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AS Law LA2 > Aids to interpretation > Flashcards

Aids to interpretation Flashcards

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1
Q

What are aids to interpretation?

A

Ways in which the judges can try to discover P’s intentions were

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2
Q

What are the 2 types of aids to interpretation?

A
  1. Intrinsic Aids

2. Extrinsic Aids

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3
Q

What are intrinsic aids?

A

Matters within statute itself

May help to make the meaning of word(s) clearer

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4
Q

Give 5 examples of intrinsic aids

A
  1. Short + long title of the Act
  2. The preamble
  3. Schedules
  4. Marginal notes and headings
  5. Interpretation section
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5
Q

What is the short + long title of an Act

A

Indicates the purpose of the Act

e.g. The Theft Act 1968

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6
Q

What is the preamble

A

Introduction to Act - sets out its purpose
Vary in usefulness.
e.g. The Theft Act 1968 has a short one which simply states ‘an Act to modernise the law on theft’

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7
Q

What does the preamble on the theft Act say?

A

‘An Act to modernise the law on theft’

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8
Q

What are schedules

A

These are at the end of the body of an act, like an appendix

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9
Q

What are marginal notes + headings

A

These summarise the effects of the sections of an act

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10
Q

What is a problem with the intrinsic aid of marginal notes and headings?

A

Inserted when an Act goes off for printing, not during its process through P
Makes them unreliable as an indication of P’s intentions

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11
Q

What is the interpretation section

A

This section specifies exactly what meaning is to be given to a particular word/ phrase.

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12
Q

What are extrinsic aids?

A

Help/ guidance which can be found from material which is from outside the statute itself

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13
Q

What were the courts original view on the use of extrinsic aids?

A

The courts had very strict rules on what extrinsic aids could be used

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14
Q

What are the 3 extrinsic aids that have always been allowed?

A
  1. Previous Acts (on the same topic)
  2. Earlier case law
  3. Dictionaries
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15
Q

What 4 extrinsic aids have recently been added?

A
  1. Hansard
  2. Law reform reports
  3. International conventions
  4. Explanatory notes
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16
Q

What is Hansard?

A

Official record of parliamentary debated

Take place in both HL + HC, when piece leg = going through various readings

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17
Q

What was Lord Denning’s view on the use of Hansard?

A

Very useful
Challenged the ban on using it in Davis v Johnson

‘To look for the meaning of an act without reference to Hansard is like groping about in the dark without switching on the light’

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18
Q

Who disagrees with Lord Denning’s view on the use of Hansard?

A

All 5 Law Lords in HL
Lord Scarman: ‘material = unreliable guide to what is enacted + promotes confusion not clarity’
As a result the use of Hansard was not permitted

19
Q

In what case was the ban on Hansard lifted?

A

Pepper v Hart

20
Q

When was the ban on the use of Hansard lifted?

A

Case of Pepper v Hart
Rule was relaxed by a special court of 7 Law Lords
Said: H only be consulted where the leg = ambiguous, obscure/ leads to absurdity

21
Q

What was said in the case of Pepper v Hart (1993) about the use of Hansard?

A

H could only be consulted where the legislation was ambiguous, obscure or leads to an absurdity

22
Q

What happens if lawyers are referring to Hansard?

A

Other party to proceedings has to be notified

Allow them time to also consult that part of H

23
Q

When is the only time that a wider use of Hansard is allowed?

A

When Ct = considering act that introduced an International Convention of European Directive into English law
Pointed out by QBD in Three Rivers District Council and others v Bank of England (no 2)

24
Q

What are the 3 reasons why Hansard is only allowed when Cts = considering an act that introduced International convention of European Directive into English law?

A
  1. Important interpret conventions/ directives purposively
  2. They need to be consistent with any European materials
  3. Ct can then look at Ministerial statements, even if statute doesn’t appear to be ambiguous/ obscure
25
Q

What are the 2 advantages of using Hansard?

A
  1. Find out what the Minister proposing the leg = intended to achieve
  2. Lord Denning: ‘it’s useful and it seems ridiculous not to use it’
26
Q

What are the 3 disadvantages of using Hansard?

A
  1. Lack of clarity, may not be reliable - may give biased explanation to meaning of word/ phrase
  2. P intentions not always easy to ID
  3. Time + cost for every case, estimated that 25% would be added to the bill (Lord MacKay).
27
Q

When was the rule on not allowing law reform reports relaxed?

