SA THEORIES OF INTERPRETATION

Question 1

WHAT ARE THE 2 MAIN APPROACHES?

Answer 1

1) ORTHODOX TEST BASED

2) TEXT-IN CONTEXT

Question 2

WHAT IS THE ORTHODOX TEST BASED APPROACH

Answer 2

• it was predominant approach to interpretation pre 1994
• it is the literal approach to interpretation
• it concentrates mainly on the literal meaning of the provision

Question 3

WHAT DOES INTERPRETATION PROCESS OF ORTHODOX TEST BASED APPROACH INVOLVE?

Answer 3

• includes applying the plain meaning of the text if it is clear
• if the plain meaning is not clear or a strict literal interpretation would render an absurd result ; the court could deviate from the literal interpretation and apply the golden rule

Question 4

WHAT IS THE TEXT-IN CONTEXT APPROACH?

Answer 4

• it was also used pre 1994
• also part of the purposive approach
• ## it is a balance between grammatical and overall contextual meaning