Comparing Common Law Jurisdictions’ Approaches in the Judicial Protection of Bank Customers

About the Talk 

Dr Sandra Booysen will discuss how courts in the twentieth century resisted the expansion of a bank-customer’s common law duties in the name of consumer protection, and how that well-intentioned resistance proved to be futile, or in some jurisdictions even led to more draconian duties on customers via express terms and conditions. The analysis draws from developments in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and US. The argument put forward is that it would have been better for the courts to develop a broader yet balanced common law duty. The steadfast refusal to do so prompted banks to take matters into their own hands which did not serve the best interests of customers. The argument is relevant beyond the banking context and applies more broadly to the court’s role in shaping contractual norms.

About the Speaker

Dr Sandra Booysen is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, deputy-director of the Centre for Banking and Finance Law (CBFL), and serves on the editorial board of two academic journals: Singapore Journal of Legal Studies and International Banking and Securities Law (published by Brill).  Sandra’s research interests straddle contract and banking law and she has published her work in a variety of international journals. In 2017, Sandra co-edited a volume entitled Can Banks Still Keep a Secret? Bank Secrecy in Financial Centres Around the World which was published by Cambridge University Press. Prior to joining academia, Sandra practiced law in London and Johannesburg, with a focus on commercial litigation. She is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales, and as an attorney and notary in South Africa.

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