STATUTORY INTERPRETATION - 4 APPROACHES/RULES

Question 1

LITERAL RULE
courts

Answer 1

• give the words their plain, victorian, or literal meaning even if the outcome is absurd

Question 2

LITERAL RULE - feature
courts will

Answer 2

• often make use of a dictionary

Question 3

LITERAL RULE - feature
probably the…

Answer 3

• most common rule of interpretation
• least controversial

Question 4

LITERAL RULE - feature
Lord Esher (1982)

Answer 4

• if the words of an Act are clear, you must follow them, even if they lead to a manifest absurdity

Question 5

LITERAL RULE
Whiteley v Chappel

Answer 5

• statute made it an offence to impersonate ant person ‘eligible to vote’
• held: not guilty as dead people aren’t entitled to vote

Question 6

LITERAL RULE
LNER v Berriman

Answer 6

• held: wife’s claim failed as maintaining the line wasn’t the same as relaying or repairing

Question 7

GOLDEN RULE
what is it?

Answer 7

• a modification of the literal rule
• starts by looking at the literal rule meaning, but if it leads to an absurd outcome, this can be avoided

Question 8

GOLDEN RULE
it is therefore

Answer 8

• the safety valve of the literal rule

Question 9

GOLDEN RULE
narrow view

Answer 9

• court may only choose between the two possible meanings of the word or phrase

Question 10

GOLDEN RULE
wide view

Answer 10

• words only have one meaning, but this would lead to a repugnant situation
• golden rule can be used to modify the meanings of the words of the statute

Question 11

GOLDEN RULE
R v Allen - narrow view

Answer 11

’
- literal meaning - not be found guilty
- court considered whether marry meant “contract a valid marriage” or “go through the ceremony of marriage”
- latter phrase was applied since the former would provide an absurd result

Question 12

GOLDEN RULE
Re Sigsworth- wide view

Answer 12

• No ambiguity in the wording but the court wasn’t going to allow a murderer to benefit
• Courts re wrote the statute stating that sons/daughters could not inherit where they had killed the deceased

Question 13

MISCHIEF RULE
this is…

Answer 13

used when it seems clear that the purpose of the statute is to reform an old law

Question 14

MISCHIEF RULE
also known as…

Answer 14

• the rule in Heydon’s case

Question 15

MISCHIEF RULE
Hayden’s case (what must the courts consider)

Answer 15

• what was the common law before making the Act?
• what was the mischief and defect for which common law did not provide?
• what was the remedy that Parliament resolved?
• the true reason for that remedy

Question 16

MISCHIEF RULE
Corkery v Carpenter

Answer 16

• Mischief was that the Act intended to prevent drunken people on the highway to maintain public order and safety

Question 17

MISCHIEF RULE
Royal College of Nursing v DHSS

Answer 17

Parliament wished to remedy the unsatisfactory state of backstreet abortions and to ensure they were carried out with skill and care
- therefore, it was lawful for nurses to carry them out without a doctor

Question 18

PURPOSIVE APPROACH
when is it used?

Answer 18

• when words of the Act are unclear

Question 19

PURPOSIVE APPROACH
this approach…

Answer 19

• goes beyond the mischief rule as judges are deciding what they believe Parliament meant to achieve

Question 20

PURPOSIVE APPROACH
it looks…

Answer 20

• at the spirit of law, and tries to give effect to the wider purpose of law

Question 21

PURPOSIVE APPROACH
Judges…

Answer 21

• look at the context of the Act, and other extrinsic aids

Question 22

PURPOSIVE APPROACH
R v Registrar General ex Parte Smith

Answer 22

• held: although Smith was entitled to this information under the Adoption Act 1976, it would be contrary to the purpose of the Act to provide information to someone who might want to use it to cause harm

Question 23

PURPOSIVE APPROACH
Jones v Tower Boot Co

Answer 23

• CA stated the purpose of the Act was to eliminate discrimination, compensate victims and punish perpetrators
• employer was found liable