Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What is the literal rule
Gives words in a statue their literal grammatical meaning even if it produces an absurd or a harsh result.
What is one advantage of the literal rule?
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
What is the second advantage of the literal rule?
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
What is the third advantage of the literal rule?
Respects parliamentary sovereignty
- Only parliament democratically elected to make law
- Literal rule gives effect to the precise words legislated
What is the fourth advantage of the literal rule?
Focuses the mind of parliament, forces them to be clear in their language.
What is a disadvantage of the literal rule?
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.
What happened in Cheeseman?
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
What is the second disadvantage to the literal rule?
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.
What is a third disadvantage to the literal rule?
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
What is fourth advantage of the literal rule?
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
What happened in Whitley v Chappell?
electoral malpractice. impersonating a dead person . not guilty because dead people aren’t ‘entitled to vote’
What happened in London & NER v Berriman?
a widow got no compensation because her husband was maintaining not ‘repairing or relaying tracks’. He was meant to be supervised . Harsh
What happened in fisher v bell?
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
What is the golden rule?
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
What are the two approaches of the golden rule?
Narrow
Broad
What is the narrow approach?
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
What is the broad approach?
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.
What is an advantage of the golden rule?
- 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
What is a second advantage of the golden rule?
It can produce more just outcomes E.g.Re Sigsworth–ruleavoided repugnant outcome of a murderer profiting from killing his victim
What is a third advantage of the golden rule?
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
What is a fourth advantage of the golden rule?
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
What is a disadvantage of the golden rule?
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.
What is another disadvantage of the golden rule?
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)
What is statutory interpretation?
This is the process where a judge works out the meaning of a statue and applies it to a case.