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Question 1

What is the definition of statutory interpretation?

Answer 1

The interpretation of Acts of Parliament by judges

Question 2

Why are are some acts deliberately written broadly?

Answer 2

To allow the Act to be flexible enough to cover unforeseen circumstances or matters which could arise in the future such as improved technology

Question 3

Why may writing acts in broad terms be bad?

Answer 3

Some words may be ambiguous or unclear (have multiple meanings) so judges have to interpret the act/legislation/statute so an appropriate outcome is provided

Question 4

While only a minority of Acts pose interpretation problems, what percentage of cases heard by the supreme court are concerned with statutory interpretation?

Answer 4

75%

Question 5

How do judges interpret acts?

Answer 5

By materials inside and outside the acts, and also by certain rules and presumptions

Question 6

Who created these rules?

Answer 6

Judges themselves, they aren’t rules in the strict legal sense but are alternative ways a judge can approach interpreting an act

Question 7

What are the main presumptions?

Answer 7

Acts of parliament are not retrospective, the crown is not bound, there is no change in the common law unless the Act expressly states that there is, mens rea is required in criminal cases

Question 8

What are the rules of interpretation?

Answer 8

The literal rule, golden rule, mischief rule and purposive approach

Question 9

What does the literal rule require?

Answer 9

The judge to give the word or phrase its natural, ordinary or dictionary meaning, even if this appears to be contrary to the intentions of Parliament

Question 10

What can using the literal rule lead to?

Answer 10

Unexpected results that were not intended by Parliament

Question 11

What is a case example of this?

Answer 11

Whiteley v Chappell 1868

Question 12

What happened in Whiteley v Chappell 1868?

Answer 12

An act made it an offence to impersonate “any person entitled to vote at an election”. The defendant attempted to vote in the name of a deceased person, but the court held no offence had been committed because then ‘any person entitled to vote’ is interpreted literally, it does not include dead people

Question 13

What is another case example?

Answer 13

Fisher v Bell 1961

Question 14

What happened in Fisher v Bell 1961?

Answer 14

Defendant displayed flick knives in his shop window and charged under The Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 which made it an offence to ‘sell or offer for sale’ an offensive weapon but contract law states that showing it in the window isn’t offering it for sale but might be inviting the customer to make an offer to buy the goods, so he was found not guilty

Question 15

What is the golden rule?

Answer 15

An extension of the literal rule. It allows the court to look at the literal meaning of a word of phrase, but then avoid using a literal interpretation that would lead to an absurd result. There are two approaches to applying it (narrow and wide approach)

Question 16

What is the narrow application of the rule?

Answer 16

Where a word or phrase is capable of more than one literal meaning, the judges can select the meaning that avoids an absurdity

Question 17

What is a case example of this?

Answer 17

R v Allen 1872

Question 18

What happened in R v Allen 1872?

Answer 18

Attempted to marry again whilst still married(second certificate wasn’t legitimate so no law was broken despite intent to do so). The word ‘marry’ has more than one meaning, judges interpreted it to mean ‘to go through the marriage ceremony’ so the defendant was found guilty

Question 19

What is the wide approach of the rule?

Answer 19

Where there is only one literal meaning of a word or phrase, but to apply it would cause an absurdity, the court will modify the meaning to avoid the absurdity

Question 20

What is a case example of this?

Answer 20

Alder v George 1964

Question 21

What happened in Alder v George 1964?

Answer 21

The wording ‘in the vicinity’ was adapted to include being ‘in’ the place, under the Official Secrets Act 1920 to stop someone obstructing a member of the armed forces

Question 22

What does the golden rule provide an opportunity for?

Answer 22

Judicial law making

Question 23

What is the mischief rule?

Answer 23

The court looks at the gap in the law that Parliament had felt it necessary to fill by passing the act. It then interprets the act to fill that gap and to remedy the mischief that Parliament had been aiming to remedy

Question 24

What case determined four things that should be considered when using the mischief rule?

Answer 24

Heydons’ Case 1584

Question 25

What are the four things that should be considered?

Answer 25

1) what was the common law before the act was passed? 2) what was the defect or mischief for which common law did not provide a remedy?3) what remedy does the act attempt to provide to cure the defect?4) what is the true reason for the remedy?

Question 26

What is a case example of where the mischief rule was used?

Answer 26

Smith v Hughes 1960

Question 27

What happened in Smith v Hughes 1960?

Answer 27

Soliciting from balcony to men on the street was therefore soliciting ‘in a street or public place’ which is illegal under the Street Offences Act 1969

Question 28

How does the mischief rule provide scope for judicial law making?

Answer 28

It allows judges to decide what they think Parliament was trying to put right in the previous law-not focusing on the words as stated by Parliament

Question 29

What is the purposive approach?

Answer 29

Focuses on what Parliament intended when passing the new law-it is a modern version of the mischief approach and the distinction between the two is said to be a minor technicality

Question 30

Why is the purposive approach being increasingly used today?

Answer 30

Because, unlike UK law, European law is drafted in broad terms and also the Human Rights Act 1998 requires that all UK legislation must be interpreted so as to be compatible with the European Convention on human rights.

