In recent years, there has been a proliferation of international consumer, employment and 'gig' economy contracts, many of which come with arbitration agreements. Although arbitration agreements are generally given legal effect, courts often refuse to enforce them on the basis of unconscionability if they are particularly disadvantageous to the consumer or worker. After surveying the state of the law of unconscionability in the United Kingdom (under English law), Singapore, Canada, Australia and the United States, we identify problems with the doctrine in the context of arbitration agreements, namely that its vague and confusing nature has the potential to undermine the doctrine of competence-competence, the predictability of arbitration agreements and ultimately the parties' freedom of contract. As we suggest, these problems could, without legislative intervention, mark the end of arbitration in the context of consumer, employment and 'gig' economy contracts. We propose two ways in which courts could make the doctrine of unconscionability more manageable and less problematic: by requiring that the victim have an identifiable frailty and by clarifying that independent advice for the victim usually assuages inequalities. We conclude by arguing that each of these reforms is consistent with the five most prominent theoretical justifications that have been offered for the doctrine of unconscionability.

Artificial intelligence ("AI") has garnered much attention in recent years, with capabilities spanning the operation of self-driving cars to the emulation of the great artistic masters of old. The field has now been ostensibly enlarged in light of the professed abilities of AI machines to autonomously generate patentable inventions. This article examines the present state of AI technology and the suitability of existing patent law frameworks in accommodating it. Looking ahead, the authors also offer two recommendations in a bid to anticipate and resolve the challenges that future developments in AI technology might pose to patent law. In particular, the case is made for fully autonomous machine inventors to be recognised as “inventors" by statute and for patent ownership of AI-generated inventions to be granted to the owners of these machine inventors by default.

In recent years the term "relational" to describe a class of contract has gained currency in English Courts. Whereas contract class is usually identifiable by type such as landlord and tenant or employment, "relational" contracts are variable agminates of indeterminate incidents, employing confusing, and inappropriate, epi-fiduciary language. I explore the incidents in an unsuccessful effort to find machinery which predicts whether a contract is relational. I review cases to determine how existing Contract law deals with each incident. I review the theoretical literature, seeking alignment between theory-based norms and case-embedded incidents. I question why Judges have not made the connection between incidents and norms. I propose an operable definition of relational contract, proposing four "incidents" using a domestic, new kitchen, contract as a thread. Central to my definition is a claim that implicit or express in such contracts is an obligation to maintain, develop or build a relationship.

While it remains controversial whether Article 12(1) of Singapore's Constitution should involve a test of formal or substantive equality, the precise content of the test of formal equality itself - the "reasonable classification test" - remains unclear. This article seeks to construct a meaningful account of the reasonable classification test, that reconciles the case-law with canonical understandings of the court's constitutional role. Three arguments are made. First, courts must identify legislative purposes only from extrinsic materials when applying the test, to avoid circularity in its application. Second, when assessing the relation between differentiation and purpose, courts must require proof of the existence, and sometimes the sufficiency, of practical reasons that excuse imperfect differentiation. Third, applicants should only bear the burden of showing that laws or decisions imperfectly differentiate, before the burden shifts to the Government to justify them. The article concludes by explaining how the reasonable classification test so understood can apply to both legislative and executive acts, even if its application may differ in certain circumstances.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, have become popular investment vehicles in 2020-2021. In response to this recent growth in popularity, regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong have introduced new listing rules permitting the listing of SPACs in their jurisdictions. In doing so, they have generally referred to the regulations and market practices in the US. These represent a set of norms which have been negotiated between regulators, SPAC managers and investors over decades of transactions. Regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong have innovated on these basic rules in response to recent criticisms of the SPAC structure and to accommodate local market factors and regulatory aims. This paper will examine how the regulators have, in the process of setting up SPAC markets locally, leveraged on the regulations and practices in the US as a starting point and how the consultation process allowed them to fine-tune their proposals.

The only central bank money individuals and businesses have today is cash. Everything else they use as money is commercial bank promises. Central bank digital currencies ("CBDC") will likely change all this by putting central bank money into everyone's hands. China is a front runner in this revolution, and its CBDC, the e-CNY, may well in time profoundly affect the international economic order. This article analyses the major considerations around the e-CNY, its ramifications, in particular for trade, and its possible challenges.

In recent times, many mainland Chinese are taking up employment or immigration opportunities outside China. With the accumulation of personal wealth in China, more of such movement of human capital can be expected. However, at the same time, the Chinese tax authorities are increasing their attempts to enforce Chinese law on Chinese working outside mainland China by requiring them to report overseas income and comply with China's Individual Income Tax Law. The threat of "double taxation" will inevitably affect the decisions of those who are looking for overseas employment opportunities and those who are currently working abroad. This article examines the tax consequences of both outbound and inbound cross-border employment from China's perspective. By comparing the income tax rules applicable to different groups of cross-border employees, the article will highlight the discriminatory treatment of Chinese cross-border employees and propose measures to better facilitate the cross-border movement of human resources.

Singapore has recently instigated two pieces of regulation related to consumer credit - the Buy-Now, Pay-Later Code of Conduct, and the Debt Collection Act 2022. This article discusses the background of these pieces of regulation, considers their similarities and differences, and analyses the benefits and drawbacks of the two approaches. It concludes by highlighting that, whilst they are both well-meaning and have the ability to improve the lives of vulnerable consumers, further work is necessary for the full potential of both regulatory instruments to be realised.

Personal property law is perhaps the one critical area of commercial law which has received relatively less attention in academic literature as a standalone subject than it merits, possibly due to the common misconception that the subject is simply a collection of discrete legal categories. This is rather perplexing, considering that personal property is, by definition and jurisprudentially, all property interests that are not an interest in land, and it certainly warrants specialist treatment. The authors of The Law of Personal Property have, in their third edition, achieved a tremendous feat at publishing what might be the most comprehensive treatise on the subject to date. I salute the authors for the breadth, depth and critical analysis in this third edition, which only goes to demonstrate the significance of personal property law in our daily lives, and that the subject is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Like Dostoevsky's classic namesake, Crime and Punishment in Indonesia explores the sometimes arbitrary demarcation of moral and legal boundaries within an unequal society, together with the interplay between religion and legal positivism. Crime and Punishment in Indonesia is edited by two giants in the field of Indonesian Law, Professor Tim Lindsey and Dr Helen Pausacker, Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society (CILIS) at Melbourne Law School. They have brought together a knowledgeable cast of 17 different authors across 20 different chapters, featuring a mixture of Indonesian and non-Indonesian scholars. Many of the contributors are connected to Melbourne Law School as Associates of CILIS and/or as Lindsey's former PhD students. At the time of the volume's publication, several authors were intimately involved in law reform or legal advocacy projects in Indonesia, such as Ricky Gunawan (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) Masyarakat), Rifqi Sjarief Assegaf (Lembaga Kajian dan Advokasi Untuk Independensi Peradilan (LeIP)), Raynov Tumorang Pamintori (Reprieve), and Mas Achmad Santosa (Presidential Task Force to Combat Illegal Fishing). This serves to provide the book a practical flavour which other collections on criminal law, edited by academics, tend to be missing.