The Singapore Academy of Law Style Guide Quick Reference

2007 July Edition

Publications Department, Singapore Academy of Law

The Singapore Academy of Law Style Guide for freelance editors of journal articles and other legal works

2007 Edition

prepared by Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, Ranald Or, Anita Parkash and Hung Ning Shing for the Publications Department, Singapore Academy of Law

1 Supreme Court Lane

Level 6 Singapore 178879

Tel: +65.6332.4388 Fax: +65.6334.4940

E-mail: publications@sal.org.sg Website: http://www.sal.org.sg

© July 2007 Singapore Academy of Law. All rights reserved.

2006 Edition – 2 October 2006 2007 Edition – 10 July 2007

Feedback or reports of errors should be sent to publications@sal.org.sg.

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LATEST UPDATES

[This page is reserved for notes of future updates to this Guide.]

A – Formatting Rules … 1 A FORMATTING RULES A–1 Heading Levels and Styles. Use the following heading levels and styles, which

are all to be aligned with the left margin:

For SAL Journal I. First-level heading A. Second-level heading (1) Third-level heading (a) Fourth-level leading (i) FIFTH-LEVEL HEADING

For SAL Annual Review

First-level heading Second-level heading Third-level heading Fourth-level heading FIFTH-LEVEL HEADING

Headings should be in the following format: “Principle of consistency in

sentencing”. Do not use “Title Case”, ie, do not use initial capital letters for the headings and do not put a full stop at the end of a heading.

Where headings are to be in italics (such as second- and third-level headings), and

contain a word or words which need to be italicised (such as case names or Latin words), change the particular word(s) to normal font.

Examples: Ad hoc admission of foreign lawyers (First-level heading) Ad hoc admission of foreign lawyers (Second-level heading) Ad hoc admission of foreign lawyers (Third-level heading) Ad hoc admission of foreign lawyers (Fourth-level heading) AD HOC ADMISSION OF FOREIGN LAWYERS (FIFTH-LEVEL HEADING)

A–2 Paragraph numbers. To number paragraphs, use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc) without full stops. For sub-paragraphs, follow the rule for lists below, so the sub-paragraphs are numbered (a), (b), (c), etc, and sub-sub-paragraphs are numbered (i), (ii), (iii), etc.

A–3 Lists. For items in a list, the numbering level (1), (2), (3), etc, is not to be used

because the use of Arabic numerals is reserved for numbering paragraphs. Do not use bullet points to introduce items in a list either. To number items in a list, use the following numbering levels:

• First Level – (a), (b), (c), … etc. • Second Level – (i), (ii), (iii), … etc. • Third Level – (A), (B), (C), … etc. • Fourth Level – (I), (II), (III), … etc.

After each paragraph or item number, a tab should be inserted before the text, ie, “(a)TabA lipstick”.

Items in a numbered list should be punctuated in one of the following ways:

• If the items in the list are incomplete sentences, each item should begin

with a lowercase letter and end with a semicolon. The second-last item in the list should end with a semicolon followed by a conjunction, such as and or or.

• If the items in the list are complete sentences or consist of more than one

sentence, each item should begin with an uppercase letter and end with a full stop.

Examples The following items were found in the accused’s bag: (a) a lipstick; (b) chequebooks from the following banks: (i) POSB; (ii) Citibank; (c) a bunch of keys; and (d) a penknife. In order to succeed in establishing that the defendant acted negligently, the plaintiff must prove the following: (a) A duty of care was owed by the defendant to her. (b) The defendant breached the duty in that he did not achieve

the standard of care required of him. (c) The breach of duty caused damage to the plaintiff. Among

other things, the damage must not be too remote.

A – Formatting Rules … 3 A–4 Quotations. A–4.1 Quotations within a sentence. Enclose quotations within a sentence in double

quotation marks (“ ”). A quotation within a quotation should be enclosed in single quotation marks (‘ ’). Include punctuation within quotation marks only if a complete sentence is quoted. Where a sentence ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a closing quotation mark, it is not necessary to add a full stop after the latter.

Examples In addition, s 2 also states that these activities must be done “in any place to which the public or any class of the public has access whether gratuitously or otherwise”. [Full stop after the closing quotation mark as the quotation is not a complete sentence.] When asked what was in the bag, the defendant told the narcotics officer, “I am carrying Chinese medicine.” [Full stop within the quotation marks as a complete sentence is quoted; no additional full stop required after the closing quotation mark.]

A–4.2 Quotations in a separate block. A quotation longer than three lines should be

set out in a separate block indented from both the left and right margins. Do not enclose the quotation in quotation marks. A quotation is introduced with a colon; not a dash or a colon with a dash.

Examples Drawing from the notes of evidence, she gave reasons why Yeo did not raise his concerns formally with the company. To this end, she stated: Mr Yeo explained that at the time of the trades, he was more concerned that the contra losses be paid for, and that the appellant stopped using his trading account. The appellant had promised to do both. Indeed, true to the appellant’s promise, Mr Yeo was not made to pay for the contra losses, and the appellant stopped using his trading account after the SP Setia transactions.

A–4.3 Emphasis in quotations. Words, phrases or sentences in a quotation to be

emphasised should be in italics with the phrase “[emphasis added]” or “[emphasis in original]” in brackets added to the end of the quotation.

Examples Where the quotation is set out in a separate block: The latter indorsement may be to the transferee by name or in blank, in which latter case, no further indorsement, but only delivery, is as a matter of law required for subsequent transfers. [emphasis added]

Where the quotation is part of the paragraph: In that case, the judge expressed the view that “it is trite law that there must be consideration for a contract” [emphasis added]. I cannot agree more that the law in this area is settled. [Note that there is no full stop or other punctuation mark before the closing quotation mark – the full stop comes after “[emphasis added]”.]

Where a quotation set out in a separate block consists of several paragraphs, the

phrase “[emphasis added]” or its variants should be on a new line.

Example Cocaine acts by preventing the removal of adrenalin from its site of action. Blood pressure is raised and the action of the heart may become irregular – which is why injections and “freebasing” can be fatal. Prolonged ingestion by sniffing is said to damage the nasal tissues. Abuse has been said to lead to sleeplessness, mental disturbance, stomach disorder and emaciation. Regular users complain of a feeling as if insects were creeping below their skin. … Cocaine is occasionally mixed with heroin to produce a “speedball” for intravenous injection in which the subject enjoys the euphoria induced by heroin without the narcotic effect. [emphasis added]

A–4.4 Changes to quotations. In general, a quotation should be reproduced exactly as

it appears in the source, with no changes to spelling, capitalisation or punctuation. However, if desired, citations may be omitted and the phrase “[internal citations omitted]” added to the end of the quotation.

If it is necessary to make interpolations, corrections, explanations, translations or comments for clarity, these should be enclosed in brackets (“[ ]”). Omissions should be indicated with the use of an ellipsis (“…”), which should consist of three full stops, no more or less, with a space before and after. Do not type a full stop after an ellipsis that ends a sentence.

Examples The contract specified that “property in the goods shall not pass to the Buyer [ie, the plaintiff] until payment in full has been received by the Vendor [the defendant]”.

A – Formatting Rules … 5

He clearly “intend[ed] to take dishonestly” the cheque out of the plaintiff’s possession. The manner of the attack was vicious and very destructive. … [T]here can have been no excuse.

A–4.5 Errors in quotations. Spelling or grammatical errors in quotations should be

retained, with the word “[sic]” (Latin for “thus” or “so”) in brackets inserted after the error. Do not overuse the word “[sic]” as a quotation that contains too many becomes difficult to read. If there are numerous errors that are obvious, either do not use “[sic]” or consider rephrasing the quotation in indirect speech. Minor erroneous words or phrases can be omitted entirely (using ellipses where appropriate) and the correct words or phrases inserted within brackets.

Examples He cannot have had [sic] been unaware of the presence of the clause. He cannot have … been unaware of the presence of the clause. The trial judge took the view that the case was governed by the principle in Rylance [sic] v Fletcher. The trial judge took the view that the case was governed by the principle in [Rylands] v Fletcher.

A–4.6 Quoting mid-sentence. (a) Where the quotation is in a separate block, and what is quoted, although mid-

sentence, can still be a complete sentence, change the first letter into a capital letter, enclosing the capital letter within square brackets. Exception to this rule is when the quote starts with the word “I”, which is already a capital letter, in which case begin the quote with an ellipsis.

Examples Original text is:

Drawing from the notes of evidence, she gave reasons why Yeo did not raise his concerns formally with the company. Where only part of the text is quoted, set it out as follows: [S]he gave reasons why Yeo did not raise his concerns formally with the company.

Original text is: After looking at the cover of the book, I decided not to read it. I thought it more worthwhile to spend my time doing something else. When quoting the second part of the text, use an ellipsis. Thus: ... I decided not to read it. I thought it more worthwhile to spend my time doing something else.

(b) Where the quotation is in a separate block, but what is quoted does not form a

complete sentence in itself, then start off with an ellipsis.

Example Using the same original text as the first example above: Drawing from the notes of evidence, she gave reasons why Yeo: ... did not raise his concerns formally with the company.

