Vol 7 No. 1 January - June 2008 - Faculty of Law - National ...

[ Law School Highlights ]
3 rd Professorial Lecture by Emeritus Professor Koh Kheng Lian ’61
Progressive Development of ASEAN
Environmental Law, Governance and Policy:
Assessment and Analysis
The “Joint Communiqué”, issued by the Foreign Ministers
of ASEAN, following its meeting in Manila from 29-30
July 2007, welcomed the proposal by Singapore to focus
on “Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable
Development” as the theme for discussion at the 13th ASEAN
Summit meeting held in Singapore from 18-22 November
2007. This is the first time in the history of ASEAN that
environment has taken centre stage. Perhaps not much is
known that since 1977 ASEAN has been slowly but steadily
developing environmental instruments. Today, there are
more than 70 such instruments dealing with various aspects
of environmental law, policy and governance.
This lecture assessed and analyzed the progressive
development of environmental law in ASEAN, particularly
in terms of implementation, compliance and enforcement.
It also considered the role of ASEAN in facilitating the
implementation of global MEAs (Multilateral Environmental
Agreements) and other environment instruments.
As ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary last year it was
timely to take stock of its progress in this field as it moved
forward to the ASEAN Charter’ the ASEAN Declaration on
Environmental Sustainability, and the Singapore Declaration
on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment, which
were outputs of the 13th Summit.
4 th Professorial Lecture by Emeritus Professor Peter Ellinger
Fifty Years of Banking Law
In his fifty years as a banking lawyer, Professor Ellinger observed and studied the
developments that have taken place in banking law and practice in the period following
the 2nd World War. After a brief introduction of the nature of banking practice and
banking law in earlier periods, the lecture reviewed the technological developments
in banking (including the effects of computerisation and of the electronic revolution),
the emergence of multi-national banks and the general globalisation of banking. In the
process, banks have evolved from locally orientated financial institutions into a financial
sector controlling the international movement of funds and practically in charge of wealth
management. The lecture then dealt with the effects of these commercial developments on
both international and local banking law, including a review of the role of legally trained
personnel on the relationship between banker and customer. The reaction of courts and
of legislatures to one-sided and harsh general terms and conditions drafted by banks
were covered in detail. The enactment of statutes such as the Unfair Contract Terms Act
and efforts to establish a doctrine of good faith in contractual dealings were reviewed in
the context of banking law. Emphasis was placed on Recent Developments in Singapore
Litigation.
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