Statutory Interpretation

Question 1

What is the literal rule

Answer 1

Gives words in a statue their literal grammatical meaning even if it produces an absurd or a harsh result.

Question 2

What is one advantage of the literal rule?

Answer 2

Gives clarity and therefore predictability

• Promotes certainty which is a key principle of the law (Dicey)
• Lawyers can advise on outcome of cases which reduces litigation.
• Public know the law and when they are breaking it

Question 3

What is the second advantage of the literal rule?

Answer 3

It respects the separation of powers (Montesique)

• Judges have minimal or no legislative function
• Judges constitutional role is to apply law NOT to make it

Question 4

What is the third advantage of the literal rule?

Answer 4

Respects parliamentary sovereignty

• Only parliament democratically elected to make law
• Literal rule gives effect to the precise words legislated

Question 5

What is the fourth advantage of the literal rule?

Answer 5

Focuses the mind of parliament, forces them to be clear in their language.

Question 6

What is a disadvantage of the literal rule?

Answer 6

Can lead to absurd decisions

-Eg. Cheeseman-most people would think D had committed an offence but the literal rule allowed him to escape liability.

Question 7

What happened in Cheeseman?

Answer 7

Police stationed in a public toilet caught D masturbating and charged him with ‘indecently exposing his person to the annoyance of passengers’.
Judge said police weren’t passengers so he was found not guilty. Absurd

Question 8

What is the second disadvantage to the literal rule?

Answer 8

Can lead to unjust results
-Eg. Berriman- unfair that she didn’t get compensation when her husband was killed working on the track without a lookout.

Question 9

What is a third disadvantage to the literal rule?

Answer 9

Can undermine Parliament’s intentions
rather than further them
- E.g. Whiteley v Chappell – Parliament
clearly wanted to prevent people having
more than one vote

Question 10

What is fourth advantage of the literal rule?

Answer 10

It demands unrealistic perfection from draftsmen and foresight from Parliament

 -E.g. Fisher v Bell – Parliament had to
change the law (Registration of
Offensive Weapons Act 1961)
-Effectively ‘punishes’ Parliament for
producing poor legislation

Question 11

What happened in Whitley v Chappell?

Answer 11

electoral malpractice. impersonating a dead person . not guilty because dead people aren’t ‘entitled to vote’

Question 12

What happened in London & NER v Berriman?

Answer 12

a widow got no compensation because her husband was maintaining not ‘repairing or relaying tracks’. He was meant to be supervised . Harsh

Question 13

What happened in fisher v bell?

Answer 13

Offensive weapons act 1958 meant it was an offence to offer for sale flick knives. D displayed flick-knives and said it was an ‘invitation to treat’ not ‘offer for sale’. So D found not guilty- Absurd

Question 14

What is the golden rule?

Answer 14

If the literal rule gives an absurd result that parliament didn’t want. Then and ONLY THEN can the judge can the judge substitute in a reasonable meaning in the light of the statute as a whole

Question 15

What are the two approaches of the golden rule?

Answer 15

Narrow

Broad

Question 16

What is the narrow approach?

Answer 16

The narrow approach is applicable where the word in question has multiple meanings, some of which
produce less absurd outcomes than others. The judge will apply the meaning which avoids the absurdity

Question 17

What is the broad approach?

Answer 17

The broad approach is applicable where there is only one literal meaning and it must be overridden if an
absurdity is to be avoided. The judge can read into the act and add words that are not there.

Question 18

What is an advantage of the golden rule?

Answer 18

• Can used to avoid sabusrd outcomes
  Eg. R v Allen . Rule avoided the absurdity of no one ever being convicted of bigamy due to the legally married definition

Question 19

What is a second advantage of the golden rule?

Answer 19

It can produce more just outcomes
 E.g.Re
Sigsworth–ruleavoided
repugnant outcome of a murderer
profiting from killing his victim

Question 20

What is a third advantage of the golden rule?

Answer 20

It can help to give effect to Parliament’s intention

o E.g. Adler v George – Parliament clearly would have intended to include inside the prohibited place

Question 21

What is a fourth advantage of the golden rule?

Answer 21

Narrow approach respects the words of

Parliament so upholds Parliamentary
Sovereignty
o Its departure from the literal meaning is
limited and thus avoids excessive
judicial law making.

o E.g. R v Allen – judge only chose
between two definitions of the same word

Question 22

What is a disadvantage of the golden rule?

