Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What are the four main sources of English Law
Case law, Uk legislation, Retained EU Law, ECHR
What is the primary source of Law in England and Wales?
Statute
Why do we need to interpret legislation?
to resolve ambiguities in order to find its true meaning
why else do we need to interpret legislation?
to decide whether it applies to a particular set of facts
what are the 3 main rules of statutory construction?
literal, golden, mischief
What interpretative approach is used in the Quintavalle case?
the purposive approach- the aim of the Act was to protect embryos created outside of the human body
describe the literal rule
words must be gievn their plain, ordinary and literal meaning
what are the problems with the literal rule?
the use of the literal meaning of the words may defeat the intention of parliament and lead to absurd results
What case exemplifies the problems with the literal rule?
Whitely v Chappell (1868) LR 4 QB 147
what did Lord Esher state in 1982?
‘if the words of an Act are clear, then you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity’ (R v City of London Court Judge [1892] 1 QB 273, 290)
what is the golden rule?
an adaptation of the literal rule- where there are two meaning to a word/words they should be given their ordinary meaning as far as possible , but only to the extent that they do not produce an absurd or totally obnoxious result
what is the mischief rule?
requires the interpreter of the statute to ascertain the legislator’s intention
what are the four stages of the test to determine what the defect in the existing law which the statute was intended to remedy?
a) what was the law before the statute was passed?
b) what was the ‘mischief and defect’ which was not remedied by the existing law?
c) what remedy did Parliament propose to put it right?
d) what is the true reason for the remedy?
what is the purposive approach?
a modern style of interpreting statutes, the judges look at the reasons why a statute was passed and its purpose even if it means distorting the ordinary meaning of the words
what was the purposive approach influenced by?
our membership of the EU as it is widely used in EU law which is drafted with the expectation that judges will consider the policy behind the words.
what 3 things must a court be sure of before rectifying a statute?
1) of the intended purpose of the statue or provision;
2) that inadvertently the drafter and Parliament failed to give effect to that purpose in the provision in question; and 3) of the substance of the provision Parliament would have made, although not necessarily the precise words that Parliament would have used, had the error in the bill been noticed
what is the European Communities Act 1972?
required UK courts to adopt a purposive approach in construing EU related legislation and in particular UK provisions that implemented EU law
how is European Union legislation drafted?
follows civil law tradition favouring simplicity of drafting and a high degree of abstraction
what does noscitur a sociis mean?
‘known by the company it keeps’- recognition by associated words, a word derives meaning from surrounding words
which Act was noscitur a sociis used to assist in?
Factories Act 1962- required that all ‘floors, steps, stairs, passageways and gangways’ had to be free of obstruction
what is eiusdem generis
of the same kind or nature- if a general word follows two or more specific words, that general word will only apply to items of the same type as specific words
what does expressio unius est exlusio alterius mean?
‘to express one is to exclude others’- mention of one or more specific things may be taken to exclude others of the same type
what are the two types of aids to interpretation
intrinsic and extrinsic
what is an intrinsic aid
the use of the statute itself incl. any words which have been debated by Parliament and are thus part of the statute
