statutory interpretation

Question 1

statute

Answer 1

• an act of parliament (a law made by Parliament which is written down),
• SI = interpreting Acts of Parliament (statutes),

Question 2

why do judges have to interpret statutes?

Answer 2

• law only exists in words,
• discovering the meaning of these words can be a very complicated process,

Question 3

problems with statutes

Answer 3

• language is often complex,
• sentence construction is often over elaborate - lawyers draft the bills,
• if is difficult to cover every eventuality - unforeseen circumstances will arise which the Act does not cover precisely,

Question 4

problems with the language used

Answer 4

• words can have more than one meaning,
• meaning of word can change overtime,

Question 5

royal college of nursing v DHSS

Answer 5

• the abortion act 1967 stated only registered medical practitioners could carry out abortions,
• due to advances in technology nurses were carrying out abortions,
• royal college of nursing took a test case to see whether their nurses were legally allowed to carry them out, the court said they could,

Question 6

dangerous dogs act 1991

Answer 6

• contains the phrase,
• ‘any dog of the type known as the type known as the pit bull terrier’
• what is meant by ‘type’, does it mean ‘breed’?
• in Brook v DPP court decided it could cover dogs who weren’t pedigree pit bulls, but had a substantial number of the characteristics of such a dog,

Question 7

Brock v DPP 1991

Answer 7

• the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 stated all dogs of the type pit bull should wear a muzzle in public,
• Dempsey the dog was out with his owner in public wearing a muzzle,
• he got sick and owner removed muzzle so he wouldn’t choke,
• policeman saw and charged the owner - punishment was that Dempsey would be destroyed,
• owner took case to court - Judge realised the Act of Parliament was flawed and it didn’t cover all eventualities,
• Judge allowed Dempsey to live,

Question 8

Bates v DPP 1993

Answer 8

• Otis the dog was out with his owner in the car driving on a public highway through south London,
• He was not wearing muzzle or leash,
• policeman stopped car to do a routine check and charged the owner,
• Judge decided Otis was in a public place and he was put down,

Question 9

when are they used?

Answer 9

• used by judges when there is a dispute or uncertainty over the meaning of a word or a phrase in an Act of Parliament,

Question 10

literal rule advantages

Answer 10

• follows exact words parliament enacted, and as we elect the MPs in the Commons, it keeps it democratic,
• it’s predictable, certain and clear,
• prevents judges (who are unelected) from having too much power and shaping/making the law,

Question 11

literal rule disadvantages

Answer 11

• not always possible to word an Act to cover every situation, so the act may not have the effect Parliament intended (Whiteley V Chappell),
• can lead to unfair or unjust decisions (Berriman),
• words can have more than one meaning - so often the Act is confusing and unclear,
• it cannot be used if words are not in the Act,
• assumes all acts are worded prefectly,
• if judges didn’t use discretion parliament would have to change the law when there was a problem,

Question 12

golden rule advantages

Answer 12

• can avoid absurd result being passed (R v Allen),
• still has literal approach as starting point - so Judge isn’t given too much freedom,
• allow judge to opt for the more sensible meaning of a word,
• parliament would not have intended to pass laws that produced unfair results,
• it’s still democratic,
• deals with the unfairness of the literal rule,

Question 13

golden rule disadvantage

Answer 13

• has limited use - where the most sensible of two or three meanings is taken,
• depends on what a judge considers absurd,
• professor Michael Zander - ‘feeble parachute’ (escape route but can’t do much),
• gives to much powers to judge,
• undemocratic in nature,

Question 14

mischief rule advantages

Answer 14

• flexible - it allows the judge to look at the gap in the law or ‘mischief’ - the Act was designed to cover ; Smith v Hughes,
• it recognizes that to look only at the words of a statute is inadequate,
• rule avoids absurd and unjust outcomes - Berriman,
• judges can fill in the gaps in the legislation to get the right answers,
• saves parliament having to change laws,
• allows judges to update the law when society changes - RCN v DHSS (encourage flexibility),
• avoids issues with previous rules,

Question 15

mischief rule disadvantages

Answer 15

• risk of judicial law making - judges are not elected,
• emphasis is on trying to follow parliament’s intentions which can be difficult to do,
• it’s seen as a backwards looking approach - it looks at what parliament were doing at the time even though it may be years in the future,
• can cause inconsistency as different judges may have different opinions on what mischief parliament were attempting to deal with,