Answer 22

The definition of ‘absurd’ is subjective - means different things to different judges o E.g. why not Cheeseman?
o Unpredictable in its application
o Harder for lawyers to advise clients
o The Law Commission has argued that
this rule is of limited value, as no clear means to test the existence of the characteristics of absurdity.

Question 23

What is another disadvantage of the golden rule?

Answer 23

Broad approach gives judges too much power
o Re Sigsworth – judge effectively changed the law (undemocratic)
It has been described as a ‘feeble parachute’ (Prof. Zander)

Question 24

What is statutory interpretation?

Answer 24

This is the process where a judge works out the meaning of a statue and applies it to a case.

Question 25

What is an advantage of Mischief rule?

Answer 25

The rule helps to avoid injustices associated with more literal approaches and ‘repairs’ bad laws quickly by ‘filling in the gaps’

Question 26

What is an advantage of Mischief rule?

Answer 26

Leads to reforming and improving law as each case is interpreted to try and prevent the specific mischief which allows the law to develop and adapt to changing economic, social and physical conditions

Question 27

What is a disadvantage of the Mischief rule?

Answer 27

Can create an offence ‘after the event’ (e.g. Smith v Hughes) which undermines the certainty and predictability of law (note possible impact on the rule of law)

Question 28

What is a disadvantage of the Mischief rule?

Answer 28

ows potential judicial law-making (e.g. RCN v DHSS) - impact on Parliamentary Sovereignty / Separation of Powers. Judges use own opinions

Question 29

What is a disadvantage of the Mischief rule?

Answer 29

It is a redundant rule, no longer needed now we have the purposive approach
 The rule dates back to Heydon’s Case
(1584) - a time when statute was a minor source of law and Parliament often legislated to circumvent the common law. Parliament’s intention and the fault in the common law were easier to discern. This may mean the rule is less appropriate now that the quality and quantity of legislation is so different

Question 30

What is an advantage of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 30

Approach gives effect to parliament’s true intentions
o Avoids injustice of literal interpretations o Avoids harsh and destructive analysis of
language

Question 31

What is an advantage of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 31

Goes further than the mischief rule – judge not required to identify a ‘mischief’ which the Act was intended to remedy

Question 32

What is a disadvantage of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 32

Can allow for judicial law-making (against Parliamentary Sovereignty and Separation of Powers)

Question 33

What is a disadvantage of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 33

Finding the intention of parliament relies on extrinsic aids (e.g. Hansard) - can cause delays / adds to the cases costs
 Judges disagree about trying to find Parliamentary intent (Lord Denning versus Lord Scarman)

Question 34

Ejusdem Generis

Answer 34

Means ‘of the same kind’
 This rule is used if there is a specific list followed by general words (e.g. ‘and others’).
 There must be at least two examples in the specific list, in order to find a link between them
 Things included in the general phrase (as ‘others’) must be things of the same kind as things included in the
list

Question 35

Expressio unius est exclusio alterius

Answer 35

Means ‘the express mention of one thing to the exclusion of all others’
 This rule is used when there is a specific list of things and only things included in the list are included under
the Act

Question 36

Noscitur a sociis

Answer 36

Means ‘a word is known by the company it keeps’

 This is when the words take their meaning from the words around them and their context.

Question 37

What is an Intrinsic Aid?

Answer 37

Internal or intrinsic aid is one to be found within the statute itself.

Question 38

What is one example?

Answer 38

The long and the short title of the Act

Question 39

What is one example?

Answer 39

The preamble

Question 40

What is one example?

Answer 40

Interpretation sections

Question 41

What is one example?

Answer 41

Marginal notes

Question 42

What is one example?

Answer 42

Schedules

Question 43

What is one example?

Answer 43

Punctuation- grammar can change meaning Lord Lowry

Question 44

What is an extrinsic aid?

Answer 44

An extrinsic aid is one to be found outside the Act itself.

Question 45

One Example?

Answer 45

Hansard
 Hansard is a record of all Parliamentary debates
 However, judges have only been allowed to
access Hansard since the case of Pepper v Hart (1992) and it can only be used when the Act is ambiguous.
 May be unreliable / too political to discern Parliament’s intention, but where they do they may prove particularly useful with the Purposive Approach.