Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
what is the literal rule
when judges apply the plain ordinary meaning of the words to the case
LNER v berriman
railway worker was killed during oiling parts of three track, wasn’t “relaying” or “repairing”
whitely v chappell
D charged because impersonated dead person to vote, person died so wasn’t “entitled to vote”
Fisher v bell
displayed knives in window with price tag, deemed as not up for sale just invitation for treat
R v maginnis
D charged with possession with intent to supply holding drugs for a friend act of passing back to friend was supply
advantages of literal rule
-follows the words of parliament prevents unelected judges from creating law
-makes law more certain
-respects parliaments sovereignty
-makes sure law isn’t subjective
disadvantages on literal rule
-assumes every act is written perfectly
-words may be ambiguous (dictionaries with several different meanings)
-may not account for changes in society or language
what is the golden rule
softened version of literal rule
look at literal meaning and if produces an absurd unfair result may use wide or narrow view
what is the narrow view of the golden rule
if a word has more than 2 possible meanings
what is the wide version of the golden rule
word or phrase has one meaning but will produce an unfair or absurd result
R v allen
charged with bigamy, statute stated whoever shall be married to another person is guilty.
applied to mean “go through marriage ceremony”
Re Sigworth
son killed his mother, mother had no will, money should go to murderer.
advantages of golden rule
-respects words of parliament
-allows judges to choose most sensible option
-prevents parliament from having to pass amending legislation
disadvantages of golden rule
-only allows judges to change wording in very limited circumstances
-unpredictable and lacks guidelines
-Micheal Zander describes it as a Feeble parachute(not much use)
what is the mischief rule
judges consider 4 points:
-what was common law before act
-what was gap in law
-what was remedy which parliament decided
-what was Ps reason for remedy
smith v hughes
“it shall be an offence for prostitutes to linger in a street or public place”
women on balconies at windows calling out passing men
eastbourne v stirling
offence for person to ply for hire in any street without licence
he was on private land however he was likely to get customers
Royal college of nursing V DHSS
pregnancies only terminated by registered medical practitioner.
nurses had been carrying it
illegal because Ps aim was to stop unlawful unsafe abortions
advantages of mischief rule
-promotes purpose of law allows to fill in gaps
-much more likely a just result will occur
-law commissions preferred method
disadvantages of mischief rule
-risk of judicial law making
-could lead to uncertainty
-difficult for lawyers to advise clients
purposive approach
most modern approach has been has been increasing in popularity, decides parliaments general purpose
R v registrar general ex p smith
murderer applied for birth certificate but could cause harm so refused.
Quintavelle
Didn’t have authority in regards to cloning. An embryo defined as undergone fertilisation however cloning hasnt undergone fertilisation.
advantages of purposive approach
-leads to justice being done in more individual cases
-helpful with new tech
-gives judges more discretion
disadvantages of purposive approach
-refusing to use clear literal words of parliament
-difficult to discover intention of parliament
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what are intrinsic aids
inside the statute
-title of act
-explanatory notes
-definition sections in act
what are extrinsic aids
dictionaries
text books
academic writings
law commission reports
