Statutory interpretation Flashcards
what is statutory interpretation
the procedure by which a judge works out the meaning go words in an Act of Parliament and how this applied to the facts of the case before them
what are reasons a judge needs to interpret statutes
- a broad term is used - may be deliberate as it cover more than one possibility and allows judges flexibility - Dangerous Dog Act 1991
- changes in the use of language - language changes over time
- ambiguous words - some words have more than one meaning and the judge has to decide which applies
what are the approaches of Statutory Interpretation
Literal Rule, Golden Rule, Mischief Rule, Purposive Approach and Aids
what is the literal rule
the judge will give the words contained in the statutory their plain and ordinary meaning - Whitley v Chapel / Fisher v Bell
what is the golden rule
used if the literal rule causes an absurd result, judges can take a narrow or wide approach - R v Allen / Sweet v Parsley
what is the mischief rule
laid down in Heydons Case 1584 and allows judges to look for the mischief or issue in the statute - Royal College of Nursing
what is the purposive approach
looks at the intention/aim of the Act. Lord Dennings in Magor & St Melons Rural District Council v Newport states “we do not sit here to pull the language of Parliament to pieces, we sit here to find out the intentions of Parliament”
what are aids of interpretation and there presumptions
they are aids to determine the meaning of a statute they can be intrinsic or extrinsic and presume that:
statutes do not change common law
legislation does not act retrospectively
the crown in not bound by any statute
what are intrinsic aids
found within the act itself
- heading
- the long title of the Act
- Rules of language
what are the rules of language
other words in the statute to help give meaning to specific words that require interpretation -
Ejusden generis
Expressio unis est exclusio alterius
Noscitor a sociis
what is Ejusden generis
“of the same kind” where general words are limited to the same class/kind/nature as the specific word - Powell v Kempton
what is Expressio unis best exclusio alteius
“express mention of one thing is the exclusion of all others” - Rv Inhabitants of Sedgley
what is Noscitor a sociis
“a word is known by the company it keeps” - Muir v Keay
what are extrinsic aids
found outside of the Act
- dictionaries and textbooks
- previous case law
- Hansard
what is Hansard
Daily records of parliamentary debates during the passage of legislation.
Lord Denning states in Davis v Johnson 1979 that “to ignore Hansard would be to grope in the dark for a meaning of an Act without switching on the light”
the first use of Hard was recorded in Pepper v Hart
explain the advantages and disadvantages of the rules of interpretation
Literal -
respects parliamentary sovereignty / can lead to absurd results
Golden -
can prevent absurdity and injustices caused by the LR / the rule doesn’t define what an absurd result is
Mischief -
avoids injustices and promotes flexibility / is outdates and gives too much power to unelected judiciary to interpret the “will of Parliament”
