such as joint venture agreements, pooling agreements, terminal service agreements, ship financing, ship sale and purchase transactions, ship building contracts, charterparties and bills of lading. T S Oon & Bazul has also broadened its areas of practice, and now regularly acts for clients in the fields of aviation, banking, trade finance, international trade, marine insurance, re-insurance, professional indemnity insurance, co-insurance, construction and insolvency.

For those who are interested in finding out more about the firm or doing an internship with the firm, please send your inquiries by email to: general@oonbazul.com. You can also find out more about the firm at its website: www.oonbazul.com

Juris Illuminae Vol. 3 Issue 5 (March/April 2007)