Lecture 1 - Intro To BBL (2016)

Welcome to
Basic Business
Law (BBL)
Lecture 1
The Copyright of this document belongs to BCA. No part of this document may be used, disclosed, transferred, reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or
otherwise to any person not authorized to use it without the express written permission of BCA
Basic Business Law 1
Copyright BCA Academy, Low Yee Mei
Basic Business Law (BBL)
Lecturer :
Linda Kwok
kwenoi@yahoo.com
Basic Business Law, 2

Copyright BCA Academy, Angie Han
What you should know?
Attendance:-
- Come to class on time
(attendance will not be taken for late comers, i.e. late for
more than 15 mins.)
- Take your attendance
- Minimum 75% attendance rate
- Do not disturb your neighbours during
class, including switching handphone to
silent mode
- Bring your lecture notes to class
3
Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, Angie Han

How to get your grades?
Grading system:
- Continuous assessment : 100%
 Attendance and Punctuality : 10%
 Contribution in class : 10%
 Common Test : 20%
 Quiz : 15%
 Problem-based assignment : 15%
 Group Project : 20%
 Group Project Presentation : 10%

Topics to be covered in Basic
Business Law (BBL)
 Singapore Legal System

 Contract Law
 Tort Law
 Company Law
 Construction Law
 Property Law

Basic Business Law
Lecture 1
Introduction to Business Law
The Copyright of this document belongs to BCA. No part of this document may be used, disclosed, transferred, reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or
otherwise to any person not authorized to use it without the express written permission of BCA
6
Basic Business Law ,
Introduction to Law
 What is Law?
A collection of rules.
 If there are no rules in a society it will be
completely chaotic!
 This set of rules can be enforced in a court.
 Whenever there is a community of people,

there must be law. Law is that set of rules
by which a community regulates its affair.
7
Basic Business Law Year,
Why study this course?
- To be a judge/lawyer??
Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 8
Low Yee Mei
Why study this course?
 Law facilitates and regulates business and

thus an understanding of the key concepts of
business law will help you to be a better
business person.
 Or in your case to be a better QS, a better

Engineer etc as basic knowledge of business
law will help you in your dealing with people
in your work area.
Basic Business Law Year 2012/13, Sem 1, 9
Law and Business
 Modern business is essentially about making
money.
 The main concern is to acquire or produce
goods or services at one price and sell them
at a higher price.
 Law and business are intertwined.
 Although the essence of business is simple,

real-life business activity today is complex.
10
Law and Business
 Some areas of business that involve legal
issues:
 Setting up the business – a legally recognised

organisation must be created for the business
 Raising funds – this involves dealing with
banks and other financial institutions.
 Buying / selling / leasing a place for the
business
 Buying equipment for the business
Law and Business
 Hiring and managing of employees

 Providing goods and services to customers
 Comply with government regulations – from
payment of taxes to health warning rules
 Closing down a business

Law of Singapore
 Singapore was once a British colony.
 Singapore inherited its law from Britain.
 Cases decided in England are still referred by
our local courts where the laws are the same
or similar.

Angie Han
Singapore’s Legal System
Constitution: Legislation: laws that governs Judge-made
fundamental rights of the State. Example: laws: Supreme
the people such as Environmental Public Health Court and the
freedom of religion, Act where it is an offence to Subordinate
speech and equal throw paper in any public Courts
rights. place (offence of S$5000).
In addition to the three elements above, Singapore’s legal system has its
roots traced back to English legal system. 14
Basic Business Law,
Sources of business law
Constitution
Legislative Executive Judiciary

Parliament Judges & Courts
Prime Minister &
Cabinet
Supreme Courts
Family Courts Small Claims

District Courts Juvenile Courts Tribunal
Magistrate Courts Coroner’s Court
Legislation Policy Case Law

Singapore legal system
 Constitution – It is the supreme law of the
land. It lays down the structure and
organisation of the 3 branches of government
 Legislature – the Parliament made up of

elected Members of Parliament (MPs) who
are tasked with enacting the laws of the land.

Singapore legal system
 Executive is that branch of government which

executes the daily tasks of government. It
comprises the Prime Minister assisted by a
Cabinet comprising of MPs
 Judiciary – the judiciary interprets and

enforces the laws of the state. It comprises of
a number of courts eg supreme court and the
states courts.

