Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
What is statutory interpretation?
the process where a judge ‘works out’ the meaning of words in an Act of Parliament and how this then applies to the facts of the case before them.
What are the 4 rules of statutory interpretation?
literal rule, golden rule, mischief rule, purposive approach
What is the literal rule of statutory interpretation?
giving words their plain,ordinary, grammatical, and literal meaning, as it would appear in a dictionary.
What are 2 case studies for the literal rule of statutory interpretation?
Whitley v Chappell (1868) and Fisher v Bell (1961)
What happened in the case of Whiteley v Chappell (1868)? (LITERAL RULE)
D was charged with impersonating ‘any person entitled to vote’ at an election. D was acquitted because he impersonated a dead person - and a dead person is not entitled to vote.
What happened in the case of Fisher v Bell (1961)? (LITERAL RULE)
D was a shopkeeper who had flick knives on display in his shop window. The Restriction of Offences Weapons Act 1959 made it an offence to ‘offer for sale’ these knives. However, D won by arguing that a display in shop is not an ‘offer for sale’. This led to Parliament amending the law a year later to close this loophole.
In which two ways can the golden rule be used in statutory interpretation?
wide and narrow
What is the narrow use of the golden rule?
when a word has 2 possible meanings but one meaning would. produce an unwanted/absurd outcome, the court chooses the sensible meaning.
What is a case study for the narrow use of the golden rule?
R v Allen (1872)
What happens in the case study of R v Allen (1872)? (Narrow use of golden rule)
Allen was convicted of bigamy as the Court decided that ‘marry’ should be interpreted to mean, ‘to go through a ceremony of marriage’.
What is the wide use of the golden rule?
when there is only one literal meaning of a word which would lead to an absurd outcome, the golden rule can be used to alter the meaning of the word(s) in order to avoid the unwanted outcome and give effect to Parliament’s intentions.
What is a case study for the wide use of the golden rule?
Re Sigsworth (1935)
What happened in the case of Re Sigsworth (1935)?
A son murdered his mother(who hadn’t written her will). The Administration of Estates Act 1925 worded that the ‘next of kin’ should get inheritance. However, the court did not want him to benefit from his crime, and therefore he was prevented from inheriting.
What is the mischief rule of statutory interpretation?
requires court to focus on the law before legislation was passed to determine the gap or mischief the legislation was intended to cover.
Where did the mischief rule of statutory interpretation come from?
Hendon’s Case (1584)
What are 2 case studies for the mischief rule of statutory interpretation?
Smith v Hughes (1960) and Royal College of Nursing Case (1981)
What happened in the case of Smith v Hughes (1960) ? (MISCHIEF RULE)
Prostitutes were charged under the Street Ofeences Act 1959, which made it and offence to solicit in a public place. They were soliciting from a balcony. The court applied the mischief rule saying that the D’s were committing the ‘mischief’ the act was referring to.
What happened in the case of h=the Royal College Nursing (1981)? (MISCHIEF RULE)
The court had to consider the wording of the Abortion Act 1967 which allowed ‘registered medical practitioners’ to carry out abortions. The Court looked at the ‘mischief’ that Parliament was aiming to control (illegal, ‘backstreet’ abortions) and decided that nurses supervising was not unlawful.
What is the purposive approach in statutory interpretation?
seeks to give effect to Parliaments intentions when passing a new law
What is a case study for the purposive approach of statutory interpretation?
Jones v Tower Boot (1997)
What happened in the case of Jones v Tower Boot (1997) ? (PURPOSIVE APPROACH)
The Court of Appeal decided that racial harassment by fellow workers was ‘in course of employment’ making the employer liable. Parliaments intention was to eliminate racism in the workplace so it’s irrelevant that they weren’t being paid to be racist.
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What case first set out the mischief rule?
Heydons Case 1584
In what case was the purposive approach used to decide that the word ‘embryo’ in the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Act 1990 covered cloning?
R(Quintavelle) v Secretary of State 2003
In which case was the mischief rule used to make the decision that nurses could administer labour inducing drugs if acting under a doctors instruction?
Royal College of Nursing v DHSS 1981
In which case was the Literal Rule used to decide that ‘offer’ should be given its technical, legal meaning, coming to the conclusion that the display of a flick knife was not a ‘offer for sale’?