(c) Where the quotation is not in a separate block, there is no need to begin the

quote with a capital letter within square brackets, nor to use ellipses, whether at the beginning or at the end. If the quote ends with a full-stop or a comma, the punctuation marks may be ignored. (See also the first example given at para A-4.1 above.)

Examples In addition, s 2 also states that these activities must be done “... in any place to which the public or any class of the public has access whether gratuitously or otherwise ...”. To comply with housestyle, the above sentence should be amended as follows: In addition, s 2 also states that these activities must be done “in any place to which the public or any class of the public has access whether gratuitously or otherwise”.

A–4.7 Quoting mid-paragraph. When quoting a range of paragraphs and some

paragraphs are not quoted in full, use ellipses to indicate which paragraphs are left out and which are being quoted mid-paragraph.

A – Formatting Rules … 7

Example Cocaine acts by preventing the removal of adrenalin from its site of action. Blood pressure is raised and the action of the heart may become irregular – which is why injections and “freebasing” can be fatal. ... ... Prolonged ingestion by sniffing is said to damage the nasal tissues. Abuse has been said to lead to sleeplessness, mental disturbance, stomach disorder and emaciation. Regular users complain of a feeling as if insects were creeping below their skin. ... … Cocaine is occasionally mixed with heroin to produce a “speedball” for intravenous injection in which the subject enjoys the euphoria induced by heroin without the narcotic effect.

The above example shows that the rest of the first paragraph has been omitted from the quote, while the second paragraph is quoted mid-paragraph, with the rest of it omitted. It then shows that the next paragraph is entirely left out. Note that there is no need for an ellipsis to appear at the end of the quotation, unless the quotation ends mid-sentence.

A–4.8 Rules on the use of ellipses in quotations.

(a) An ellipsis consists of only 3 dots, no more, no less. (b) An ellipsis is treated like a word, so there should be both a space before and a space after an ellipsis.

A–5 Italics. Note the following specific uses of italics:

(a) To emphasise words and phrases, eg, “The defendant’s fingerprints were found inside the suitcase containing the drugs.” Do not use boldface type or underlining for this purpose.

(b) To cite the names of ships. Do not italicise the definite article “The” unless

it forms part of a ship’s name, eg, “The Ivanovo collided into El Neputuno.”

(c) To cite foreign words and phrases that have not been assimilated into the

English language. See Appendix 1A for a table of foreign words and phrases that should be italicised.

When indicating the possessive form of an italicised word or phrase using an

apostrophe followed by the letter “s” (“ ’s ”), the “ ’s ” should not be italicised, eg, “applying Ong Ah Chuan’s case”, “the RSS Morning Star’s bow was damaged”.

Where a passage of text is already italicised and the passage contains a word or phrase that would normally require italics, that word or phrase should be set out in ordinary roman type, eg, “The famous case of Brown v Board of Education was a landmark in American legal history.” (This rule is similar to that for headings at para A–1.)

A–6 Spaces. There should only be one space between words and sentences. Do not

use double spaces between sentences. When editing a typeset, switch on the Show/Hide button by clicking the icon with the paragraph symbol (¶) on your toolbar. You will then be able to see clearly whether there are any double spaces in the document.

A–6.1 Non-breaking spaces. A non-breaking space is to be inserted between pre-fixes

and numerals or names, and between names and suffixes. To type such a space, press Ctrl+Shift+Space on your keyboard. When you switch on the Show/Hide button on your toolbar, the non-breaking space appears as a “bubble” (º).

Examples s 23 of the Act (the non-breaking space is between “s” and “23”) O 18 r 1 of the Rules of Court (the non-breaking spaces are between “O” and “18”, and between “r” and “1”) No 1 on the list (the non-breaking space is between “No” and “1”) Mr Lee and Mdm Ng (the non-breaking spaces are between “Mr” and “Lee”, and between “Mdm” and “Ng”) Chan Sek Keong CJ (the non-breaking space is between “Keong” and “CJ”)

A non-breaking space is also inserted between an initial and a surname, such as J Lee (the non-breaking space is between “J” and “Lee”), and Kevin Y L Tan (the non-breaking spaces are between “Y” and “L”, and between “L” and “Tan”). A non-breaking space is also inserted between the day and month in dates, such as 29 November 2005 (the non-breaking space is between “29” and “November”).

C – Citations … 9 B RULES OF EXPRESSION B–1 Spelling. Apply British spelling conventions as set out in the current edition of

the Oxford English Dictionary. Note the following preferred spellings.

Variant Spellings Preferred Spelling -ce/-se – defence, licence, offence; or defense, license, offense

-ce – defence, licence, offence; but “license” and “practise” when used as verbs

-g-/-ge- – acknowledgment, judgment, lodgement; or acknowledgement, judgement, lodgement

-g- – acknowledgment, judgment, lodgment

-l-/-ll- – instalment, fulfil, fulfilment; marshal, instil or installment, fulfill, fulfillment, instill, marshall

-l- – instalment, fulfil, fulfilment, marshal, instil; but install, fulfilled, marshalled, instilled

-m/-mme – gram, kilogram; or gramme, kilogramme

-m – gram, kilogram; but use “program” only in the context of a computer program, and “programme” for all other senses of the word

-our/-or – colour, labour, odour, favour; or color, labor, odor, favor

-our – colour, labour, odour, favour

-re/-er – centre, litre, metre, theatre; or center, liter, meter, theater

-re – centre, litre, metre, theatre; but “meter” for a measuring device

-s/-z – analyse, authorise, emphasise, organisation, organise, paralyse, realisation, realise, recognise, sterilisation; or analyze, authorize, emphasize, organization, organize, paralyze, realization, realize, recognize, sterilization

-s – analyse, authorise, emphasise, organisation, organise, paralyse, realisation, realise, recognise, sterilisation

-t/-ed – burnt, learnt, spelt, spoilt; or burned, learned, spelled, spoiled

-t – burnt, learnt, spelt, spoilt (but learned counsel)

disc or disk disc (as in “compact disc”); but use “disk” when referring to a computer peripheral such as a “hard disk”

dispatch or despatch despatch focused or focussed focused in so far or insofar in so far inquire, inquiry; or enquire, enquiry inquire, inquiry; but “enquiry” may be

used when referring to an informal

Variant Spellings Preferred Spelling

request for information Koran or Qur’an Koran moneys or monies moneys movable or moveable, sizable or sizeable, unmistakable or unmistakeable

movable, sizable, unmistakable

per cent or percent per cent or % (if used with a numeral) trade mark or trademark trade mark linchpin or lynchpin linchpin adviser or advisor, payer or payor adviser, payer straitjacket or straightjackets straitjacket travelled or traveled, levelled or leveled

travelled, levelled, totalled, labelled, but paralleled

benefited or benefitted, profited or profitted

benefited, profited, but retrofitted, outfitted

by-law or bye-law by-law Variant spellings in quotations from other sources (such as cases, letters or notes

of evidence) should not be altered. Appendix 3C contains a list of words that are often misspelt. B–2 Abbreviations. Unless a name or phrase is internationally known, always state it

in full when it first appears in an article and indicate its abbreviation after it in parentheses, thus: ‘Housing and Development Board (“HDB”)’. For acronyms, there is no need to add “the” to the acronyms, thus: the Land Titles Act (“LTA”) not (“the LTA”).

Do not place spaces or full stops after the letters in an abbreviation.

Examples 3m €25,400.50 16.5mg RM105,000 Exception: 52 sq ft (use non-breaking spaces)

A non-breaking space should be typed between a citation word and a digit. (In Microsoft Word, a non-breaking space can be typed by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Space.)

Examples ss 4(5) and 4(6) O 14 of the Rules of Court

C – Citations … 11

Note the preferred abbreviations set out in Appendix 2A (words and phrases that may be abbreviated after the first occurrence) and Appendix 2B (words and phrases that may always be abbreviated), as well as the words and phrases that should not be abbreviated that are set out in Appendix 2C. Important: Except for forms of address (eg Mr, Mrs, Mdm, etc), do not abbreviate the first word of a sentence.

Examples Sections 4(5) and 4(6) Order 14 of the Rules of Court

B–3 Dates and Times. B–3.1 Dates.

“24 September 1999” (use a non-breaking space between the day and month, ie, between “24” and “September”).

24–27 September 1999 30 April and 1 May 2006 Spell days of the week in full.

B–3.2 Times.

“10.00am”, “3.15pm”. “12.00 noon”, “12.00 midnight”. Periods of time: “from 11.00am to 1.00pm”, “between 7.00pm and

9.00pm”. B–4 Numbers.

Spell out numbers ten and below: “one”, “two”, “three”, … , “nine”, “ten”, “11”, “12”, etc.

“First”, “second”, “third”, … , “ninth”, “tenth”, “11th”, “12th”, etc. Do not use superscript type when setting out ordinal numbers, eg, “15th”, not “15th”.

Numbers greater than 999: “1,004.35”, “1,098,999”. Numbers from a million that are used in the context of measurement or

currency may be abbreviated thus: “$1m”, “RMB4.75m”, “US$1bn”. In other contexts, the words “million” and “billion” should be spelt in full, eg, “Singapore has a population of about four million people”, “He received one million shares”.

