President's Message

New (and Renewed) Areas of Interest

Vietnam

In August, the Law Society undertook a study visit to Vietnam. The visit revealed a surprising interest in Singapore from Vietnamese lawyers. This is due to the following factors:
1 Singapore is the third or fourth largest investor in Vietnam, and there is a relatively large Singaporean presence there (including at least four Singapore law firms).

2 Foreign investors in Vietnam try to avoid Vietnamese Courts for dispute resolution for reasons which I need not elaborate on, and international arbitration is the preferred mode of dispute resolution, usually at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

3 They are also interested in mediation as a mode of dispute resolution and would like to learn more about this from us.

4 They also know that English is the language of international commerce and realise that they need to upgrade their skills in legal English.

Their interest can be demonstrated by the fact that, when KhattarWong opened their Ho Chi Minh City office, over a hundred local lawyers came to their opening reception.

Accordingly, Council has decided to structure a training programme for the Vietnamese Bar in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Mediation Council. The Society itself will provide training in arbitration advocacy and drafting skills. Volunteers are welcome.

Medicine and the Law

The recent enactment of the Mental Capacity Act and the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act has brought into sharp focus the close relationship between law and medicine and the need for lawyers to be familiar with medical issues in our legal practice, as they are pervasive and can arise in many different contexts.

To take just a few examples, medical law includes the following areas of practice:
1 medical negligence;

2 medical ethics;

3 medical disciplinary hearings;

4 assessment of personal injuries in tort cases;

5 issues of mental capacity in criminal cases;

6 the legal effect of dementia on civil transactions;

7 medical evidence in criminal cases; and

8 medical mediation.

What better way of learning about medico-legal issues than from doctors? The Law Society does not have a committee on medical law, partly because since 1973 lawyers have had a useful joint venture with the medical profession in the Medico-Legal Society ('MLS').

The MLS was formed to promote continuing education in medico-legal matters and to foster inter-disciplinary co-operation and mutual learning between the two professions in the administration of justice (among other objectives). Membership is open to doctors and lawyers and Council posts are usually shared between representatives from the two professions. The current President is State Counsel Wong Kok Weng, and its two Vice Presidents are Dr Wee Keng Poh and our colleague Nicholas Cheong from the Bar. Its past annual seminars have dealt with (among other topics):
1 disciplinary processes of the Singapore Medical Council;

2 forensic psychiatry;

3 violence directed at hospital staff;

4 medical malpractice;

5 ADR in medicine; and

6 ethical issues in the treatment of SARs.

Their Annual Seminar this year (which will be held on Saturday 11 October at the Novotel Hotel Clarke Quay) deals with the very topical issue of 'Mental Disorders', which will include papers on:
1 understanding the nature, symptoms and treatment of mental disorders;

2 mental disorder and legal incapacity;

3 mental disorder and criminal incapacity;

4 recent amendments to the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act; and

5 the Community Court and new approaches to punishing mentally disordered offenders through care and placement plans.

Even if you cannot participate in this Annual Seminar, the activities of the MLS described above should whet your appetite for greater involvement in such future activities, and the acquisition of valuable practical knowledge about medical problems and issues that affect our daily practice. So please contact Nicholas Cheong at 6337 9968 - he would be delighted to send you an application form for membership.

Michael Hwang, SC
President
The Law Society of Singapore