Legislation and Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What does parliamentary sovereignty mean?
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
Can UK courts and/or international courts declare an Act of Parliament invalid?
No - they cannot say an Act is unlawful
In a conflict between a statute and any other kind of law, which prevails?
Statute
Can Parliament bind its successors?
No - a statute cannot be protected from repeal and a later Parliament can always change the Acts of its predecessor
What are statutory instruments?
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
What are byelaws?
Secondary legislation - Local laws made by local councils under an enabling provision granted by an Act of Parliament
What is the short title of an Act?
The name of the Act
What is the long title of an Act?
More lengthy description of what the Act covers and designed to achieve
What is the enacting formula of an Act?
A statement of the process by which the ACt was passed, confirming it has complied with the necessary constitutional steps
What are schedules in an Act?
Extra detail at the end that is too big to put within the sections of the Act
What is the first step to create a new law?
Produce a Green Paper
What is a Green Paper?
Consultation documents produced by the government
Includes policy proposals for debate and discussion
What is a White paper?
Policy documents produced by the government that set out the proposals for future legislation
What is a Bill?
A proposed law which is introduced into Parliament
What is an Act of Parliament?
The final version of the law as given the Royal Assent
What are Public Bills?
They change the law that affects the general population
What are the 2 categories of Public Bills?
Government Bills and Private Member Bills
What is a Government Bill?
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
What are Private Members’ Bills?
Public Bills introduced by Mrs and Lords who are not government ministers
Minority of these Bills become law
What are Private Bills?
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
What are hybrid Bills?
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
What are the 4 triggers for the creation of primary legislation?
- Manifesto pledges
- Administrative, technical and managerial matters
- Changes in society
- Unexpected events
What does CONSOLIDATING the law mean?
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
What is the literal rule?
Ordinary, plain and natural meaning of the words
What is the golden rule?
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
What is the mischief rule?
Looking beyond the literal wording of the law to identify the problem (mischief) that the law was intended to remedy.
What is the purposive interpretation?
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
What does noscitur a socks (recognition by associated words)
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.
What does eiusdem generis (of the same kind of nature) mean?
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.
What does expressio unius est exclusion alterius (expressing one thing excludes another) mean?
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.
What is an intrinsic aid?
A judge can refer to the statute itself to understand the particular section under discussion
