Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
LNER Railways v Berriman 1946
Literal
The dft. railway company was under a statutory duty to keep a look out on duty when their employees were “… Repairing or relaying … The line”
Berriman was killed whilst maintaining (oiling) the line.
His widow was not entitled to compensation because the court held that maintains was not covered by ‘repairing or relaying’
Literal Rule?
“Plain, ordinary, grammatical meaning”
“If the words of an act are clear, you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity”
R v Judge of the City of London (1892)
Whitely v Chappell
Defendant was charged with impersonating ‘any person entitled to vote’ he had pretended to be a person who’s name was on the electoral register but had died.
Court held that dead people are not entitled to vote therefore he had not committed an offence.
Fisher v Bell
Legislation: Restriction of Offensive Weapon Act - “any person who manufactures, sells or hires or offers for sale or hire or lends or gives to any other person any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure ..” Flick Knife sha be guilty of of an offence
Defendant - shop keeper displayed a knife marked with a price in his hop window - hadn’t sold any but charged under the act
Hadn’t committed an offence
Golden Rule?
Allen (1872) charged with bigamy “whosoever being married shall marry again” - commits an offence
“If (the words) are capable of more than one meaning then you can choose between those meaning but beyond this you cannot go”
Narrow: requires that the words should be given their literal meaning unless the result would be one that parliament could not have desired or foreseen.
Golden Rule?
Adler v George (1964)
Golden Rule - Wider Version
RE Sigsworth (1935)