Where a sentence starts with a number, the number should be spelt in full, eg, “Twenty-seven grams of raw heroin were found in the bag”. If a number would be unwieldy if expressed in words, the sentence should be rephrased so that is does not begin with the number, eg, “The bag was found to contain 127.5g of raw heroin”.

Percentages may be expressed thus: 5%, 100%, 22.33%

B–5 Punctuation. B–5.1 The comma – bracketing commas. The general rule is that a pair of bracketing

commas is used to mark off a weak interruption of the sentence – one that does not disturb the flow of the sentence.

Examples These findings, I would suggest, cast doubt upon his evidence. That case, in my view, was wrongly decided. When used at beginning of sentences, only the second comma is required: However, he immediately gave notice to terminate the contract. Unlike most nations, Britain has no written constitution.

To check if bracketing commas have been correctly used, remove the weak

interruption from the sentence. The result should still be a complete sentence that makes good sense, eg, “These findings … cast doubt upon his evidence”.

Generally, use a pair of commas before and after “inter alia”, “ie” and “however”.

Examples The following orders, inter alia, were made. Such damage would fall under the section, ie, be subject to limitation of liability. The defendant, however, immediately gave notice to terminate the contract.

Bracketing commas should not be used with clauses that are required to identify what is being talked about, rather than merely adding additional information.

Example Because of problems with the test, all the people who were told that they were HIV-negative had to be recalled. [No bracketing commas used around the clause “who were told that they were HIV-negative”, as without this clause it would not be evident which people were being referred to.]

B–5.2 The colon. The colon is used to indicate that what follows it is an explanation or

elaboration of what precedes it. If the material introduced by a colon is a formal

C – Citations … 13

statement or quotation, or consists of more than one sentence, it should begin with a capital letter; otherwise, it may begin with a lowercase letter.

Examples Although her testimony was not always clear, she was sure of one thing: she did not intend to enter into a contract with him. The rule may be stated thus: An appellate court will be slow to overturn findings of fact of the trial judge, especially when an assessment of credibility and veracity of witnesses is made. The question was: Why did the plaintiff not report the matter to the authorities?

B–5.3 The semicolon. The semicolon is used to join two complete sentences into a

single written sentence when all of the following conditions are met: (a) the two sentences are felt to be too closely related to be separated by a full stop; (b) there is no connecting word that would require a comma, such as “and” or “but”; and (c) the special conditions requiring a colon are absent (see paragraph B–5.2).

However, certain connecting words require a preceding semicolon, the most

important being “consequently”, “hence”, “however”, “meanwhile”, “nevertheless”, “therefore” and “thus”. Preferably, these words should be used to begin a separate sentence.

Examples The report was published in November 2002; a supplement followed in January 2003. It was believed that the existence of the will was known only to the deceased’s widow; however, it is now evident that this is not the case.

Where a sentence contains numerous commas, for clarity semicolons may be used

in place of some of the commas to mark important breaks in the sentence.

Example The people present were the surgeon, Dr Sunita Prakash; the attending nurse, Mr Tan Khaw Bee; and the defendant. [If only commas were used, it would not be clear how many people were present.]

B–5.4 The apostrophe. As a general rule, use the possessive ending “ ’s ” after

singular words, including words or names that end in “s”. Note, however, two exceptions: (a) a plural noun which already ends in “s” takes only a following

apostrophe, ie, “ s’ ”; and (b) a name ending in “s” takes only an apostrophe and not “ ’s ” if the possessive form is not pronounced with an extra “s”.

Examples The general rule the accused’s girlfriend the bus’s arrival children’s rights St James’s Park a week’s notice Thomas’s job the witness’s testimony Exception (a) Exception (b) the appellants’ costs Reuters’ journalists. the two Malaysians’ passports Socrates’ philosophy two months’ imprisonment the United States’ next move the witnesses’ testimonies

Do not use an apostrophe in setting out plural forms of decades, eg, “This research

was carried out in the 1970s”, not “This research was carried out in the 1970’s”. B–5.5 The hyphen. Note the compound words that should be hyphenated (see

Appendix 3A) and those that should not (see Appendix 3B). B–5.6 The dash. Dashes should be typed using en-dashes (“–”). Do not use a hyphen

(“-”) or an em-dash (“—”). To type an en-dash using Microsoft Word, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and press the minus-sign key on the numeric keypad.

A dash may be used to indicate a range of numbers such as amounts, dates and

numbers in the form “between X and Y” or “from X to Y”. No spaces should be typed between the dash and the words or numbers with which it appears. As the dash replaces the words “between … and …” and “from … to …”, do not write “between X–Y” or “from X–Y”. If it is desired to use the words “between” and “from”, the range should be written in full (“between X and Y”) and the dash should not be used.

A dash may also be used to express a relationship between two nations, places or

other objects.

Examples She was an undergraduate at the Nanyang Technological University 1993–1996. The supermarket was open 10.00am–9.00pm. The sample contained at least 14.5–15.5g of morphine. [2004] 1 SLR 23 at [3]–[4]

C – Citations … 15

His alibi was that he was on a Kuala Lumpur–Singapore flight when the incident occurred. The United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement has important implications for intellectual property law in Singapore. (NB: For Annual Review) The facts of the case have been discussed at paras 11.15–11.17 above.

B–5.7 Capital letters. Capitalise the following categories of words and phrases:

(a) The first word, and each significant word, of a title of a case, piece of legislation, treaty, book, journal, newspaper, television programme, film, musical composition, etc. Small words like “and”, “in”, “on”, “of”, “the” and “with” need not be capitalised unless it is the first word, eg, “Singapore Academy of Law Journal”, “On Golden Pond”.

(b) Proper names, that is, names or titles that refer to an individual person,

place, institution or event, eg, “President S R Nathan”, “Yong Pung How CJ”, “Robert Miller”, “Raffles Square”, “the Supreme Court”, “Singapore”, “the Internet”, “the World Wide Web”, “Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003”.

In Singapore Academy of Law Publications, the following words are

capitalised:

the Bar the Government the Bench the Judiciary the Defence (party in a

criminal proceeding) the Prosecution (party in a criminal proceeding)

the Executive the Legislature the Registrar (of the Supreme Court) (do not capitalise if

the word “registrar” is used to refer to an assistant registrar of the Supreme Court, a deputy registrar of the Subordinate Courts, etc)

Court levels: the House of Lords, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the District Court, the Magistrate’s Court, the Family Court, the Juvenile Court, the Subordinate Courts

(c) References to the parties in a criminal proceeding, namely, “the

Prosecution” and “the Defence”, eg, “the Prosecution’s witness”, “the Defence contended that …” but not when it is used as an adjective, ie, “a prosecution witness”.

(d) References to “the State” when referring to a country considered as an

organised political community. Do not capitalise when using “state” as an

adjective or verb, eg, “state immunity”. Similarly, references to “the Judiciary”, “the Bar”, “the Bench”, but “the Singapore judiciary”.

(e) Manufacturer’s brand names and products (if they have not become

generic labels for classes of objects), and trade marks, eg, “Microsoft Windows XP”, “Sony Discman”, “Coca-Cola”.

The following words and phrases should not be capitalised:

(f) Words or titles that do not refer to any specific person or thing, eg, “The company hired a new managing director in September” and “Marion Wong was the managing director of the company”, but “Marion Wong, Managing Director of ABC Company”.

(g) References to the court, the judge, the trial judge, etc, except where

required or appropriate (eg, where “the Court” in a statutorily provision has a specific definition)

(h) References to the parties in proceedings, eg, “the second defendant”, not

“the Second Defendant”. However, when referring to opposing sides in criminal proceedings, capitalise “the Prosecution” and “the Defence” (see

(c) above). (i) References to currencies, eg, “dollar notes”, “five 20-sen coins”, “an

account denominated in pound sterling”. (j) References to specific court documents, eg, “the second paragraph of the

statement of claim”, “the defendant’s affidavit of evidence-in-chief”, and to documents generally, eg, lease agreement, letter of offer, deed of separation, memorandum and articles of association.

B–5.8 Quotation marks. Apart from their use in quotations, quotation marks should be

used in the following situations:

(a) To cite English words or short phrases that are being talked about, eg, The phrase “wrongful gain” is defined in s 23 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed) as meaning “gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining it is not legally entitled”.

(b) To cite the names of trade marks, eg, ‘the plaintiff’s trade mark “Breez” ’.

B–6 Miscellaneous Rules of Expression. B–6.1 Corporate and unincorporated entities. When using terms like “plaintiff”,

“defendant”, “appellant” and “respondent” in reference to corporate and unincorporated entities, including associations, bodies corporate, companies, partnerships, societies and statutory boards, use the singular forms of the terms. The plural forms “plaintiffs”, “defendants”, “appellants” and “respondents” should be used for multiple parties.

C – Citations … 17 B–6.2 Names of law lords. Where the name of a law lord of the House of Lords bears

a place-name, eg, “Lord Keith of Kinkel”, “Lord Keith of Avonholm”, “Lord Bingham of Cornhill”, “Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead”, the first occurrence of the judge’s name should include the place-name. Thereafter, “Lord Keith”, “Lord Bingham”, “Lord Nicholls” will suffice.