Question 31

What did the Law Commission Report on the Interpretation of Statues 1969 state?

Answer 31

The principles of interpretation would include: the preference of a construction which would promote the general legislation purpose over one which would not?

Question 32

Where else was the preference of the purposive approach shown?

Answer 32

Pepper v Hart 1993

Question 33

What happened in Pepper v Hart 1993?

Answer 33

Caused Hansard to be allowed; the record of the daily debate in parliament. The House of Lords departed from Davis v Johnson and took a purposive approach to interpretation holding that Hansard may be referred to and the teacher was not required to pay tax on the perk he received.

Question 34

What is a case example for the purposive approach?

Answer 34

Jones v Tower Boot Co 1997

Question 35

What happened in the Jones v Tower Boot Co 1997?

Answer 35

The court denied that racial harassment by fellow workers was ‘in the course of employment’, making the employer liable. Giving the words a meaning other than their natural meaning meant that the purpose of the legislation could be achieved

Question 36

How does the purposive approach provide scope for judicial law making?

Answer 36

The judge is allowed to decide what he or she thinks Parliament intended the Act to day, rather than just what the Act actually says

Question 37

Extrinsic and intrinsic aids are in notes

Answer 37

mindmaps of them

Question 38

What are the language rules sometimes referred to as?

Answer 38

Subsidiary rules

Question 39

What are the three language rules?

Answer 39

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

Question 40

What is the ejusdem generis rule?

Answer 40

Where general words follow particular words, the general words are interpreted to be of the same kind as the particular words

Question 41

What is a case example of this?

Answer 41

Powell v Kempton Park Race Course 1899

Question 42

What happened in Powell v Kempton Park Race Course 1899?

Answer 42

The defendant was not guilty because the enclosure was not a relevant place. The general words of ‘or other place for betting purposes’ following the specific words ‘house, office, room’ which refer to something inside, and the enclosure was outside

Question 43

What is expressio unius est exclusio alterius?

Answer 43

Translated, this means that the expression of one thing implies the exclusion of another. Where particular words are used and these are not followed by general words, the Act applies only to the instances specified

Question 44

What is a case example of this?

Answer 44

Inhabitants of Sedgley 1871, where rates were charged on ‘land, titles and coal mines’ therefore rates couldn’t be charged on any mine other than coal mines

Question 45

What is noscitur a sociis?

Answer 45

The meaning of a word is to be gathered from the context in which it is written

Question 46

What is a case example of this?

Answer 46

IRC v Frere 1965

Question 47

What happened in IRC v Frere 1965?

Answer 47

An act set out rules for “interest, annuities or other annual interest”. The court held that the first word did not include interest paid daily or monthly; it only affects interest paid annually

Question 48

What are the advantages of the literal rule?

Answer 48

Respects parliamentary sovereignty and leaves law making to democratically elected Parliament, also it can highlight to parliament problems with the law, like in Fisher v Bell 1961, which can then be amended

Question 49

What are the disadvantages of the literal rule?

Answer 49

Produces absurd outcomes (Whiteley v Chappell 1868) and unjust outcomes (LNER v Berriman 1946), doesn’t always give effect to Parliament’s intentions, sometimes there is more than one dictionary definition, assumes perfection from draftsmen

Question 50

What are the advantages of the golden rule?

Answer 50

Prevents absurd or unjust outcomes (avoided in Allen 1872 by the golden rule) and is more likely to give effect to Parliaments intentions

Question 51

What are disadvantages of the golden rule?

Answer 51

Uncertainty as to what is an absurd outcome (no clear definition of what an absurd result is), too much power to the judiciary and Michael Zander (legal scholar) referred to the rule as a ‘feeble parachute’ allowing the court to escape from problems caused by the literal rule

Question 52

What are the advantages of the mischief rule?

Answer 52

Avoids absurd and unjust results (as in McMonagle v Westminster City Council 1990 where the guilty verdict was upheld) , promotes flexibility (Smith v Hughes 1960) and is the preferred approach of the Law Commission

Question 53

What are the disadvantages of the mischief rule?

Answer 53

Too much power to an unelected judiciary, used by judges to update legislation-not the point in the rule (RCON v DHSS 1981), not always easy to identify the mischief and it is out of date as it was created in the 16th century

Question 54

What are the advantages of the purposive approach?

Answer 54

Consistent with European approach, gives effect to parliaments intentions (Coltman v Bibby Tankers 1987 where the word ‘equipment’ had to be interpreted and so the employer was found to be liable) and Denning said it was preferable

Question 55

What are the disadvantages of the purposive approach?

Answer 55

Finding the intention of parliament can be difficult (referring to what a minister has said in Parliament may not reflect what parliament as a whole intended), and it is undemocratic (too much power to unelected judiciary), and it might cause uncertainty if a judge changes the meaning of a statute (Stock v Frank Jones-Lord Simonds refused to alter the words of a statue because otherwise ‘ordinary citizens and their advisers hardly know where to stand)