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  • Instrumentality and the sco...
    Joshua Shih Ern Phang; David Tan

    Singapore Academy of Law journal, 03/2023, Volume: 35, Issue: 1
    Journal Article

    More than a decade on from the landmark cases of the House of Lords in 'OBG Ltd v Allan' 2008 AC 1 and Revenue and 'Customs Commissioners v Total Network SL' 2008 AC 1174, the scope of the unlawful means tort in various jurisdictions, including Singapore, has remained undefined. This article advocates for a wider scope of "unlawful means" to include all criminal and civil wrongdoings against a third party under Singapore law. It further proposes a multi-factorial test to determine whether a particular act is 'instrumenta'l in causing loss to the claimant. This test of instrumentality arguably acts asan appropriate control mechanism and yet is able to strike a good balance between the twin needs of freedom and fairness in economic competition.