C CITATIONS Use the following citation forms set out in the examples below. C–1 Cases.

(a) Case names. Case names should be exactly as they appear in the report. However, phrases such as “(a firm)”, “and another”, “and others”, “formerly known as …”, “(in liquidation)” and “trading as …” should be omitted. Generally, omit whatever appears in round brackets, except where the case is numbered or the name of the case is redacted or it is part of the party’s name (eg, Lee Kuan Yew v Tang Liang Hong (No 2), Re A (an infant), Taylor (Pte) Co v Toyo (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Also omit all full-stops (especially for abbreviations) in the case names unless a full-stop is part of a party’s name, eg, The Two.99 Shop v Electromall.com.

Where the case name is the name of a ship, the quotation marks can be omitted, eg, The Rainbow Joy.

The following abbreviations should be used for Singapore cases only:

Word or Phrase Abbreviation Attorney-General AG

Management Corporation Strata Title Plan Number MCST Plan No

Public Prosecutor PP

(b) SLR citations. When a Singapore case has been reported in the SLR, use the SLR citation. If a MLJ or Singapore neutral citation is used by the author, check the Legal Workbench on LawNet to see if the case has been reported in SLR.

(c) Unreported Singapore cases. Where a Singapore case is unreported, cite it

by its neutral citation (eg, “[2004] SGHC 12”). The neutral citations of Singapore cases can be obtained from the Legal Workbench module of LawNet at http://www. lawnet.com.sg.

Examples Tan Ching Seng v Raffles Town Club Pte Ltd [2002] 3 SLR 345 at

[10] Sheldon v Outhwaite [1996] 1 AC 102 Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1 at 45 Herbage v Times Newspapers Ltd The Times (1 May 1981) An unreported case cited by neutral citation Tan Kim Seng v Victor Adam Ibrahim [2003] SGCA 49

C – Citations … 19

A UK case cited by neutral citation Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ

1213 at [10] A case with parallel citations Halpern v Toronto (City) (2003) 172 OAC 276; 65 OR (3d) 161

(d) Pinpoint citations. When referring to a particular passage in a case, cite to

the relevant paragraph number(s) in the judgment rather than to the page number(s), thus: “[2004] 1 SLR 23 at [3]–[4]”. An en-dash rather than a hyphen should be typed between a range of paragraph numbers (see paragraph B–5.6). For pre-1997 SLR cases, cite the page followed by the paragraph number. Older judgments that did not come with paragraph numbers have since been edited and the newly-inserted paragraph numbers can be found on the Legal Workbench module of LawNet.

Example This principle was applied in two subsequent cases: Andermatt Investments Pte Ltd v Comptroller of Income Tax [1995] 3 SLR 451 (“Andermatt”) at 460, [27]; and JD Ltd v Comptroller of Income Tax [2006] 1 SLR 484 (“JD Ltd”) at [486]–[487].

(e) Abbreviations of case names. Where a case is cited and referred to

subsequently in an article, the name of the case may be abbreviated and referred to subsequently by its abbreviated name. The above examples show how this is done. The abbreviated name appears within brackets and quotation marks just after the citation of the case.

(f) US cases. Put the year of the judgment at the end of the citation, following

the US practice Example: Lojuk v Quandt 706 F 2d 1456 at 1458 (7th Cir, 1983)

(g) Indicating court levels. Use abbreviations “HC” for High Court, “CA” for

Court of Appeal, “HL” for House of Lords, “DC” for District Court, “PC” for Privy Council, starting always with the lower/lowest court. If, however, neutral citations (which are self-explanatory) are used, there is no further need to indicate court levels using the abbreviations.

Example: The Seaway [2004] 2 SLR 577 (HC), [2005] 1 SLR 435

(CA) If, however, the name of the case is changed on appeal, both names will have to

set out.

Example: Burswood Nominees Ltd v Liao Eng Kiat [2004] 2 SLR 436 (HC), Liao Eng Kiat v Burswood Nominees Ltd [2004] 4 SLR 690 (CA)

C–2 Statutes.

Cite a statute by its chapter number and edition year.

Examples The Constitution Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1999 Reprint) Art 14(1) Where a chapter number has been assigned Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2001 Rev Ed) s 2(1) Where no chapter number has been assigned Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 2001 (Act 39 of 2001) A Malaysian statute Film Censorship Act 2002 (No 620 of 2002) (M’sia) s 5 A UK statute Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 (c 27) (UK) s 3 US legislation Non-Detention Act 18 USC (US) §4001(a) (2000) NB: USC stands for United States Code.

C–3 Subsidiary Legislation.

Examples Where a chapter number has been assigned Central Provident Fund (Investment Schemes) Regulations

(Cap 36, Rg 9, 2002 Rev Ed) Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2004 Rev Ed) O 14 r 1 Where no chapter number has been assigned Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Oil) Regulations 1991 (GN

No S 58/1991) reg 3 A piece of UK subsidiary legislation Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Regulations 2003

(SI 2003 No 33) (UK)

C – Citations … 21 C–4 Other Government Publications.

Examples Bills Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill 2003 (Bill 22 of 2003) cl 4 Parliamentary debates Singapore Parliamentary Debates, Official Report (31 October

2002) vol 20 at cols 1424–1426 (David T E Lim, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts)

United Kingdom, House of Lords, Parliamentary Debates (4 July

2003) vol 650 at col 1148 (Baroness Pitkeathley) Commonwealth (Australia), House of Representatives,

Parliamentary Debates (4 November 2003) at 23761, <http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr041-203. pdf (accessed 5 January 2004) (Peter Costello, Treasurer)

Select committee reports Report of the Select Committee on the Advance Medical Directive

Bill (Bill No 40/95) (Parl 1 of 1996, 11 March 1996) United Kingdom, Report of the Committee on Homosexual

Offences and Prostitution (Cmnd 247, 1957) at 42 (Chairman: Sir John Frederick Wolfenden)

C–5 Books.

Examples Colin Tapper, Cross and Tapper on Evidence (Butterworths,

9th Ed, 1999) at p 74 Kevin Y L Tan, Yeo Tiong Min & Lee Kiat Seng, Constitutional

Law in Malaysia and Singapore (Malayan Law Journal, 1991)

Jaroslav Pelikan et al, The Idea of the University: A Reexamination

(Yale University Press, 1992) Aristotle, Ethics (J A K Thomson trans) (The Folio Society, 2003) Benjamin’s Sale of Goods (A G Guest gen ed) (Sweet & Maxwell,

6th Ed, 2002) at para 10-039

Halsbury’s Laws of Singapore vol 5 (Butterworths Asia, 2001) at para 60.142

Halsbury’s Laws of England vol 8(3) (Butterworths, 4th Ed

Reissue, 2003) at para 405 C–6 Articles in Journals.

Legal Journals Examples Peter Birks, “No Consideration: Restitution After Void Contracts”

(1993) 23 UWALR 195 at 203 Walter Woon, “The Applicability of English Law in Singapore” in

The Singapore Legal System (Kevin Y L Tan ed) (Singapore University Press, 2nd Ed, 1999) ch 6 at p 230

Mei-lan E Wong, Note, “The Implications of School Choice for

Children with Disabilities” (1993) 103 Yale LJ 827 at 830

Scientific Journals Examples Ooi Giok Ling, “The Role of the State in Nature Conservation in

Singapore” Society and Natural Resources 2002; 15(5): 455–460, at 459.

[Note that 15 is the volume no, 5 is the number of the part, and the article runs from pages 455 to 460.]

Edwin Ng, “Medical Ethics” Singapore Medical Journal

2004; 42(2): 128–134.

Note that for scientific journals, the year of publication appears before the volume number and is separated from the volume number by a semi-colon and a non-breaking space. The part or issue number appears in round brackets immediately after the volume number. Use a non-breaking space after the colon before indicating the page numbers.

C–7 Articles in Serial Publications.

Examples Ho Ka Wei & Ben Nadarajan, “Thwarting the Cyber Terrorist”

The Straits Times (14 November 2003) at p H1

C – Citations … 23

Jeremy Summers, “We’re Innocent Until We’re Proved Guilty… or Until Our Assets are Seized” The Times (London) (29 November 2003) at p 34

Michael Walsh, “Asia’s Different Drum” Time (14 January 1991)

at pp 17–18

C–8 Material on the Internet.

Examples David Bainbridge, “Trademark Infringement, the Internet and

Jurisdiction” [2003] 1 JILT (4 July 2003) <http://elj. warwick.ac.uk/jilt/03-1/bainbridge.htm> (accessed 23 April 2004)

Joanne Mariner, “Battlefield Chicago? In the Padilla Case, a

Federal Court Says No”, FindLaw (23 December 2003) <http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/22/findlaw.analysis. mariner.padilla/index.html> (accessed 26 December 2003)

National Heritage Board website <http://www.nhb.gov.sg/About_

NHB/About_Us> (accessed 23 April 2004)

C–9 Law Reform Working Papers and Reports

Examples Law Reform Committee, Singapore Academy of Law, Report of

the Sub-Committee on the Status of Children Born Through Artificial Conception (26 September 1997) at para 1.2 (Chairman: Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck)

Law Reform and Revision Division, Attorney-General’s

Chambers, Proposed Amendment to the International Arbitration Act on Rules of Arbitration: Report (LRRD No 11/2002, 2 October 2002)

United Kingdom, Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, Report

(Cmnd 2263, 1993) (Chairman: Viscount Runciman of Doxford)

Australian Law Reform Commission, Sentencing: Penalties

(Discussion Paper No 30, 1997) at para 286

C–10 Treaties.