Fisher v Bell 1960
In which case did the Literal Rule lead to the unjust decision that a widow could not claim compensation when her husband was killed because he didn’t have a lookout. This was because it was stated that workers are only entitled to a lookout if they are ‘relaying or repairing’ but what the husband was doing counted as maintenance.
LNER v BERRIMAN 1946
In which case was the mischief rule used to give effect to parliaments aim to protect the public from being solicited by prostitutes in public places, even though they were on a balcony.
Smith v Hughes 1960
In which case was the golden rule used to avoid the absurd situation of a man who murdered his mother then inheriting her money.
Re Sigsworth 1935
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
LNER v Berriman (1946)
Literal Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Adler v George
Golden Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Smith v Hughes 1960
Mischief Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
R v Allen 1872
Golden Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Fisher v Bell
Literal Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Whitely v Chappell
Literal Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Re Sigsworth 1935
Golden Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Cheeseman
Literal Rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Royal College of Nursing v DHSS 1981
Mischief rule
MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Jones v Tower Boot
Purposive Approach
What are the 2 different types of ‘aids’ a judge may use to help them interpret statutes?
intrinsic or extrinsic
What is a intrinsic aid?
an aid found ‘inside the act’
What are the examples of intrinsic aids?
long and short title
preamble or purpose section
interpretation section
schedules
explanatory notes
punctuation
How can the long and short title help a judge interpret statutes?
intrinsic aid
These may give some clues as to the meaning fo words used in the act.
What is a preamble or purpose section?
Intrinsic Aid
An outline of the statute and its purpose.
Preamble-older acts
Purpose section-newer acts
What is an example of the long title being used to aid interpretation?
Intrinsic Aid
in Royal College of Nursing v DHSS, the court referred to the long title of the Abortion Act 1967 to help confirm its purpose - “an Act to clarify the law relating to the termination of pregnancy by registered mediacl practitioners”
What is the interpretation section?
Intrinsic Aid
Sometimes known as a definition section, like a glossery of key terms
What is an example of the interpretation section?
Intrinsic Aid
The Theft Act (s.1) defines a ‘weapon of offence’ in aggravated burglary as ‘any article made or adapted for use for causing injury’
What is a ‘schedule’ within an Act?
Intrinsic Aid
They come at the end of an act and contain a more detailed clarification of rules.
What are explanatory notes in an Act?
Intrinsic Aid
These are inserted by Parliamentary draftsmen when the Act goes for printing. They are notes to show what particular sections are about and aid interpretation.
What is an extrinsic aid?
an aid ‘outside the act’
What are examples of extrinsic aids?
Dictionary, Law Commission Reports, Hansard, Precedent, EU Law, Human Rights Act 1998, Academic Textbooks, Interpretation Act 1978
What is Hansard?
Extrinsic Aid
a transcript from the debates in Parliament during the progress of a bill
What are the advantages of the literal rule?
- respects parliamentary sovereignty
- respects separation of powers
- legal certainty and predictability
- precision
What are the disadvantages of the literal rule ?
- absurd results
- undermine Parliaments intention
- unrealistic
- ignores the limitations of language
What are the advantages of the Golden Rule?
- avoids absurdities
- upholds Parliaments morality (assumes Parliament never intends to pass absurd law)
- respects Parliaments Supremacy
- saves Parliament having to pass amending legislation
What are the disadvantages of the Golden rule?
- ‘absurd’ - subjective
- gives judge too much power
- unpredictable
- limited use
What are the advantages of the Mischief Rule?
- promotes purpose of the law
- avoids absurd and unjust outcomes
- felxibility
- making sure that the gap (mischief) is filled
What are the disadvantages of the Mischief Rule?
- judicial law-making
- uncertainty
- difficult for judge to know Parliaments intention
- more limited that purposive approach
What are the advantages of the Purposive Approach?
- leads ro justice in individual cases
- flexibility
- allows discretion
- more appropriate to modern Acts of Parliament
What are the disadvantages of the Purposive Approach?
- judicial law-making
- difficult for judge to know Parliaments intention
- uncertainty
In which case did the House of Lords decide that judges may look at Hansard to help them establish Parliament’s intention when interpreting legislation?
Pepper v Hart 1993
True or False
The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the judge to interpret the words of an Act in a way that is compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights.
True