A

In Black Clawson case 1975
Was accepted that reports could be looked at to discover mischief in law which the leg based on the report was designed to deal with

28
Q

What did the HL decide in the case of Fothergill v Monarch Airlines (1980)?

A

Original conventions could be considered
It was possible that in translating + adapting the convention into our leg process, true meaning/ original intention might be lost

29
Q

What are known as ‘travaux preparatoivres’?

A

Preparatory materials/ explanatory notes published within international convention
Other countries = allowed to used such material
Therefore so is the UK IOT get uniformity in the interpretation of international rules

30
Q

What have acts passed since 1999 been accompanied by?

A

Explanatory notes - summarise main provisions of act + explain background to it
However = rarely used as extrinsic aid

31
Q

Can more than 1 extrinsic aid be used in the same case?

A

Yes
Laroche v Spirit of Adventure (2009)
Claimant = injured as result of sudden landing of hot air balloon he was travelling in
Meaning of ‘aircraft’ = important
Was the hot air balloon an aircraft?
If so, action had to be brought within 2 years
CA looked at Oxford English Dictionary, The Air Navigation Order 2000 + Warsaw Convention
Concluded = aircraft
Compensation failed; not brought within 2 yrs

32
Q

What are the 3 rules of language?

A
  1. Ejusdem generis rule (the general rule)
  2. Expressio unius eclusio alterius (the specific rule)
  3. Noscitur a sociis (the context rule)
33
Q

What does ejusdem generis rule translate to?

A

The general rule

34
Q

What does expressio unius eclusio alterius translate to?

A

The specific rule

35
Q

What does noscitur a sociis translate to?

A

The context rule

36
Q

What is the ejusdem generis rule (the general rule)?

A

Where = list of word followed by general words, general words are limited to same kind of items
Must be at least 2 specific words for rule to operate
- Powell v Kempton Park Racecourse (1899)

37
Q

Powell v Kempton Park Racecourse (1899)

A

D = charged with keeping a ‘house, office, room or other place for betting’
D had been operating betting at Tattershall Ring, = outdoors
Ct decided, general words were indoor places, so ‘other places’ would also be interpreted as being ‘indoors’
D = found NG of illegal betting

38
Q

What is the expressio unius eclusio alterius (the specific rule)?

A

‘The mention of one thing excludes others’
If list of words isn’t followed by general words, act only applies to items on list
- Tempest v Kilner (1846)

39
Q

Tempest v Kilner (1846)

A

Ct considered whether the Statute of Fraud Act 1677 where a contract for the ‘sale of goods, wares and merchandise of more than £10 had to be evidenced in writing’.
Could this law be applied to a contract for the sale of stocks ans shares?
However, because there were not general words the court held that only contracts for those 3 types of things were affected by the statute.
As stocks and shares were not mentioned they were not included in the statute.

40
Q

What is the noscitur a sociis (the context rule)?

A

‘A word is known by the company it keeps’
Words must be looked at in context + interpreted accordingly
Involves looking at other words in same section/ other sections of act
- Inland Revenue Commissioners v Frere (1965) [same section]
- Bromley London Borough Council v Greater London Council (1982) [different section/ whole act].

41
Q

Bromley London Borough Council v Greater London Council (1982)

A

Issue was whether the GLC could operate a cheap fare system even though it meant that the transport system would run at a loss.
HL looked at the whole act and decided that where the word ‘economic’ was mentioned it was interpreted to mean that the transport system had to be run like a business which would mean ti make a profit or break even.
Therefore they rules that a cheap fare policy wasn’t legal; they would deliberately run the transport system at a loss.

42
Q

What are the presumptions that the courts makes about the law unless relevant act makes it clear that the presumption is not to be applied?

A
  • Common Law will apply, unless made clear in an act that it has been altered.
  • Criminal offences require a MR, must have a guilty mind.
  • The crown is not bound by statute, unless is expressly says so.
  • Legislation will not apply retrospectively, unless stated by a statute e.g CJA 2003 (double jeoprady) or the War Crimes Act 1991.
43
Q

What are the 4 things that are included in the content of Hansard?

A
  1. Discussions about what particular word/ phrase should mean
  2. Votes
  3. Written ministerial statements
  4. Answers to parliamentary questions

AS Law LA2 (8 decks)

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