Examples Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms (4 November 1950), Eur TS No 5, 312 UNTS 221, 1953 UKTS No 71, Art 6 (entered into force 3 September 1953) (“European Human Rights Convention”)

United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (6 May 2003)

<http://www.fta.gov.sg>

C–11 Dissertations and Forthcoming Materials.

Examples S M Huang, Equality Before the Law: Article 8: Constitution of the

Federation of Malaya (1963) (unpublished LLM thesis, University of Singapore, archived at the C J Koh Law Library, National University of Singapore)

Kevin Y L Tan “A Short Legal and Constitutional History of

Singapore” in Essays in Singapore Legal History (Kevin Y L Tan ed, forthcoming, 2004) (manuscript at para 3)

C-12 Miscellaneous notes C–12.1 Pinpoint citations.

(a) For paragraphs in cases, use “[ ]” and for all other materials including

articles and books, use “para”. When referring to pages, prefix with a “p” except when the pin cite is to a page in a case or journal article.

(b) For Singapore legislation, the sub-provisions (a), (b), (c), etc are in italics.

Section 10(3)(a)(ii) of the Civil Law Act (Cap 43, 1999 Rev Ed)

D FOOTNOTES D–1 Types of Footnotes. Citation footnotes are used to indicate the authority for a

proposition made in the text of an article, or the source of the material referred to. Only the names of cases and legislation should be set out in the main text – the citations of the cases and legislation should appear in footnotes. A series of citations should be arranged in some order (eg, in chronological or reverse chronological order) and should be separated with semicolons.

C – Citations … 25 Textual footnotes can be used to set out information that is related to the subject

matter of the article, but which is considered sufficiently peripheral such that putting it in the body of the article would detract from the propositions being made.

A single footnote can contain both citation and textual elements. Do not use endnotes.

Examples 38 Waugh v British Railways Board [1980] AC 521; In re Highgrade

Traders Ltd [1984] BCLC 151; Guinness Peat Properties Ltd v Fitzroy Robinson Partnership [1987] 1 WLR 1027; Ventouris v Mountain [1991] 1 WLR 607.

170 Re L (A Minor) [1997] AC 16. In practice, a party who wishes to rely

on his expert evidence at trial normally waives litigation privilege and discloses the report to the other party and the court with a view to establishing the expert’s opinion in court.

If a case is to be subsequently referred to (whether in the main text or another footnote) set out the abbreviated name of the case after the citation.

Example 38 Guinness Peat Properties Ltd v Fitzroy Robinson Partnership [1987] 1

WLR 1027 (“Guinness v Fitzroy”). … 40 Guinness v Fitzroy, supra n 38.

Singapore Academy of Law Annual Review of Singapore Cases. Footnotes are

not used. Set out all citations in the main text after the authorities referred to, as with judgments. For subsequent references, see D–3.4 below.

D–2 Introductory Signals. The following introductory signals may be used in

citations where appropriate:

[No introductory signal]

The authority is directly referred to or states the proposition made in the main text.

See The authority directly supports the proposition.

See especially The authority is the best or strongest of several authorities supporting the proposition.

See, eg, The authority provides qualified support for the

proposition or is one of several authorities supporting the proposition.

See also The authority provides added support for the proposition, but is not the most authoritative or is not directly on point.

See generally The authority supports and provides background information to the proposition.

Confer (cf); compare The authority provides a contrast which illustrates the proposition. Do not use cf or “compare” when what is meant is “see”.

But see The authority disagrees partially with the proposition but does not contradict it directly.

Contra; contrast The authority directly contradicts the proposition.

D–3 Prior and Subsequent References. D–3.1 Academy Journal. In general, for the Academy Journal, the first occurrence of

a source in an article should have a full citation set out in a footnote. Subsequent references to the same source should then refer to the full citation.

The general format for prior and subsequent references in footnotes is as follows:

[Abbreviated name of case or legislation,] ibid/id/supra/infra, n footnote

number [at pinpoint]

[Author’s surname, [Abbreviated Book Title or “Abbreviated Article

Title”],] ibid/id/supra/infra, n footnote number [at pinpoint]

Refer to a range of footnote numbers thus: “nn 10–15”. When giving pinpoints, avoid the use of et sequentes (abbreviated et seq; Latin:

‘and those (pages, sections, etc) that follow’). Instead, set out a range of page numbers, paragraph numbers, etc.

For references to portions of the main text, use the formats in the examples below:

Examples 11 See Part II.of the main text below for more on this topic.

C – Citations … 27

24 For a detailed discussion of Union Discount, see paras 10 and 11 of the main text above.

D–3.2 Ibid and Id. Ibidem (abbreviated ibid; Latin for ‘in the same place’) is used to

refer to an authority in the footnote immediately preceding the current footnote, and the same pinpoint is being referred to. If the authority is the same but the pinpoint is different, use idem (abbreviated id; Latin for ‘the same’).

Ibid should also be used for subsequent references to a particular authority in the

same footnote. Type a comma between ibid or id and the phrase “at pinpoint”. The comma

should not be italicised. If the authority referred to is not in the footnote immediately preceding the current

footnote, use supra ( paragraph D-3.2 below).

Examples 78 [2001] 3 SLR 587 at 598–601. 79 Ibid. 80 Id, at 603. 81 Id, at 610; see also PP v Mazlan bin Maidun [1993] 1 SLR 512.

____________________ 26 Yogambikai Nagarajah v Indian Overseas Bank [1997] 1 SLR 258

(“Yogambikai”); see also Min Seng Auto Supply Pte Ltd v Loh Chun Hua [1993] 3 SLR 233 (“Min Seng Auto Supply”) and Peng Ann Realty Pte Ltd v Liu Cho Chit [1994] 3 SLR 576 (“Peng Ann Realty”). Contrast the dissenting judgment of Lai J in Min Seng Auto Supply, ibid, at 254.

27 Yogambikai, ibid. 28 Peng Ann Realty, supra n 26, at 502–503.

D–3.3 Supra and Infra. Supra (Latin: ‘above’) is used to refer to a prior footnote but

not to a prior part of the main text ( paragraph D-3 above). Infra (Latin: ‘below’) is used to refer to a subsequent footnote or part of the main

text. Where possible, avoid the use of infra by providing the full citation at the first reference.

To refer to a footnote and the text to which it refers, use the following format:

“Supra/infra n footnote number and the accompanying text”. Do not put a comma after “supra” or “infra”. Put it after the footnote number, and before the phrase “at pinpoint”. For references to portions of the main text only, see the examples at paragraph D-3 above.

Do not use “above”, “below”, ante (Latin: ‘before’) or post (Latin: ‘after’). Also,

do not use the expressions loco citato (loc cit) (Latin: ‘in the place cited’, used to

mean ‘at the passage of a book cited’), opera citato (op cit) (Latin: ‘the book previously cited’) or quod vide (qv) (Latin: ‘which see’) as such expressions make it more difficult for readers to locate references.

Examples 26 Supra n 20. 29 The point is forcefully made in PP v Sagar, supra n 16, at [20]. 42 Sutcliffe v Thackrah, supra n 40, at 737 and 740. 45 Michael Hor, supra n 3, at 367. 59 See also Pettit, Equity and the Law of Trusts, supra n 50, at p 9. 61 This point is examined at paras 20–21 of the main text below.

D–3.4 Annual Review Where a case has been cited previously with its full citation,

any subsequent references to the case, within the same chapter and same section, are to be followed by “(supra para x.yy)” where x.yy is the paragraph number where the case is first cited. The exception to this rule is where the subsequent reference is only one or two paragraphs away from the first reference (as the citation will still be fresh in readers’ minds).

