Chapter 18- Statutory Interpretation

Question 1

Why are statutory interpretations needed?

Answer 1

To help with the understanding of unclear Acts, having a interpretation section with the meaning of certain words

Question 2

What are the 3 rules?

Answer 2

Literal, golden and mischief

Question 3

What is the literal rule and a case example?

Answer 3

• It gives words their plain, ordinary and dictionary meaning
• case= London&North Eastern Railway Co. v Berriman

Question 4

What is the golden rule and a case example?

Answer 4

• It is a modification of the literal rule to avoid an interpretation that is absurd
• case= Re Sigsworth

Question 5

What is the mischief rule and a case example?

Answer 5

• The court looks back to see what law was before the Act was passed in order to discover what gap or ‘mischief’ the Act was intended to cover
• case= Eastbourne Borough Council v Stirling

Question 6

What is the purposive approach and a case example?

Answer 6

• The courts see what is the purpose of the law passed by Parliament
• case= R v Registrar-General, ex parte Smith

Question 7

What are advantages of the literal rule?

Answer 7

• It follows the words the democratically elected Parliament used, so prevents unelected judges from making law
• It should make the law more certain, as the law is interpreted exactly how its written

Question 8

What are disadvantages of the literal rule?

Answer 8

• it assumes every Act is perfectly drafted
• the words may have more than 1 meaning, so the Act is unclear
• it can lead to unfair or unjust decisions

Question 9

What are advantages of the golden rule?

Answer 9

• it respects the exact words of Parliament except in limited situations (providing an ‘escape route’ if there is a problem with the literal rule)
• it avoids the judges making law to any great extent
• it allows the judges to choose the most sensible meaning where there is more than 1 meaning to the words in the Act
• avoids the worst problems of the literal rule

Question 10

What are disadvantages of the golden rule?

Answer 10

• it is very rarely used, so it is very limited in its use
• it isn’t always possible to predict when courts will use it
• it can be argued that it isn’t always possible to define what is ‘absurd’

Question 11

what are advantages of the mischief rule?

Answer 11

• it allows judges to fill any gaps in the law

- more likely to produce a just result

Question 12

what are disadvantages of the mischief rule?

Answer 12

• the risk of judicial law making
• it may lead to uncertainty in the law
• it isn’t as wide as the purposive approach as it is limited to looking back at the gap in the old law

Question 13

what are the advantages of the purposive approach?

Answer 13

• leads to justice in individual cases
• particularly useful where there is new technology which was unknown when the law was enacted (made)
• gives judges more discretion than using the literal meaning of words

Question 14

what are the disadvantages of the purposive approach?

Answer 14

• may mean judges refuse to follow the clear words of Parliament
• it’s difficult to discover the intention of Parliament
• leads to uncertainty in the law

Question 15

what are the 3 rules of language?

Answer 15

The ejusdem generis rule,
Expressio unius exclusio alterius,
Noscitur a sociis

Question 16

What is the ejusdem generis rule and a case example?

Answer 16

• where there is a specific list of words followed by general words, then the general words are interpreted in line with the specific words
• Allen v Emmerson

Question 17

What is expressio unius exclusio alterius and a case example?

Answer 17

• the phrase means- the express mention of one thing excludes others
• Where there is a list of words which is not followed by general words, then the Act applies only to the items in the list
• Tempest v Kilner

Question 18

What is noscitur a soiis?

Answer 18

• the phrase means- a word is known by the company it keeps
• the words must be looked at in context and interpreted accordingly
• Inland Revenue Commissioners v Frere

Question 19

What are intrinsic aids and what can the court consider and a case example?

Answer 19

• Matters with the statute itself that may help to make its meaning clearer
• The court can consider the long title, the short title and the preamble
• Harrow LBC v Shah and Shah

Question 20

What intrinsic aids to older statutes have that differ with modern statutes?

Answer 20

• Older statutes usually have a preamble which sets out Parliaments intention
• Modern statutes either do or don’t have a preamble or contain a very brief one

Question 21

What are advantages of intrinsic aids?

Answer 21

• Courts are more likely to come to the interpretation that Parliament intended
• In older statutes, the inclusion of a preamble was particularly helpful
• There is some times a definition section stating the meaning of certain words

Question 22

what are disadvantages of intrinsic aids?

Answer 22

• They aren’t included in every statute
• some intrinsic aids such as headings may be placed there by printers and do not necessarily reflect Parliaments Intention
• Definitions aren’t always included which can lead to uncertainty

Question 23

what are extrinsic aids, and examples?

Answer 23

• These are outside the Act, which can help explain the meaning of words in an Act
• Hansard, Dictionaries at the time of passing the Act and law reform reports

Question 24

Why are distionaries at the time of passing the Act a useful extrinsic aid, and when was it used in a case?

Answer 24

• To see what the meaning of the words were at the time of passing the Act as words change over time
• it was used in Cheeseman v DPP

Question 25

What are Hansard and a case example of when this extinsic aid was used?

Answer 25

• Hansard are the official report of what was said in Parliament when the Act was debated
• Pepper v Hart

Question 26

What are the advantages of using Hansard as an extrinsic aid?

Answer 26

• It is avaliable for everyone to consult, giving the entire Parliament debate
• Makes words in the statute much clearer

Question 27

What are disadvantages of using Hansard as an extrinsic aid?

Answer 27

• It isn’t always helpful as the particular words at issue may have not been used in the debate
• What was said in debate may not make the words any clearer
• additional costs as lawyers feel obliged to spend expensive time reading through all relevant debates to avoid being sued by their clients

Question 28

What are the advantages of law reform reports as an aid to statutory interpretation?

Answer 28

• Reports are issued after research, consultation and considerable preparation
• Problems in the current law are identified
• Sometimes it will include a draft Bill, if the Bill became law without alteration it is clear Parliament agreed with the report

Question 29

what are the disadvantages of law reform reports as an aid to statutory interpretation?

Answer 29

• Sometimes the proposals for reform and/or the draft Bill may not wholly be accepted by the government, and will include different changes to the Bill- in this situation the report isn’t useful
• Law Commission reports are only available for limited areas of law

Question 30

What is the effect of EU law on statutory interpretation?

Answer 30

• purposive approach is preferred by most EU courts and is the approach adopted by the European Court of Justice in interpreting European Union law
• membership of the EU has affected the English Courts in 2 ways: had to accept law passed by the EU and judges have to use the purposive approach for EU law

Question 31

The effect of Human Rights Act 1998 on statutory interpretation and example?

Answer 31

Legislation must be read and given effect in a way that is compatiable with the Human rights convection, applying to any case where rights are concerned
- example- Mendoza v Ghaidan