Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What is the literal rule?
Means that words used in statute are to be given their ordinary, plain and natural meaning, assisted, if necessary by such extrinsic aids as a dictionary. The courts will not need to consider further what Parliament might have meant.
Overly literal application of words can, in some situations, lead to unintended consequences, and so an alternative rule was devised historically to avoid such problems. Known as the golden rule.
What is the golden rule?
To avoid the unnatural and sometimes absurd outcome that can result from the over-literal application of the literal rule, judges developed what became known as the ‘golden rule’.
Take the whole of the statute together, giving the words their ordinary signification unless when so applied they produce an inconsistency or an absurdity or inconvenience so great as to convince the court that the intention could not have been to use them in their ordinary signification.
RAF: ‘vicinity of’ case - would be absurd not to include the actual base.
What is the mischief rule?
Courts would consider four questions:
- What was the common law before making the Act?
- What was the mischief and defect for which the common law did not provide?
- What remedy for the mischief had Parliament intended to provide?
- What was the true reason for Parliament adopting that remedy?
Defunct rule.
What is the purposive approach?
Courts will look at the strict and superficial meaning of the words used and at the underlying purpose of the legislation, normally as a single and largely subliminal mental process.
Judges will first consider the ordinary meaning of the words and then move on to consider other possibilities where the ordinary meaning leads to an absurd result.
Expressio unius est exclusio alterius
The expression of one thing is to the exclusion of another.
Presumption is used where there is a closed list with no words to follow - that parliament intended only to include those items that are stated.
Tempest v KIlner: statute requires that goods, wares and merchandise over £10 in value must be evidenced in writing. Question: do stocks and shares count? held shares were not covered.
Ejusdem generis
Of the same kind.
Presumption is that where general words follow a list of specific words, the general words are interpreted so as to restrict them to the same kind of objects as the specific words.
“house, office, room or other place” held that these were all indoor places so should be taken to refer to only indoor areas.
Noscitur a sociis
A word known by its associates.
Similar to ejusdem generis but has a wider potential application. Can be used to interpret the nature of one of the categories of things included in the legislation.
E.g. phrase ‘interest, annuities and other annual payments’ - implied interest was meant as an annual payment.