The following are separate sections in the Annual Review: Chapter 1 – Administrative Law, Constitutional Law Chapter 2 – Admiralty Law, Shipping Law, Aviation Law Chapter 11 – Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Sentencing

… 29

APPENDIX 1A

FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES TO BE ITALICISED

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning a fortiori (Latin) by even greater force of logic, even more so

a posteriori (Latin: “from what comes after”) inductively, from the

particular to the general, from known effects to their inferred causes

a priori

(Latin: “from what is before”) deductively, from the general to the particular

ab initio (Latin) from the beginning

actus reus (Latin: “guilty act”) wrongful deed that comprises the physical components of a crime and that generally must be coupled with mens rea to establish criminal liability

ad hoc (Latin: “for this”) arranged or formed for this purpose

ad idem (Latin) to the same point or matter, of the same mind

ad infinitum

(Latin: “without limit”) to an indefinite extent

ad valorem

(Latin: “according to value”) (of a tax) proportional to the value of the thing taxed

administration cum testamento annexo

(Latin: “with the will annexed”) administration granted where the testator’s will does not name any executor or where the executor named is incompetent to act, is deceased or refuses to act

administration de bonis non (Latin) administration granted for the purpose of settling the remainder of an estate not administered by the previous executor or administrator

administration durante absentia

(Latin: “during absence”) administration granted in the absence of either the executor or the person who has precedence as administrator

administration durante minore aetate

(Latin) administration granted during the minority of either the executor or the person who has precedence as administrator

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning administration pendente lite (Latin) administration granted during the pendency of a suit

concerning a will’s validity

aliter (Latin) otherwise, it would be otherwise

aliunde (Latin) from another source, from elsewhere

alter ego (Latin) second self amicus curiae; plural amici curiae

(Latin: “friend of the court”) a person, not being a representative of a party to the proceedings, permitted to argue a point of law or fact before a court

audi alteram partem (Latin: “hear the other side”) no one should be condemned unheard or without prior notice of allegations against him

autrefois acquit (Law French) formerly acquitted

autrefois convict

(Law French) formerly convicted

bona fide, bonae fidei (Latin) in good faith

bona fides (Latin) good faith

bona vacantia (Latin: “vacant goods”) property not disposed of by will and to which no relative is entitled under intestacy laws; ownerless property

carte blanche (French: “blank paper”) complete freedom or authority to do whatever one likes

causa causans (Latin) immediate or effective cause

causa sine qua non (Latin) a necessary cause, the cause without which the thing cannot be or the event could not have occurred

caveat emptor (Latin) let the buyer beware

caveat venditor (Latin) let the seller beware

cestui que trust; plural cestuis que trust

(Law French) one who possesses equitable rights in property and receives the rents, issues and profits from it; a beneficiary

ceteris paribus (Latin) other things being equal

… 31

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning certiorari (Law Latin: “to be more fully informed”) formerly a

prerogative writ directed to an inferior court commanding it to “certify”; now an order on an application for judicial review to quash a judgment, order or conviction

compos mentis/ non compos mentis

(Latin: “master of one’s mind”) of sound mind/not of sound mind

confer (cf) (Latin) compare

consensus ad idem (Latin) agreement of parties to the same thing, meeting of minds

contra (Latin: “against”) (in citations) the cited authority supports a contrary view

contra proferentem (Latin: “against the offeror”) the doctrine that, in interpreting documents, ambiguities are to be construed unfavourably to the drafter

coram (Latin) before, in the presence of

corpus; plural corpora

(Latin: “body”) capital of a fund, as contrasted with the income

curriculum vitae (Latin: “course of life”) a written record of one’s education and employment

cy près (Law French: “as near as”) an equitable doctrine under which a court interprets a written instrument with a gift to charity as closely to the donor’s intention as possible so that the gift does not fail

de bene esse (Latin: “of well being”) as conditionally allowed for the present, in anticipation of a future need

de facto

(Latin: “in point of fact”) having effect though not formally or legally recognised

de jure

(Latin: “as a matter of law”) existing by right or according to law

de minimis non curat lex

(Latin) the law does not concern itself with trifles

de novo (Latin) anew

dictum [see obiter dictum]

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning donatio inter vivos; plural donationes inter

vivos

(Latin) gift made during the donor’s lifetime and delivered with the intention of irrevocably surrendering control over the property; an absolute gift

donatio mortis causa; plural donationes mortis

causa

(Latin) gift in contemplation of immediate death

ejusdem generis (Latin: “of the same kind or class”) a canon of construction that when a general word or phrase follows a list of specific persons or things, the general word or phrase will be interpreted to include only persons or things of the same type as that listed

en banc

(Law French: “on the bench”) with all judges present and participating, in full court

en bloc (French) as a whole, as a unit

en ventre sa mere

(Law French: “in the womb of the mother”) (of a fetus) in the mother’s womb

ergo

(Latin) therefore

esprit de corps (French) feelings of pride, care and support shared by members of a group

et alii or et alia (et al) (Latin) and other persons

et cetera (etc)

(Latin: “and others”) and other things

et sequentes (et seq) (Latin) and those (pages, sections, etc) that follow

ex abundanti cautela

(Latin: “from abundant caution”) out of an excess of caution, to be on the safe side

ex aequo et bono (Latin) according to what is equitable and good (a decision-maker authorised to decide ex aequo et bono, especially in international law, is not bound by legal rules and may instead follow equitable principles)

ex debito justitiae

(Latin: “from or as a debt of justice”) as a matter of right, in accordance with the requirements of justice

ex facie

(Latin: “from the face”) apparently, evidently

ex gratia (Latin: “by favour”) as a favour, not legally necessary

… 33

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning ex officio (Latin: “from the office”) by virtue of one’s office

ex parte (Latin: “from the part”) on or from one party only, usually

without notice to or argument from the adverse party

ex post facto (Latin: “from a thing done afterward”) after the fact, retroactively

ex propio motu (Latin) of one’s own accord

ex turpi causa non oritur actio

(Latin) from an immoral consideration an action does not arise (a party does not have a right to enforce performance of an agreement founded on a consideration that is contrary to the public interest)

exempli gratia (eg) (Latin) for example, for instance

expressio unius est exclusio alterius

(Latin) a canon of construction holding that to express or include one thing implies the exclusion of the other or of the alternative

forum conveniens (Latin: “a suitable forum”) a court in which an action is most appropriately brought, considering the best interests and convenience of the parties and witnesses

forum non conveniens (Latin: “an unsuitable court”) the doctrine that an appropriate forum, even though competent under law, may divest itself of jurisdiction if, for the convenience of litigants and witnesses, it appears that the action should proceed in another forum in which the action might originally have been brought

functus officio (Latin: “having performed one’s office”) (of an officer or official body) without further authority or legal competence because the duties and functions of the original commission have been fully accomplished

habeas corpus (Latin: “have the body [brought before the judge]”) writ requiring a prisoner to be brought into court for a judge to decide if the imprisonment is legal

ibidem (ibid) (Latin) in the same place – used in legal citation to denote that the reference is to a work cited immediately before, and that the cited matter appears on the same page of the same book

id est (ie) (Latin) that is

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning idem (id) (Latin) the same – used in legal citation to refer to the

authority cited immediately before

ignorantia juris non excusat (Latin: “ignorance of the law is no excuse”) lack of knowledge about a legal requirement or prohibition is never an excuse to a criminal charge

in camera (Latin: “in a chamber”) in the courtroom with all the spectators excluded

in extenso (Latin) in full, unabridged

in futuro (Latin) in the future

in globo (Latin) as an undivided whole rather than separately

in limine (Latin) preliminarily, at the outset

in loco parentis

(Latin: “in the place of a parent”) acting temporarily as the guardian of a child

in pari delicto

(Latin: “in equal fault”) equally at fault

in pari materia (Latin” in the same matter”) in an analogous case, on the same subject, referring to the same matter

in personam (Latin: “against the person”) involving or determining the personal rights and interests of the parties

in praesenti (Latin) at present, right now

in re (Latin: “in the matter of”) (of a judicial proceeding) not formally including adverse parties, but rather involving something, such as an estate

in rem (Latin: “against a thing”) involving or determining the status of a thing, and thus the rights of persons generally with respect to that thing

in situ (Latin) in place

in specie (Latin: “in kind”) in the same or like form

in terrorem

(Latin: “in order to frighten”) by way of threat, as a warning

infra (Latin) below – used in legal citation to refer to a later-cited authority in the text

… 35

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning inter alia (Latin) among other things

inter alios (Latin) among other persons

inter partes (Latin: “between the parties”) between two or more parties,

with two or more parties in a transaction

inter se

(Latin: “between or among themselves”) between parties rather than in relation to others

inter vivos (Latin: “between the living”) of or relating to property not conveyed by will or in contemplation of an imminent death but during the conveyor’s lifetime

in toto (Latin: “in whole”) completely, as a whole

intra vires (Latin: “within the powers of”) of or referring to an action taken within the scope of authority

ipse dixit

(Latin: “he himself said it”) something asserted but not proved

ipsissima verba

(Latin: “the very (same) words”) the exact words used by somebody being quoted

ipso facto

(Latin: “by the fact itself”) by the very nature of the situation

ipso jure

(Latin: “by the law itself”) by the operation of the law itself

jus cogens (Latin: “compelling law”) a mandatory norm of general international law from which no two or more nations may exempt themselves or release each other

jus dispositivum (Latin: “law subject to the disposition of the parties”) a norm created by the consent of participating nations, as by an international agreement, and binding only on nations that agree to be bound by it

jus gentium

(Latin: “law of nations”) international law

jus soli (Latin: “right of the soil”) the rule that a child’s citisenship is determined by place of birth

lex causae (Latin) the applicable law

lex domicilii

(Latin: “law of the domicile”) the law of the country where a person is domiciled