Judiciary hierarchy
The scope of authority of a court is also known as its
jurisdiction.
Court of Appeal
High Court
(unlimited amount)
Small Claims
Magistrates’ Specialised Tribunals (up to
District Court (up $S10,000 or
to S$250,000) Court (up to Courts:
S$60,000) S$20,000 if both
Family court parties agree)
Juvenile court
Coroner’s court
18
Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy,
Low Yee Mei
Legal system over the world
 Every country’s legal system is unique.
(example: Singapore’s legal system is
different from that of China and Myanmar.)
 Such uniqueness is known as jurisdiction.
 Law apply within a geographical territory. If

you are doing business in China, the laws of
China apply to you.

Legal system over the world
20
Basic Business Law Year 2012/13, Sem 1,
Source: The Straits Times, 23 Oct 2011 Copyright BCA Academy, Low Yee Mei
Introduction to Law
Source: The Straits Times,

23 Oct 2011
Low Yee Mei
Source: The Straits Times,
25 Apr 2012

Angie Han
2 branches of Law
Criminal
Civil Law
Law
Regulate how
Establish and
disputes are
maintain social
decided, between
norms
individuals
Offer
Punish the
compensation to
wrongdoer
the injured party
23
Low Yee Mei
2 branches of Law
Civil Law Criminal Law
24
Low Yee Mei
Civil Vs Criminal Proceedings
Civil Proceedings Criminal Proceedings

Purpose To seek a remedy for a To punish the person
civil case. who committed the
crime; to deter others
from committing the
same crime.
Parties Plaintiff / Defendant Public prosecutor /
Defendant
Discretion to initiate an Plaintiff The State
action
Decision of the Court Liable or not liable Guilty or not guilty
Sanctions Damages, injunctions, Jail sentence, fine,
specific performance, caning, etc.
etc.

Focus for this course
Civil law :
 Examples :
 Contract Law
 TortLaw
 Company Law
 Construction Law
 Property Law
26
Angie Han
How to resolve disputes/ why
you need lawyers?
- Disagreements happen all the time.
- In stone age, people engage in physical fight to

win an argument.
27
Low Yee Mei
How to resolve disputes/ why
you need lawyers?
- Now, we are more civilized. If parties cannot
resolve the dispute themselves, they could
engage lawyers to sue each other in court.
- Lawyers prepare the facts supporting their

client’s demands, send papers to the other side
and present the facts at a "trial" to the judge for
decision.
We use the term litigation to refer to the entire

range of steps that are involved before, during
and after an actual "trial".
Low Yee Mei
Litigation Process
Commencement of litigation
Pleadings
Discovery
Trial/Judgment
Appeal
Enforcement
Low Yee Mei
Litigation Process
 Commencement of litigation
 When a person wishes to sue another
person, he must engage a lawyer who will
issue through the court what is known as an
“originating process”.

Low Yee Mei
Basic Legal Terms
 Plaintiff
 The person who initiates the legal
proceedings/the injured party who is seeking
compensation/the party making the
complaint
 Defendant
 The other party whom the plaintiff is suing

Low Yee Mei
Basic Legal Terms
Source: The Straits Times, Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy,
32
18 Oct 2011 Low Yee Mei

Litigation Process
 Pleadings
 Plaintiffto set out the facts on which he
relies to establish his claim in a document
called a Statement of Claim.
 Defendant receives the Statement of Claim
and put up a document called a Defence
where he will admit/deny the facts and
establish his own facts.
 After service of the Defence, plaintiff could
serve a Reply in response to the new facts.
Low Yee Mei
Litigation Process
 Discovery
 The plaintiff and defendant may seek
“discovery” of all relevant documents.
 The purpose is to ensure that no party

surprises the other party with information at
the trial.

Angie Han
Litigation Process
 Trial/Judgement
 Judge to listen to plaintiff and defendant at
court to present their case.
 Not every case involves witness testimony.
 Judge has 3 duties to discharge:
 If there is a dispute over the facts, he must
decide whose version is closer to the truth
 Decide what the law is
 Apply the law to the facts and make a decision

Low Yee Mei
Litigation Process
 Appeals
 The party who loses may take the matter up
to a higher court.
 In practice, very few cases are taken up on
appeal. Partly due to the high expense.

Low Yee Mei
Litigation Process
 Enforcement
 Ifdefendant does not comply with the order
of court, in the case that the order is for
payment of a sum of money, the plaintiff (or
judgment creditor as he is now known) can
get a writ of seizure and sale (money from
sale of goods to be belong to defendant) or
garnishee order (seize defendant / or
judgment debtor’s bank account).

