Paper 2 - Law Making - Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What is a statute?
a written law passed by parliament (when enacted, it’s an act of parliament)
what is meant by the term statutory interpretation?
because of the amount of statutes it is not always clear and explicit resulting in judges interpreting the law
how do judges make decisions about what words mean?
literal approach or a purposive approach
define the literal rule?
Judges will give words their natural, ordinary or dictionary meaning even if this appears to be contrary to the intention of Parliament
what did lord esher in R v Judge of the City of London Court (1892) say about the literal rule
if the words are clear you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity
what are some key facts about the literal rule?
- unexpected results that weren’t the intention of parliament
- words of statute in their natural, ordinary or dictionary meaning
- starting point for interpretation any legislation
- applied without the judge seeking to gloss words
Explain the case of berriman (1946) [Literal Rule]
- railway worker killed while doing maintenance work, oiling points
- widow wanted to claim compensation as there was no lookout under FATAL ACCIDENTS ACT 1864 ‘for the purpose of relaying or repairing’
- using literal rule, she failed as he was doing maintenance work not relaying or repairing
explain the case of whitely v chappell (1868) [Literal Rule]
- offence to impersonate ‘any entailed to vote at an election’
- defendant attempted to vote in the name of a dead person
- literal meant no offence was committed as dead people can’t vote
explain the case of r v harris ( 1836) [Literal Rule]
- defendant bit of victims nose
- it was held, on appeal that he wasn’t guilty as bite wasn’t included in ‘stab, cut or wound’ as weapons are required
explain the case of fisher v bell (1961) [literal rule]
- defendant displayed flick knives in window
- charged under RESTRICTIONS OF OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ACT 1959 (offence to sell or offer for sale weapons)
- it was held as the display is not an offer for sale but and invitations
what are some advantages of the literal rule
- law is applied as it’s written by parliament, unelected judges aren’t making law upholding separation of powers (Berriman)
- make law certain, easier for people to know what law is and it’ll be applied
- It allows no scope for judges to apply their own opinions (Fisher V Bell)
what are some disadvantages of the literal rule
- assumes acts are perfectly drafted but it isn’t possible to word an act for every situation (whitely v chappell)
- words can have multiple meanings and this can be seen in dictionaries as well causing the judges difficulty ( cheesman)
