Research
Research at the SMU School of Law has a strong focus in three main inter-related areas which are in turn supported by the School’s nine Research Clusters, Research Centres and the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library.
OVERVIEW
The international experience of the Law School’s faculty members is reflected in their profiles and they hold postgraduate degrees from renowned universities worldwide such as Harvard and Oxford. The diversity in legal research and teaching is apparent from the list of global publications of the faculty and the spectrum of courses being offered in various areas of law.
In particular, our colleagues have amassed impressive publication records with articles in international journals including the Cambridge Law Journal, the Modern Law Review, the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, the Journal of Contract Law, and the American Journal of Comparative Law, as well as textbooks on Singapore law that are widely cited by the judiciary and consulted by the profession.
All research related matters are handled by Dean, Professor Lee Pey Woan, and Associate Dean, Professor Wang Heng.
RESEARCH FOCUS
Research at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law has a strong focus in three main inter-related areas which are in turn supported by the School’s nine Research Clusters, Research Centres and the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library.
The SMU School of Law, Law and Technology Advisory Council was set up in 2017 to provide advice and support to the Deanery in order to enhance legal education and research in Law & Technology. It comprises senior and experienced academic experts, regulators and policy-makers, private sector leaders, lawyers and legal counsel, as well as founders of start-ups in the area of Law & Technology. There is significant potential for the School to engage in research to leverage on cutting-edge developments in technology and the natural synergy with the Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia (ARCIALA), and the work of the School’s Innovation, Technology and the Law Cluster.
In 2018, following a competitive application process open to all Institutes of Higher Learning in Singapore, the SMU School of Law was awarded a research grant of S$4.5 million from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) to lead a major Research Programme on the Governance of Artificial Intelligence and Data Use. This 5-year Research Programme will comprise three integrated streams – AI and Society, AI and Industry, and AI and Commercialisation.
Core research areas within this research focus include corporate laws, financial regulation, trade and investment laws examined within the Asian context. This research focus dovetails with the important research activities and initiatives carried out by the Centre for Commercial Law in Asia (CCLA) as well as the School’s Research Clusters (Corporate, Finance and Securities Laws, Private Law, Public International Law, Regional and Trade Laws and Asian and Comparative Legal Systems).
Leveraging on the strength of the School’s Dispute Resolution Cluster and its partnership with the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA), the main research areas are litigation, negotiation and mediation, evidence, and procedural laws. This includes commercial and non-commercial disputes including those with public interest elements (in connection with the work of the School’s Public Law and Public Interest, Community and Social Justice Clusters).
RESEARCH CLUSTER
Faculty and Researchers in the Yong Pung How School of Law pursue high-quality and leading research across a range of areas through our Research Clusters. There are a total of 9 Research Clusters in the Law School.
RESEARCH CENTRES
Centre for Commercial Law In Asia (CCLA)
Director: Professor Dan W. Puchniak
Deputy Director: Assistant Professor Vincent Ooi
Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA)
Director: Professor Nadja Alexander
Deputy Director: Associate Professor Darius Chan
Director: Associate Professor Jason Grant Allen
Deputy Director: Associate Professor Liu Han-Wei
Head, Industry Relations: Assistant Professor Nydia Remolina Leon
FIND OUT MORE
Faculty
YPHSL Faculty are actively involved in journal publications, conferences and policy-making and contribute in no small measure to the development of law in the courtrooms and within the legal profession
Research Grants
The Yong Pung How School of Law Faculty have received numerous internal research grants as well as external grants on a competitive basis from agencies and entities such as the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) and Singapore Judicial College (SJC).
See all Research Grant Awardees
Research Events
KWA GEOK CHOO LAW LIBRARY
OPENED 3 JANUARY 2017 | 2,200 SQUARE METRES ACROSS 3 LEVELS | 500 SEATING CAPACITY
To celebrate and honour the life of Madam Kwa Geok Choo, SMU has dedicated its Law Library to the memory of the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo.
SMU Libraries provides access to a wide range of electronic resources to support the School of Law’s teaching and learning, and its research interests and the work of its research centres.
Legally trained librarians offer a reference service, legal research programs and workshops on demand to SOL faculty, students and the SMU Community at large. Institutional Knowledge (InK) at SMU showcases the research and scholarly work of the SMU community.
The librarians provide research and publishing support to the faculty such as citation count, journal impact, author identification, publishing, rankings and statistical analysis of research publications. Law Research Navigator created and maintained by the librarians is an excellent starting point for legal research.
Like the Li Ka Shing Library, the Kwa Geok Choo Law Library has a Learning Commons which students, faculty and staff can access 24/7.