Low Yee Mei
Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR)
 Not all disputes end up in court.
 Disagreements could be settled without the

need to go through litigation.
 Ways which disputes are resolved outside

courts are known as Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) methods.
38
Low Yee Mei
Methods of ADR
Arbitration
Adjudication Mediation
ADR
Low Yee Mei
Methods of ADR
Arbitration
 Parties in dispute could refer their differences
to neutral person(s) (i.e. arbitrators).
 Just like court proceedings, the decisions
made in arbitral proceedings are binding.
 However, arbitral proceedings and decisions
are not open to the public, making it
particularly suited for commercial disputes,
especially where confidentiality is important to
the parties involved.
Low Yee Mei
Methods of ADR

Source: The Straits Times, Low Yee Mei
41
21 Oct 2011
Methods of ADR
Adjudication
 Adjudication is similar to arbitration, although
there is a set timeframe within which the
adjudicator must make a decision and parties are
responsible for their own costs unless otherwise
agreed. Decisions made in adjudication are
binding.
 Adjudication is commonly used in the
construction industry to ensure fast payment.
Security of Payment Act is specific to the
construction sector where decisions can be made
within 21 days.
Low Yee Mei
Methods of ADR Source: Channel News Asia,
30 Aug 2010
43
Angie Han
Methods of ADR
Mediation
 Mediation is a process in which the mediator,
a neutral person, helps parties to settle their
disputes through discussion.
 Parties make their own decisions. Successful
mediation depends on the co-operation of all
parties in implementing the agreed upon
solution, since the process (unlike arbitration)
is non-binding in court.
 Aims to preserve the working relationship on
all sides.
Low Yee Mei
Methods of ADR
45
Litigation or ADR?
 Cost and time
 Litigation process is costly and time consuming.
 Litigation may hurt relationships especially since
it is public.
 May not get the full amount loss or after
deducting legal fees, not much is left after
litigation.
 There are alternative dispute resolutions which
are often less expensive and faster.
 However not all ADR are binding and parties
cannot appeal against the decision. 46
Basic Business Law,
Learning points for Lecture 1
 Definition of law
 Singapore Legal System
 Litigation process
 Alternative dispute methods
(ADR)

References
1. Benny S Tabalujan and Valerie Du Toit-Low, Singapore

Business Law, Business Law Asia.
2. Walter Woon, Revised by Terence Tan, Basic Business Law in
Singapore 2nd ed (2000), Prentice Hall
3. Low K.Y & Benny S Tabalujan (1996), The Executive’s Guide
to Business & Law, Pitman Publishing Asia Pacific
4. www.singaporelaw.sg

Thank you
49

Lecture 1 - Intro To BBL (2016)

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Welcome to

Basic Business Law, 2

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, Angie Han

Basic Business Law, 4

 Singapore Legal System

Basic Business Law, 5

 Whenever there is a community of people,

 Law facilitates and regulates business and

 Or in your case to be a better QS, a better

 Although the essence of business is simple,

 Setting up the business – a legally recognised

 Hiring and managing of employees

Basic Business Law Year 2012/13, Sem 1, 12

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 13

Legislative Executive Judiciary

Family Courts Small Claims

Legislation Policy Case Law

 Legislature – the Parliament made up of

Basic Business Law Year 2012/13, Sem 1, 16

 Executive is that branch of government which

 Judiciary – the judiciary interprets and

Basic Business Law Year 2012/13, Sem 1, 17

 Such uniqueness is known as jurisdiction.

 Law apply within a geographical territory. If

Basic Business Law, 19

Source: The Straits Times,

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 22

Civil Law Criminal Law

Civil Proceedings Criminal Proceedings

Basic Business Law, 25

- In stone age, people engage in physical fight to

- Lawyers prepare the facts supporting their

We use the term litigation to refer to the entire

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 30

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 31

18 Oct 2011 Low Yee Mei

 The purpose is to ensure that no party

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 34

 Apply the law to the facts and make a decision

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 35

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 36

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy, 37

 Not all disputes end up in court.

 Disagreements could be settled without the

 Ways which disputes are resolved outside

Basic Business Law, Copyright BCA Academy,

Basic Business Law, 47

1. Benny S Tabalujan and Valerie Du Toit-Low, Singapore

Basic Business Law Year 2012/13, Sem 1, 48

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