Sources of Law Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What is statutory interpretation?
Judges interpreting what parliament intended in the statute
What are the 4 tools to judges to assist with interpretation?
RULES of SI
RULES of Language
PRESUMPTIONS of SI
AIDS to SI (construction)
Who drafts most of the statutes?
Office of the Parliamentary Counsel
What is the primary role of a Judge?
To apply the law
If the law is unclear what do Judges need to do?
Interpret the Law
What are the 4 rules of statutory interpretation?
The Literal Rule
The Golden Rule
The Mischief Rule
The Purposive Rule
What is the literal rule?
Where the judge gives the words their literal meaning
What is the golden rule?
If the literal rule gives rise to absurdity they can rectify this to make sense
What is the mischief rule?
Allows the courts to interpret the meaning of a word differently ‘the mischief’ I.e fill in a gap of the literal rule
What is the purposive approach?
Courts consider the purpose of the Act when interpreting the meaning of a provision within the statute.
What is the leading case of the purposive approach?
Pepper v Hart
What did Pepper v Hart do?
Allow the use of Hansard (records of Parliament debate) when specific criteria is satisfied
What is the rule of language?
Rules that apply to interpretation of vague or unclear words
What is ejusdem generis?
Of the same type
What is expressio units eat exclusion alterius?
To express one thing is to exclude others
