Legislation and Statutory Interpretation

Question 1

What does parliamentary sovereignty mean?

Answer 1

Parliament has the freedom to make laws of any kind. It does not matter if the law is unfair, or practically impossible.

Statute cannot be overridden by a body outside of Parliament

Question 2

Can UK courts and/or international courts declare an Act of Parliament invalid?

Answer 2

No - they cannot say an Act is unlawful

Question 3

In a conflict between a statute and any other kind of law, which prevails?

Answer 3

Statute

Question 4

Can Parliament bind its successors?

Answer 4

No - a statute cannot be protected from repeal and a later Parliament can always change the Acts of its predecessor

Question 5

What are statutory instruments?

Answer 5

Secondary legislation which allow the provisions of an Act of Parliament to be subsequently brought into force or altered without Parliament having to pass a new Act

Question 6

What are byelaws?

Answer 6

Secondary legislation - Local laws made by local councils under an enabling provision granted by an Act of Parliament

Question 7

What is the short title of an Act?

Answer 7

The name of the Act

Question 8

What is the long title of an Act?

Answer 8

More lengthy description of what the Act covers and designed to achieve

Question 9

What is the enacting formula of an Act?

Answer 9

A statement of the process by which the ACt was passed, confirming it has complied with the necessary constitutional steps

Question 10

What are schedules in an Act?

Answer 10

Extra detail at the end that is too big to put within the sections of the Act

Question 11

What is the first step to create a new law?

Answer 11

Produce a Green Paper

Question 12

What is a Green Paper?

Answer 12

Consultation documents produced by the government

Includes policy proposals for debate and discussion

Question 13

What is a White paper?

Answer 13

Policy documents produced by the government that set out the proposals for future legislation

Question 14

What is a Bill?

Answer 14

A proposed law which is introduced into Parliament

Question 15

What is an Act of Parliament?

Answer 15

The final version of the law as given the Royal Assent

Question 16

What are Public Bills?

Answer 16

They change the law that affects the general population

Question 17

What are the 2 categories of Public Bills?

Answer 17

Government Bills and Private Member Bills

Question 18

What is a Government Bill?

Answer 18

A formal proposal for a new law or a change in the law that is put forward by the Government for consideration by Parliament

First communicated through the King’s Speech

Question 19

What are Private Members’ Bills?

Answer 19

Public Bills introduced by Mrs and Lords who are not government ministers

Minority of these Bills become law

Question 20

What are Private Bills?

Answer 20

Bills that only change the law as it applies to specific individuals or organisations, rather than the general public

Promoted by organisations, local authorities or private companies

Question 21

What are hybrid Bills?

Answer 21

A mix of public and private Bills

The changes to the law proposed in the Bill would affect the general public but also have a more significant impact on specific individuals or groups

Question 22

What are the 4 triggers for the creation of primary legislation?

Answer 22

1. Manifesto pledges
2. Administrative, technical and managerial matters
3. Changes in society
4. Unexpected events

Question 23

What does CONSOLIDATING the law mean?

Answer 23

Tidying up the law i.e, bringing together a number of existing Acts of Parliament on the same subject into one Act without changing the law in any way

Question 24

What is the literal rule?

Answer 24

Ordinary, plain and natural meaning of the words

Question 25

What is the golden rule?

Answer 25

When the literal meaning creates an absurd/unreasonable result (or contradicts the intention of the law) the court can depart from the literal meaning and itnerpret the law in a way with its intended purpose

Question 26

What is the mischief rule?

Answer 26

Looking beyond the literal wording of the law to identify the problem (mischief) that the law was intended to remedy.

Question 27

What is the purposive interpretation?

Answer 27

Finds the intention behind the law and considers the broader objectives and societal context behind the law to ensure that its interpretation aligns with its intended purpose

Question 28

What does noscitur a socks (recognition by associated words)

Answer 28

This means ‘know by the company it keeps’. It suggests that the meaning of a word can be understood from the context of the words surrounding it.

Question 29

What does eiusdem generis (of the same kind of nature) mean?

Answer 29

This rule applies when a general term follows a list of specific terms in a statue.

It states that the general terms should be interpreted to include only items of the same type as the specific terms.

Question 30

What does expressio unius est exclusion alterius (expressing one thing excludes another) mean?

Answer 30

This principle suggests that the mention of one or more specific things in a statute may imply the exclusion of other similar things not explicitly mentioned.

Question 31

What is an intrinsic aid?

Answer 31

A judge can refer to the statute itself to understand the particular section under discussion