John Ruskin (1819-1900) once said:

I hold it for indisputable, that the first duty of a State is to see that every child born therein shall be well housed, clothed, fed and educated, till it attain years of discretion. But in order to the effecting this the Government must have authority over the people of which we now do not so much as dream.

And 'authority' we shall have in the form of Child Law. We open, this month, with an article on the cross-jurisdictional issues which arise in custody cases where one parent resides in another country. This is followed by a discussion on the laws enacted to cope with the rising number of child abuse cases. A psychologist then enlightens us on the criteria developed in Juvenile Court to aid Judges in the sentencing of juvenile delinquents. We conclude with an article on the plight of children whose parents have been incarcerated.

Our 'Features' contains: a commentary on English law's approach to the award of damages for breach of contract; a highlight of the commercial and legal issues which arise for prospective franchisors; an outline of the legal aspects of e-commerce in Japan; and an appeal to law firms to create new models of service delivery which lead to new revenue streams.

Please continue to send us your news and views via post, fax or e-mail to:

The Editor, The Singapore Law Gazette
Butterworths Asia
No 1 Temasek Avenue
#17-01 Millenia Tower
Singapore 039192
Fax: 336 9662 
Email: slgbutterworths@netscape.net