statutory interpretation Flashcards
what are five areas where judges can struggle to interpret a piece of law
broad terminology ambiguity new developments in law drafting error changes in the use of language
what are the three main approaches that judges can take and one other
literal rule
golden rule
mischief rule
purposive approach
what is a quote by a famous judge that sums up the literal rule
‘the court has nothing to do with whether the legislator has committed anabsurdity’ lord esher
case for literal rule involving flick knife
fisher v bell
case for literal rule involving electoral malpractice
whiteley- it was an offence to impersonate ‘any person eligible to vote’. d impersonated a dead person and dead people are not eligible to vote so he was acquitted.
what is a case involving an imitation firearm
bentham - it was an offence to have in your ‘possession a firearm or imitation firearm. d used his fingers as a pretend gun and according to the law one does not own their own body parts so d could not be guilty.
what is a case involving a wife’s compensation
berriman- husband died working on a railway, wife tried to seek compensation for his injuries but could not because he was not working on the specific part of the railway outlined in the law
what is the golden rule
an extension of the literal rule; judges should follow the exact wording but are allowed to avoid it if it would lead to an absurd result. there is a narrow approach and a wide approach
what is the golden rule narrow approach
when a word in statute has multiple meaning, the judge may select the meaning which would lead to the most fair verdict
what is a case for the golden rule narrow approach
maginnis- judges had to use a dictionary to interpret the word ‘supply’
what is the wider approach of the golden rule
when the meaning of the word is clear but the application of it would lead to a morally repugnant result
what is a case where the wide approach of the golden rule was used
sigsworth- the law states that if someone does not make a will their next of kin will inherit the assets. in this case the deceased woman’s next of kin was her son, but he was also her murderer. he was not allowed to inherit the money.
what case established the mischief rule
Heydon’s case
what are the four steps for the mischief rule?
- what was the law before the statute
- what was wrong with this law
- how did parliament intend to correct in this law
- apply the statute in this context
how does the mischief rule give judges the most freedom
judges can actually ignore the wording of the statute all together if they believe it wont achieve the intention of the statute
