Location :1 Marina Boulevard, NTUC Centre, Level 9 Room 903, Singapore 018989 

Date: Wednesday 16 November 2016

Time: 5.00 pm - 7.30 pm

About the Seminar

Unconscionability as a distinct ground for restraining calls on performance bonds is part of Singapore law. While the Singapore judges have articulated the policy reasons for restraining performance bond on this ground, they have thus far not explained the doctrinal basis for the unconscionability exception. This point is important because it would impact on the issue of whether the unconscionability exception may be contractually excluded by the parties. This seminar will explore the doctrinal basis for restraining a performance bond on the basis of unconscionability and whether the recent Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision to allow for the contractual exclusion of unconscionability as a ground for restraint rests on sound foundation.

In addition, the present speaker surveyed all the reported and unreported case law for the past fifteen years on alleged unconscionable calls to see whether the usual criticism levelled against the unconscionability exception as being undesirable, uncertain and ultimately, weakening the integrity and utility of performance bonds in the commercial context are justified. The results of this survey will be explored in this seminar. Beyond an examination of the case law, a survey of leading construction law practitioners in Singapore in both local and international law firms was also conducted to obtain qualitative data on the unconscionability exception. The resultant picture that emerges from this study is that while unconscionability in relation to performance bonds does import a degree of uncertainty, it seems to be workable in the context of Singapore, at least in the view of the practitioners. However, the survey response shows that the trend among the larger law firms in Singapore appears to be that their clients are now excluding unconscionability from the terms of performance bonds. If this trend continues, this may spell the demise of the unconscionability exception to calls on performance bonds.

Seminar Programme:

About the Speakers:

Prof Tang Hang Wu – Professor, School of Law, Singapore Management University

Tang Hang Wu is a Professor at the School of Law, Singapore Management University and a consultant at TSMP Law Corporation where he co-heads the Trusts and Private Wealth practice. Prior to this, he taught at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore for twelve years. Hang Wu has published widely and his work has been relied on by all levels of the Singapore courts, the Royal Court of Jersey, the Caribbean Court of Appeal, law reform committees in the Commonwealth, major textbooks and law journals. Hang Wu advises members of Singapore’s legal profession and relevant government ministries on complex legal issues pertaining to restitution, property, trusts and charities and often acts as Counsel before the Singapore court on such issues. He has also given expert evidence on areas of his research interest in litigation in Singapore, United States and Indonesia.

About the Chairperson:

Mr. Rob Palmer – Honorary Treasurer, Society of Construction Law (Singapore); Partner, Ashurst LLP

Rob Palmer is a Partner in the dispute resolution team in Ashurst’s Singapore office. Based in Southeast Asia since 2003 (Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok), he is listed in legal directories as one of Singapore’s leading construction lawyers. Rob has a particular focus on dispute resolution in international energy, construction and infrastructure projects, and has conducted arbitrations under the rules of all the major arbitral institutions. He has also drafted and negotiated construction contracts for major projects in the transport, utilities, power and oil & gas sectors. Rob is qualified in New Zealand, New South Wales and England, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. He also sits as arbitrator and is a member of the panel of arbitrators of the ACICA, the KLRCA, the TAC, and BANI.

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