Chapter 3: Reading the Law Flashcards
How do you reference a section in an Act?
s.1 or ss. 1 and 4
How do you reference a subsection in an Act?
section 1 subsection 8 would be: s. 1(8)
How do you reference a paragraph in an Act?
section 3 subsection 1 paragraph 2 would be s. 3(1)(a)
How do you reference a sub-paragraph in an Act?
section 4 subsection 21 paragraph b subsection 2: s. 4(21)(b)(ii)
What are schedules in an act?
parts of an Act that provide more detail regarding sections or groups of sections. Can be extremely detailed - in some cases they are longer than the rest of the Act.
What are Statute Law Revision Acts?
administrative measures to tidy up the statute book by removing obsolete legislation
What are the four kinds of EU legislation?
treaty articles, regulation, directives and decisions
What are ‘travaux preparatoires’?
‘working papers.’ Consultation and proposal documents for a piece of EU legislation which help identify why it was introduced and how it should be applied.
When are case names stated in the form “Re XXXX”?
either in some property cases, where the person referred to is dead, or in cases where the court is considering its wardship jurisdiction. In this case, the name of the child is not usually disclosed: “Re M”.
When would you see “R v XXXX, ex parte YYYY” or “R (on the application of YYYY) v XXXX” or “R (YYYY) v XXXX”?
when the Administrative Court is reviewing the decision of the administration or a junior court
What does it mean if a court has “affirmed” a decision?
it agreed with the decision of a lower court in respect of the same case
What does it mean if a court has “applied” a decision?
the court has regarded itself as bound by an earlier decision and has therefore applied the same reasoning in the case before it
What does it mean if a court has “approved” a decision?
a higher court states that another case before a lower court was correctly decided
What does it mean if a court has “distinguished a decision”?
a court has no wish (or power) to overrule an earlier case, but it doesn’t want to use it either. A case is distinguished if a court can find some ground for saying the older case is different to the case before it.
What does it mean if a case has been distinguished “restrictively”?
in distinguishing a case, a court has materially affected the scope of the earlier case. If it was non-resrictive, the court feels their is a material difference but the older case still has merit.
