Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication
Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon)
Publication Date
6-2024
Abstract
The number of local decisions on the similar fact rule has increased quite significantly in the last few years. However, fundamental questions, ranging from the foundational (such as the existence or operation of any residual judicial discretion to exclude relevant evidence) to the discrete (such as whether the rule works differently in civil proceedings as compared to criminal proceedings, and how the rule operates vis-à-vis related rules of evidence), continue to be answered in rather different, arguably irreconcilable ways by the courts. This article analyses some of the recent key decisions in the light of established precedents and proposes that tweaks around the edges may not suffice to restore coherence between all existing rules pertaining to similar fact. Short of rewriting the statute, the best starting point to take things forward remains appraising the text and structure of the relevant statutory provisions and understanding the principles that undergird them.
Disciplines
Asian Studies | Criminal Law
Subject(s)
Applied or Integration/Application Scholarship
ISSN/ISBN
2737-5048
Publisher
SMU Lexicon, SMU School of Law
Version
publishedVersion
Copyright Holder
Singapore Management University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Format
application/PDF
Citation
CHEN, Siyuan.
An updated account on the similar fact rule. (2024). Singapore Law Journal (Lexicon). 4, 171-193.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sljlexicon/38
Volume
4
Page
171-193
Research Area
Innovation, Technology and the Law