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning lex fori

(Latin: “law of the forum”) the law of the jurisdiction where the case is pending

lex loci (Latin) the law of the place

lex loci celebrationis

(Latin: “law of the place of the ceremony”) the law of the place where a contract, especially a marriage, is made

lex loci contractus

(Latin: “law of the place of the contract”) the law of a place where a contract is executed or to be performed

lex loci delicti or lex loci delicti commissi

(Latin: “law of the place of the wrong” or “law of the place of commission of the wrong”) the law of the place where a tort was committed

lex loci solutionis

(Latin: “law of the place of solution”) the law of the place where the contract is to be performed (especially by payment)

lex mercatoria

(Latin: “mercantile law”) the law merchant

lex situs

(Latin: “law of the location”) the law of the place where property is located

lex posterior derogat priori

(Latin: “a later law derogates from an earlier one”) the principle that a later statute negates the effect of a prior one if the later statute expressly repeals or is obviously repugnant to the earlier statute

lis (Latin) a piece of litigation, a controversy or dispute

lis pendens (Latin) a pending suit

locum tenens

(Latin: “holding the place”) a deputy, a substitute, a representative

locus actus (Latin: “place of the act”) the place where an act is done, the place of performance

locus contractus

(Latin: “place of the contract”) the place where a contract is made

locus delicti (Latin: “place of the wrong”) the place where an offence is committed; the place where the last event necessary to make the actor liable occurs

locus in quo

(Latin: “place in which”) the place where something is alleged to have occurred

… 37

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning locus poenitentiae (Latin: “place of repentance”) the point at which it is not too

late for one to change one’s legal position; the possibility of withdrawing from a contemplated course of action, especially a wrong, before being committed to it

locus standi

(Latin: “place of standing”) right to bring an action or to be heard in a given forum

mala fide (Latin) in bad faith

mala fides (Latin) bad faith

mandamus (Latin: “we command”) writ issued by a superior court to compel a lower court or government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly

mens rea; plural mentes reae

(Latin: “guilty mind”) state of mind that the prosecution, to secure a conviction, must prove that a defendant had when committing a crime; criminal intent

modus operandi (Latin: “manner of operating”) method of operating or a manner of procedure, especially a pattern of criminal behaviour so distinctive that investigators attribute it to the work of the same person

mutatis mutandis (Latin) all necessary changes having been made, with the necessary changes

nemo dat quod non habet

(Latin) no one can give what he does not have

nemo judex in causa sua (Latin) no one should be a judge in his own cause

nisi (Latin: “unless”) (of a court’s ruling or grant of relief) having validity unless the adversely affected party appears and shows cause why it should be withdrawn

nolle prosequi (Latin) to abandon (a suit or prosecution); to have a case dismissed by nolle prosequi

non est factum

(Latin: “it is not his deed”) a denial of execution of an instrument sued upon

non sequitur (Latin: “it does not follow”) inference or conclusion that does not logically follow from the premises

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning noscitur a sociis (Latin: “it is known by its associates”) a canon of

construction holding that the meaning of an unclear word or phrase should be determined by the words immediately surrounding it

novus actus interveniens (Latin: “a new act intervening”) event that comes between an initial event in a sequence and the end result, thereby altering the natural course of events that might have connected a wrongful act to an injury

nudum pactum (Latin: “bare agreement”) agreement unenforceable as a contract because it is not “clothed” with consideration

nulla poena sine lege (Latin) no punishment without a law authorising it

nunc pro tunc (Latin: “now for then”) having retroactive legal effect through a court’s inherent power

obiter dictum; plural obiter dicta

(Latin: “something said in passing”) a judicial comment made during the course of delivering an opinion but one that is unnecessary to the decision of the case and therefore not precedential (though it may be considered persuasive). Also obiter or dictum or “in obiter”.

pace (Latin) by the permission of

pacta sunt servanda

(Latin: “agreements must be kept”) the rule that agreements and stipulations, especially those contained in treaties, must be observed

parens patriae (Latin: “parent of one’s country”) the state in its capacity as provider of protection to those unable to care for themselves

pari passu

(Latin: “by equal step”) proportionately, without preference

participis criminis

(Latin: “partner in crime”) an accomplice or accessory

passim

(Latin: “here and there”) throughout (the cited work)

pendente lite (Latin: “while the action is pending”) during the proceedings or litigation; contingent on the outcome of litigation

per (Latin) through, by

per alium (Latin) by means of another

per curiam (Latin) by the court as a whole

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Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning per incuriam (Latin) (of a judicial decision) wrongly decided, usually

because the judge or judges were ill-informed about the applicable law

per se (Latin) of, in or by itself, standing alone, without reference to additional facts

prima facie (Latin: “at first sight”) on first appearance but subject to further evidence or information

pro forma (Latin: “for form”) made or done as a formality; (of an invoice or statement) provided in advance to describe items, predict results or secure approval

pro rata (Latin) proportionately; according to an exact rate, measure or interest

pro tanto

(Latin: “to that extent”) for so much, as far as it goes

pro tempore (pro tem) (Latin) for the time being, appointed to occupy a post temporarily

pur autre vie

(Law French: “for another’s life”) for or during a period measured by another’s life

qua (Latin) in the capacity of, as

quaere (Latin) inquire, query, examine – used to show that a point is doubtful or open to question

quantum meruit (Latin: “as much as one has deserved”) damages awarded in an amount considered reasonable to compensate a person who has rendered services in a quasi-contractual relationship; a claim or right of action for the reasonable value of services rendered

quantum valebant (Latin: “as much as they are worth”) an equitable remedy to provide restitution for unjust enrichment by awarding the reasonable value of goods and materials supplied

quia timet (Latin: “because one fears”) a legal doctrine that allows a person to seek equitable relief from future probable harm to a specific right or interest

quicquid plantatur solo, solo cedit

(Latin: “whatever is fixed to the soil belongs to the soil”)

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning quid pro quo (Latin: “something for something”) thing that is exchanged

for another thing of more or less equal value; a substitute

quo warranto (Latin: “by what authority”) a writ used to inquire into the authority by which a public office is held or a franchise is claimed

quoad (Latin) as regards, with regard to

quoad hanc (hunc) (Latin) so far as this woman (man) is concerned (with reference to nullity of marriage or to sexual impotence)

ratio decidendi; plural rationes decidendi

(Latin: “reason for deciding”) principle or rule of law on which a court’s decision is founded; rule of law on which a later court thinks a previous court founded its decision

re (Latin) regarding, in the matter of, in re

res; plural res

(Latin: “thing”) an object, interest or status, as opposed to a person; the subject matter of a trust, a corpus

res gestae

(Latin: “things done”) events at issue, or other events contemporaneous with them

res integra (Latin: “an entire thing”) an undecided question of law; a case of first impression

res inter alios acta, or res inter alios acta alteri noncere non debet

(Latin: “a thing done between others”) a doctrine holding that a contract cannot unfavourably affect rights of a person not a party to the contract

res ipsa loquitur (Latin: “the thing speaks for itself”) a doctrine providing that, in some circumstances, the mere fact of an accident’s occurrence raises an inference of negligence so as to establish a prima facie case

res judicata (Latin: “a thing adjudicated”) an issue definitively settled by judicial decision; an affirmative defence barring the same parties from litigating a second lawsuit on the same claim, or any other claim arising from the same transaction or series of transactions, and that could have been but was not raised in the first suit.

restitutio in integrum (Law Latin) restoration to the previous condition or status quo

resumé (French) a short summary or account of something

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Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning semble (Law French: “it seems”) used chiefly to indicate an obiter

dictum in a court opinion or to introduce an uncertain thought or interpretation

sic (Latin: “so, thus”) used to indicate that the preceding word or phrase in a quoted passage is reproduced as it appeared in the original document

simpliciter (Latin: “simply”) in a simple or summary manner; absolutely, unconditionally, per se

sine die (Latin: “without day”) with no day assigned (as for resumption of a meeting or hearing)

sine qua non (Latin: “without which not”) an indispensable condition or thing, something on which something else necessarily depends

stricto sensu

(Latin: “strict sense”) in its strict meaning

sub judice (Latin) under consideration

sub nomine (sub nom) (Latin: “under the name”) used in case citations to indicate that there has been a name change from one stage of the case to another

sub voce

(Latin: “under the word”) under a specified word

subpoena ad testificandum (Law Latin: “for testifying under penalty”) order directing a witness to appear in court and give testimony

subpoena duces tecum (Law Latin) order directing a witness to appear in court and bring specified documents or records

sui generis

(Latin: “of its own kind”) of its own kind or class; unique or peculiar

sui juris

(Latin: “of one’s own right”) of full age and capacity; possessing full social and civil rights

supra (Latin: “above”) earlier in the text – used in legal citations to refer to a previously-cited authority in the text

travaux préparatoires (French: “preparatory works”) materials used in preparing the ultimate form of an agreement or statute, especially of an international treaty; materials constituting a legislative history

Foreign Word or Phrase English Meaning uberrima fides (Latin) utmost good faith

uberrimae fidei (Latin) of the utmost good faith

ultra vires (Latin: “beyond the powers of”) beyond the scope of power

allowed by a company charter or by law, unauthorised

versus (v) (Latin) against

vice versa (Latin: “the position being reversed”) with the order or correspondence reversed; the other way round

vide (Latin: “see”) used in legal citations for cross-references

videlicet (viz) (Latin) to wit, that is to say, namely – used to point out, particularise or render more specific what has been stated in general (or more obscure) language

vis-à-vis (French) in relation to, in comparison with viva voce

(Latin: “with living voice”) by word of mouth, orally

voir (or voire) dire

(Law French: “to speak the truth”) a preliminary examination to test the competence of a witness or evidence

volenti non fit injuria (Latin: “a person is not wronged by that to which he or she consents”) the principle that a person who knowingly and voluntarily risks danger cannot recover for any resulting injury

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APPENDIX 2A

WORDS AND PHRASES THAT MAY BE ABBREVIATED AFTER THE FIRST OCCURRENCE

The following words and phrases should be spelt in full the first time they occur in the judgment. Thereafter, they may be abbreviated as shown in the following table.

