Elements of Family Law in Singapore, Third Edition [eBook]

Since the publication of Elements of Family Law in Singapore (2nd Ed) in 2012, the practice of Family Law has been profoundly changed by sweeping legislative amendments and progressive judicial pronouncements. The long-awaited third edition provides a clear, incisive and up-to-date analysis of the main developments. Apart from a comprehensive update of the law across all chapters, the most significant enhancements include a new chapter on Litigation in Family Justice Court, and a complete re-write of chapters pertaining to the Division of Matrimonial Assets. 

The Family Justice Act No. 27 of 2014 formally embraced the, by now, universally accepted “family justice system”. The Act re-organised the courts hearing “family proceedings”. It created a complete hierarchy of Family Justice Courts – starting with the Family Court (that was established in 1995), with appeals as of right to newly created Family Division of the High Court, with further appeals only with leave to the Court of Appeal. With this, new Family Justice Practice Directions and Family Justice Rules were issued. To discuss Singapore’s version of the family justice system and the procedural developments to support it, a new Chapter 19 “Litigation in Family Justice Courts”. 

Significant Court of Appeal decisions, including these decided after 2012, and key legislative amendments that are discussed include:
- Yap Chai Ling v Hou Wa Yi [2016] 4 SLR 581, Act 7 of 2016 adding section 11A to the Women’s Charter which necessitates a new understanding of “sham marriages”;
- Surindar Singh s/o Jaswant Singh v Sita Jaswant Kaur [2014] 3 SLR 1284 and AUA v ATZ [2016] 4 SLR 674 on when conclusive weight is appropriate of marital agreement’;
- BDU v BDT [2014] 2 SLR 725, the Status of Children (Assisted Reproduction Technology) Act Cap 317A 2015 Rev Ed including its amendment of the Evidence Act section 114 with current “Rebuttable presumption of paternity”;
- TDT v TDS and another appeal and another matter [2016] 4 SLR 145, AXM v AXO [2014] 2 SLR 705 on legal status of an interim order of maintenance, how properly to backdate an order and how properly to exercise power to vary order;
- TMO v TMP [2017] 1 SLR 585 which discusses a wide range of issues pertaining to the jurisdiction of the civil courts and Syariah Court and how exclusion by section 3(2) of Women’s Charter should be interpreted;
- AYM v AYL and another appeal, TND v TNC and another appeal [2017] SGCA 34, Oh Choon v Lee Siew Lin [2014] 1 SLR 629 and Chan Tin Sun v Fong Quay Sim [2015] 2 SLR 195 permitting re-conceptualisation of how to identify “matrimonial asset” as the material gains of the marital partnership;
- ANJ v ANK [2015] 4 SLR 1043, ATE v ATD and another appeal [2016] SGCA 2, TNL v TNK and another appeal and another matter [2017] 1 SLR 609 prompting call to retrieve more substantive directive in predecessor section 106 that provides better guide, viz. court to “incline towards equality of division”.