Tort Law: A Critical Overview

“A reliable and clear-thinking analysis and guide is required to help law students, lawyers and judges wend their way safely through the thickets of concepts, distinctions and justifications for the law as it is or as it should be. You are now in the very capable hands of just such a guide.”
—Judith Prakash, Senior Judge, Supreme Court of Singapore

“Professor Low Kee Yang has managed to articulate, in a well-researched, comprehensive and didactic text, the controversies and architecture of the many facets of tort law. The book is a most valuable resource, because it has distilled the core principles behind numerous topics, including negligence, nuisance and defamation. It has also traversed in detail the most prevalent civil actions that frequently confront practitioners, such as accidents, medical claims and business/employment torts, whilst at the same time offering unique perspectives into more esoteric areas such as liability for animals, “dangerous things” and harassment. By capturing the contextual controversies that arise in a subject that largely dwells in the province of accretive common law, the author should be commended for harnessing the interest of both the tyro as well as the cognoscenti. This work would be an invaluable addition to the personal library of all those who practise, research and study the law of obligations.”
—Dr Stanley Lai, SC Partner, Allen & Gledhill

“Perhaps no realm of law is more attuned to human experience than tort doctrine, which attempts to rationalise the sometimes irrational inherent in human behaviour. This book admirably highlights core tort principles, providing key guideposts to facilitate understanding and useful caveats to define the limits of doctrine. Its hallmarks are clarity and realism in explaining both the importance and limitations of the law. The book is geared to students and laypersons approaching the area for the first time. Practitioners may also benefit from an opportunity to step back and to assess the “tort edifice” afresh. As law seeps in to all areas of human existence in ever-increasing and novel ways, this book is most timely. The author is to be commended for conceiving this project and for rendering it in such a clear and insightful format.”
—Basil Bitas Member, Bars of New York State and Washington, DC formerly Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University

“Delightfully supplemented by concise diagrams, this book allows the reader to effortlessly grasp challenging concepts in tort law and invites the reader to ruminate upon the meaning of justice long after the conclusion of the book. A compelling and insightful read that elucidates the controversies in tort law.”
—Sharon Wong, Director, Millenium Law LLC

“I was taught in law school that law was clear and systematic, and that as it changed with the times, the changes were careful, calibrated and made good sense. Kee Yang’s writing has surfaced that the law is a lot more haphazard and less precise than we were led to, or like to, believe. He has trained his sights on tort law which he has taught for many years, and thrown light on many corners where things don’t quite make sense, or could be improved. He writes not to deride, but to help the reader discover and avoid possible errors in reasoning which led to not so good laws. The result is that the book encourages the student and the practitioner to see that there is always room for change which will result in better laws for society. In exploring his subject, he has also given the reader a concise and excellent overview of tort law in Singapore today.”
—Daniel John, Goodwins Law Corporation

“An excellent resource for students and laypersons who seek to understand tort law, its developments and controversies. I love how the author explicitly discusses and explains the inadequacies of the law in dealing with the myriad situational circumstances to redress claimants’ grievances. The cases provide a rich contextual understanding of uniquely Singaporean aspects of some local judgments.”
—Kay Goh, Real Estate Agent

Low Kee Yang, PhD, is an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University (SMU) and has been in academia for about four decades. He has taught numerous undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including Contract Law, Company Law, Law of Torts, Financial Advisers Law, Legal Environment of Business and Legal Knowledge and Strategy. His book publications include The Law of Guarantees in Singapore & Malaysia, The Executive’s Guide to Business & the Law, Read the Fine Print: Avoiding Major Legal Pitfalls and A Clear View of the Law: Making Sense of Legal Complexity. He has also written numerous articles on a wide spectrum of legal topics.

Dr Low was part of the start-up team of SMU in 1998 and headed the SMU School of Law as its Interim Dean when it began in 2007. He regularly conducts seminars for lawyers as well as non-lawyers and occasionally gives legal opinions to law firms.

Outside of law, Dr Low’s interests include nature, photography, music, badminton, reading and candid conversations.