Contract and Agency Law Assignment - Business Law, Singapore (2024)

This assignment delves into the intricacies of contract and agency law within the Singaporean legal framework. It begins by examining the impact of law on businesses, focusing on key functions like contract formation, dispute resolution, and regulatory compliance. Students are required to analyze real-world examples and case law to support their arguments. The assignment further explores the crucial elements of an arbitration clause, emphasizing its role in dispute resolution, and provides a practical example of a successful arbitration outcome. The second part of the assignment presents a case study involving an employment scenario, where pre-contractual statements made by an employer are analyzed to determine their legal nature and impact on the employment contract. The assignment challenges students to apply legal principles, conduct thorough research, and demonstrate critical thinking skills in their analysis, with an emphasis on Singaporean legislation and case law.

Contract & Agency Law
In this assignment, you are expected to:
Analyse and evaluate decisions of reported cases critically to demonstrate an
understanding of the legal principles learnt.
Apply Singapore case law and legislation to new situations to solve the problem or
determine the most appropriate outcome.
Demonstrate the essential knowledge and interpersonal skills to work effectively in a
team.
Demonstrate well-developed written proficiency.
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Note to Students: An ability to conduct proper research, provide the appropriate referencing
of sources and demonstrate critical thinking skills are all essential skills that our students
must develop. Hence, marks are awarded for good research effort and proper referencing.
Less marks will be awarded to students who merely extract information from their reference
sources without demonstration of critical analysis.
Remember to support your analysis with reasons, case law and (if relevant) statutory
provisions that are applicable to Singapore. Plagiarism is a serious offence.
Question 1
(a) “The law affects a business from the moment it commences until the time it is
dissolved.”
Discuss the above statement in the context of three (3) key functions of business law
affecting commercial activity in Singapore. In your analysis, you should provide
specific examples relating to the key functions. You should conduct additional
research to strengthen your analysis.
(350 words)
(b) If the contractual parties wish to rely on arbitration as a dispute resolution method,
they should negotiate and include an arbitration clause in the contract.
Identify the key elements that should be included in an arbitration clause, to reduce
the risks of any subsequent dispute between the parties about the arbitration process
itself. Explain why these elements are important as part of an arbitration clause, and
provide examples to support your reasons.
Conduct research and provide an example of such an arbitration clause.
Describe one (1) real-life situation where arbitration resulted in a win-win outcome
for the disputing parties. You should conduct additional research to strengthen your
analysis.
(500 words)
Question 2
Happy Roses Pte Ltd (the “Company”) was seeking to hire a driver for its flower delivery
service. Ken applied for the position and managed to secure an interview. During the
interview, Lina (as the Company’s Human Resource Manager) explained that as the
Company’s business was just starting, the driver was not required to deliver many orders.
Ken was very concerned about working hours as he was studying part-time. Lina noted that
it was “the usual office hours from 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday” and assured him
that there is no need to work on weekends.
In addition, she explained that Ken, if hired as the driver, would need to wear the corporate
uniform throughout the workday since all the employees, except for the office staff, are
required to project the same corporate image. Last but not least, she mentioned the
remuneration package, including the medical benefits and annual leave entitlement that is

relevant for the job.
At the end of the interview, Ken was offered the position and he accepted. There was no
signed employment contract as the Company “wanted to keep things simple”.
Assume that the Employment Act, Cap. 91 of Singapore (the “EA”) and the related
legislation and policies (including the recent amendments to the EA that relate to key
employment terms) do not apply.
(a) Identify the pre-contractual statements made by Lina (on behalf of the Company) and
determine the nature of such statements. In your analysis, you should clearly explain
which statements would be considered part of the employment contract and the nature
of such statements.
There is no need to analyse the statements that Lina could have made about the
remuneration package.
(500 words)