statutory interpretation Flashcards
Literal rule
Intro: stat intp is when judges understand interpret and apply the law to cases
literal : developed in the 19th cent, most pop of its time,
it is when judges give the words in act their literal meaning (dictionary meaning)
dictionary used is the one of the time that the act was developed
dpp v cheeseman: chheseman only guilty if indenctly exposing himself to passngers, howver policeman who found werent passengers as they were stationed at stall not passing by or through d, according to oxford dictionary therefore not guilty
emphasis is on what p said rather than wjhat they meant, this is due to p sovreignty, even if p made a mistaketaht leads to manifest absudity it is their job to fix it as the legislature made the mistake as said by lord esher
whitley v chapel; act stated it is a crime to impersonate somone entitled to vote, howevber d had impersonated a dead man and a dead person is not entitled to vote therefore d not giulty
has been teh main approach since ist time however is slowly bing replaced by purposive approach,
except the dictionary other extrinisc aids cantb be used only intrinisc aids
golden rule
intro; stat intp is when juges understand intrepret and apply the law to cases
golden rule; literal rule is when judges applydictionary defintion to words. golden rule is a softened version of literal, modification to avoid an abusrd result from occuring
literal meanining will still be looked at however the judge is allowd to avoid an interp if it leads to an abusrd and unfair result
2 version
narrow version; word has 2 possible meanings but judge is allowed to choose thw word which will avoifd an absurd result
eg adley v george
d argued the literal meaning of the act did not aplly to anyone in the prohibteed area only those i he vinvity of the area,
judge chose the meaning of in and in the vincity of area rather than just in the vin, d held guilty due to change as he wpuld have goyt away with it
wide version; when a word has only one meaning whicgh will lead to an absurd result so judge is allowed to subsitute another meaning to avoid a abusrd result
eg sigworth
son urdred mom acording to law, next of kin inherits the prpopety as her issue, judge subsituted the meaning to issue not entitkled if they murdered the decased
shows golen rule is used when literal rule would be inapprioprate as it leads to a bad outcome, however it is not a popluar approach
mischief rule
intro: stat intp is when judges to understand, intrepaet and applu act to a case
mischeif rule; oldest rule, states if a word in act is unclear judge must use the 4 questiosn from heydons case to see what p meant
1. what was the common law before the act passed
2. what was problem/gap p tried to fix
3. what remedy was used
4, reasoningb behind the remedy
eg eastbourne v sterling; act stated that it was illgal tp pry for hire on any street without a lisnce taxi driver found guilty for trying to pry for hire on any street without any lisnce, d parked on private taxi rank bu was still likely he would get customers from street , p wouldnt want illegal taxi hiring to take place
another case is rcn v dhss; court had to consider wording of abortion act 1967 which staed abortion can only be done by registarted medical practioners, p were aiming aiming to adress illgela back street abortions, therefore extended the meaning that that nurses can do it safely, decdied nurses doing it wasnt unlawful
focuses on what p meant rathr than what was said, this howver was eisier to do do in the past where acts hada lengthy preamble explaining the background including reasons for the introduction
rule preffered by lc when they reported on rules of interpartion
purposive approach
intro: stat intp is when judges understand intrept and aplly th act to cases
most modern type, rapidly increasing in overtaking the literal rule, becoming moe popular
can be seen as a more open version tha mischeif
doesnt require 4 questions from heydons, goes beyond that, fopcususes on what p genreal purpose was in passing the act , not only looks at gap but alsos what p meant to achieve.
. judges have to consider broader context eg ps concerns at times of the act
rely heavily on extrinsic aids eg the hansard
eg ex parte smith; wanted to obtain hsi birth certificate however d was al conicted of 2 murders, was thought taht he may be hostile towards his birth mother
adoption act 1976:states shall suplly info needed to enable the person to obtain the birth certificate
to avouid a hostile situation p used purposive approaxh as p would not ahve intended to promote a serious crime
quintaville; shows hwo purposive pporoach is used to allow for new techonlogical adavncemnts
was deabted whether embroyos could be used in scince exp
actstated that any embryo must not be used for this cause
held that cloned embrou=ys could not have been use as p would have meant to ver this but not have anticiapted the advncemnt in tech, cloned embroyos were covered by the stautue
what p meant rather than what waa said
rule used by eu judges
instric aids
aids are available to help judges with intrepration
intrinsic aids are found within the acts/statutues to help makes it meaning more clear.
judges can use both short and long title to help understan more info and clues abt the cat.
shiort act; heft act 1968
long act: act to reform property offences ( inckludes robbery and burgulary)
premable: lengthy intro found in older acts, includes purpose and michief p tried to solve , but no longer found in modern cases.
some acts will have an intrepation section which will privde meanings for some words.
eg; theft act 1968 s4 includes def for propert; money and all other property real or personal
other sections of the same act:
eg shah and shah: help undertsan what p meant,
subsection doesnt include any words indicating if mens rea is required hwoever sub section states that dfence is allowed for due diligence
SCHEDULES:PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFO TO BE CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO ACT
eg; postal servuces act 2000 contained schedule describing composition and appoiynemnet procedures relating to the new opostal services comission
extrinsic aid
An aid to interpretation is something a judge can use to help interpret a word or words in a statute.
An extrinsic aid is found outside the Act.
dictionary; gives a word its plain, ordinary meaning and would be especially useful to a judge who is using the literal rule of statutory interpretation.
DPP v Cheeseman: judges used a dictionary from the time the Act was passed to interpret a word in an old Act from 1847.
Decided cases which interpreted the same Act (or the same statutory word) in the past can be useful.
Also, the Interpretation Act 1978 can be useful as it provides some generic guidance relating to interpreting statutory words.
Judges using more purposive approaches to interpreting a statute need to understand the purpose or intention behind an Act as this can help them decide the meaning of a word in a broader context. One important source of such information is Hansard. This is an official record of everything said in Parliament. By looking at the debates that took place in Parliament during the passage of a Bill, a judge can discern the intention behind an Act. This was done in the case of Pepper v Hart which was the first case to officially allow judges’ access to Hansard.
Reports of the Law Commission (a full-time, permanent law reform body) are another important source of information about the intentions behind an Act. In Tomlinson v Congleton BC the court referred to a report by the Law Commission which led to the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984.
