IALS Student Law Review

Welcome to the IALS Student Law Review

Lovina Otudor

In this Editorial Lovina Otudor (Editor-in-Chief, ISLRev, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies) welcomes you to the Autumn 2019 issue of the IALS Student Law Review and introduces the articles featured in this issue of the journal.

Categorizing Foreign Direct Investment Protection Mechanisms

Wael Saghir

The paper explores the various foreign direct investment protection mechanisms through categorising them in order of their application so that foreign investors can clearly understand the nature of these mechanisms and when and how they can be effectively used for their benefit.

The role of pre-legislative scrutiny in complex law reform - the case of LASPO and its consequences for family justice

J Angelo Berbotto

This paper considers the contribution of pre-legislative scrutiny to achieving quality legislation by analysing the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) in respect of access to legal aid in Private Family Law matters. The article seeks to explain why pre-legislative scrutiny was not used in relation to the Bill and the red flags throughout the consideration of the Bill by Parliament. It tracks the monitoring of LASPO once in force and how certain assumptions made by the Government were not accurate. The article suggests that not using pre-legislative scrutiny in respect of LASPO was a missed opportunity. Furthermore, it goes on to suggest that there should be better safeguards to ensure that pre-legislative scrutiny should be routinely used in respect of Bills that have far-reaching implications for individuals as, at the moment, it is up to the Government to decide what Bills are provided for pre-legislative scrutiny before their formal introduction into Parliament.

Still Keeping Secrets? Bank Secrecy, Money Laundering, and Anti-Money Laundering in Switzerland and Singapore

Shiqing Yu

It was the Swiss Banking Act 1934 that first created numbered bank accounts, and in Switzerland, the principle of bank secrecy continues to be regarded as one of the primary aspects of private banking. Switzerland has long been accused of being one of the main tools of organised crime and the underground economy both by governments and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), particularly after the class action suit against the Clearstream scandal, the Vatican Bank, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition to Switzerland, Singapore was ranked 5th on the Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) in 2018, and faced a delicate conundrum because of the signs of crisis in emerging economies such as Indonesia and India, and came under growing pressure from the U.S. and Europe, which accused it of providing unfair advantages in the competition of tax havens. This article discusses money laundering and bank secrecy in Singapore and Switzerland primarily, and discusses whether they are still keeping financial information as secret as before because of its link to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy.

Rethinking the Common Intention Constructive Trusts in Stack v Dowden and Jones v Kernott – should the Resulting Trusts be preferred?

Yee Ching Leung

Yee Ching Leung takes the two landmark cases, Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 and Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53, as starting points to consider the new Common Intention Constructive Trust approach in dealing with the issue of how the beneficial interest of a property is to be shared between two separating cohabitants. The article analyses whether this new approach should be preferred over the traditional Resulting Trust approach. The author explains the two approaches and gives three arguments in support of the Resulting Trust approach. First, it provides a greater degree of certainty, which is crucial in property law. Secondly, the traditional approach is more coherent in principle when comparing to the Common Intention Constructive Trust approach. Thirdly, the author argues that the Resulting Trust approach would not leave the discretion of judges unconfined. Toward the end of the article, the author gives two brief replies to the critics of the Resulting Trust approach. However, the Common Intention Constructive Trust approach is now the law of England and whether the Resulting Trust approach will return remains to be seen.

Editorial Board and Associate Editors

Narayana Harave

Information about the Editorial Board and Associate Editors involved in IALS Student Law Review Volume 6, Issue 1, Spring 2019.