Word or Phrase to be Spelt in Full on First Occurrence

Abbreviation

Chief Justice Yong Pung How or Yong Pung How CJ

The Chief Justice or Yong CJ

The Acting Chief Justice Tan Ah Tah or Tan Ah Tah Ag CJ

The Acting Chief Justice or Tan Ag CJ

Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang Boon Leong or Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA

Phang JA

Judges of Appeal L P Thean and Chao Hick Tin or L P Thean and Chao Hick Tin JJA

Thean and Chao JJA

Justice V K Rajah or V K Rajah J Rajah J

Justices Kan Ting Chiu and Belinda Ang Saw Ean or Kan Ting Chiu and Belinda Ang Saw Ean JJ

Kan and Ang JJ

Judicial Commissioner T Q Lim or T Q zaLim JC

Lim JC

Senior District Judge Richard Magnus

The Snr District Judge or Snr District Judge Magnus

District Judge Mavis Chionh

District Judge Mavis Chionh or District Judge Chionh

Deputy Registrar Dy Registrar Senior Assistant Registrar Snr Asst Registrar Assistant Registrar Asst Registrar Senior Deputy Registrar Snr Dy Registrar Attorney-General AG Solicitor-General SG Public Prosecutor PP Deputy Public Prosecutor DPP Assistant Public Prosecutor APP Senior State Counsel Snr State Counsel Investigating Officer IO Narcotics Officer NO

APPENDIX 2B

WORDS AND PHRASES THAT MAY ALWAYS BE ABBREVIATED

Word or Phrase Abbreviation Forms of Address Mister (correctly Master) Mr Missus (correctly Mistress) Mrs – “Ms” may be used instead Madam Mdm – “Ms” may be used instead Messrs (correctly Messieurs) M/s Doctor Dr Professor Prof Associate Professor Assoc Prof Assistant Professor Asst Prof Queen’s Counsel QC – only after counsel’s name Senior Counsel SC – only after counsel’s name Baron B Lord Chancellor LC Lord Justice(s) LJ(J) Lord President LP Master of the Rolls MR Vice Chancellor VC Units of Measurement: Length millimetre(s) mm centimetre(s) cm metre(s) m kilometre(s) km inch(es) in (use only in combination with ft, eg

5 ft 3 in, otherwise spell out in full) foot/feet ft Units of Measurement: Area square millimetre(s) mm2 square centimetre(s) cm2 square metre(s) m2 square kilometre(s) km2 hectare(s) ha square feet sq ft – type a non-breaking space

between the numeral and “sq ft”. Units of Measurement: Volume cubic centimetre(s) cm3 cubic metre(s) m3 millilitre(s) ml litre(s) l – italicise the “l” so that it is not

mistaken for a “one” (“1”)

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Word or Phrase Abbreviation Units of Measurement: Weight milligram(s) mg gram(s) g kilogram(s) kg metric tonne(s) mt ounce(s) oz pound(s) lb – italicise so that the “l” is not

mistaken for a “one” (“1”) Units of Measurement: Time second(s) sec minute(s) min hour(s)

hr – use only in combination with precise periods of time, eg, “2 hr 20

min 5 sec” Units of Measurement: Speed kilometres per hour km/h miles per hour mph Units of Measurement: Temperature degrees Celsius °C degrees Fahrenheit °F Units of Measurement: Others revolutions per minute rpm Currencies Singapore dollar $

(or, if necessary for clarity, S$) Australian dollar A$ Deutsch mark (Germany) DM Euro (European Monetary Union) € New Zealand dollar NZ$ Pound sterling (United Kingdom) £ Renminbi (People’s Republic of

China) RMB

Ringgit Malaysia RM United States dollar US$ Yen (Japan) ¥ Words and Phrases Used Mainly in Citations article(s) (of articles of association,

constitutions, contracts, model laws and treaties)

Art(s)

chapter (of legislation) Cap chapter(s) (of a book or in legislation) ch(s) clause(s) and subclause(s) cl(l), sub-cl(l)

Word or Phrase Abbreviation compiler(s) comp(s) confer (Latin: “compare”) cf Division(s) (of legislation) Div(s) editor(s), general editor(s) ed(s), gen ed(s) edition (of a book or of legislation) Ed et alii or et alia (Latin: “and other persons”)

et al

et cetera (Latin: “and others”) etc et sequentes (Latin: “and those that follow”)

et seq

exempli gratia (Latin: “for example”) eg exhibit(s) Exh(s) figure(s) fig(s) (and the pages) following ff ibidem (Latin: “in the same place”) ibid id est (Latin: “that is”) ie idem (Latin: “the same”) id Illustration(s) Illus note(s) (references to footnotes within

an article) n(n)

Notification Number (subsidiary legislation)

N

number(s) (in legislation citations or suit or application numbers)

No(s)

order(s) (eg of the Rules of Court) O – for “orders”, use, eg, “O 3 and O 4”

Order Number (subsidiary legislation) O paragraph(s) and sub-paragraph(s) (of

court documents, letters, legal texts, etc)

para(s), sub-para(s) – do not use the ¶ symbol.

For references to paragraphs of case reports and judgments, use

square brackets: see para C–1(d) Part(s) (of legislation) Pt(s) regulation(s) reg(s) Regulation Number (subsidiary

legislation) Rg

Revised Edition (of a book or of legislation)

Rev Ed

rule(s) r(r) Rule Number (subsidiary legislation) R Schedule(s) (of legislation) Sched(s)

but First Schedule, Second Schedule, etc (spell out in full)

section(s) and subsection(s) s(s), sub-s(s) – do not use the § symbol except when

referring to US legislation: see para C–2

translator(s) trans

… 47

Word or Phrase Abbreviation versus (Latin: “against”) v videlicet (Latin: “namely”) viz Other Words and Phrases cargo, insurance and freight CIF free on board FOB

APPENDIX 2C

WORDS AND PHRASES THAT SHOULD NOT BE ABBREVIATED

Do not abbreviate the following words and phrases.

Appendix (part of legislation) District Judge Exception (part of legislation) Registrar State Counsel Principal Senior State Counsel

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APPENDIX 3A

COMPOUND WORDS THAT SHOULD BE HYPHENATED

For Singapore Academy of Law publications, the following compound words should be hyphenated:

co-operate, co-operation, co-operative, co-ordinate, co-ordination (but non-cooperation, non-coordination as “non-co-operation”,

“non-co-ordination” look awkward – avoid these compound words as far as possible)

co-respondent getting-up (for a case) court-martial officer-in-charge cross-examination re-examination e-mail set-off (noun) evidence-in-chief examination-in-chief

time-barred (adjective) eg a time-barred action (contra the action is time barred)

a well-known actor (contra the actor is well known) well-defined laws (contra the laws are well defined)

winding-up (of a company) (adjective) eg winding-up proceedings (contra the winding up of the company)

father-in-law, mother-in-law, etc

a five-year-old girl, a ten-year-old car (adjectives)

vis-à-vis volte-face mid-July above-mentioned, last-mentioned (but aforementioned, abovesaid)

long-term, short-term (adjectives)

APPENDIX 3B

WORDS THAT SHOULD NOT BE HYPHENATED

For Singapore Academy of Law publications, the following compound words should not be hyphenated:

backdate (verb) prerequisite, precondition bypass, bystander, byword (but by-election, by-product, by-law)

registrar in chambers, summons in chambers

car park set off (verbal phrase) case law subcharter, subcharterer, charterparty subcharterparty common sense (but a common-sense answer, or commonsensical)

subcontract, subcontractor subject matter subsection

counterclaim takeover (noun) creditworthy, creditworthiness time bar (noun) down payment webpage, website ill health, ill will wind up, winding up (of a judge in chambers company) (noun) misstatement well founded, well known (but motor car a well-founded argument, a motorcycle next of kin ongoing online

well-known actor) workplace, workflow,

workforce, workday worldwide

coastguard coffee shop rehearing

APPENDIX 3C

WORDS THAT ARE OFTEN MISSPELT

CORRECT SPELLING INCORRECT SPELLING liaise liase supersede supercede beside the point besides the point kept apprised of (a situation) kept appraised of (a situation) wreak havoc wreck havoc keep a tight rein keep a tight reign dependent on dependant on humorous humourous pronunciation pronounciation license (verb), licence (noun) licence (verb), license (noun) homogeneous homogenous spitting image splitting image

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