About the project

The Singapore Academy of Law’s Law Reform Committee looked into whether the law of part payments and deposits required reform. In particular, it considered:

(a) whether a stipulation that a part payment or deposit is non-refundable should be construed as excluding or negating restitutionary claims; and

(b) even if the stipulation should be construed as excluding or negating restitutionary claims, whether the Unfair Contract Terms Act (Chapter 396, 1994 Revised Edition) should apply, and the related consequences of such application.

The Committee felt that law reform is probably not necessary in this area as the existing common law more than adequately deals with the potential problems that may arise. The law relating to part payments and deposits is challenging, and impacts on other areas of the law. As such, any reform may have consequential implications that are probably unnecessary at this stage. The Committee recommended that the development of the common law in this area be monitored in the event that the issue needs to be revisited in the future.

Project status: Completed

• The report was published in December 2015.

Areas of law

◾ Contract law
◾ Restitution law

Click on the image above to view the report

Last updated 23 May 2019