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Law AS - Sonia LA2 > Statutory Interpretation > Flashcards

Statutory Interpretation Flashcards

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1
Q

What is statutory interpretation?

A

Judges interpretating words in court which may be unclear

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2
Q

What are some reasons why the meaning of a word may be unlcear?

A 
If a broad term is used (type)
Ambiguity
A drafting error
New developments
Changes in the use of language
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3
Q

What are the 4 rules used to interpret words?

A

The Literal Rule, The Golden Rule, The Mischief Rule, The Purposive Approach

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4
Q

What is the literal rule?

A

Words given their plain ordinary dictionary meaning

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5
Q

What did the case R v Judge of the City of London say about the use of the literal rule?

A

“if the words of an act are clear then you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity”

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6
Q

Give 3 examples of cases using the literal rule

A

Whiteley v Chappell 1868 (voting&dead person)
London and North Eastern Railway Co V Berriman 1946 (died on train tracks, compensation)
Felix v DPP 1998 (cards in phone box,littering public place)

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7
Q

What are 3 advantages of the literal rule?

A

It follows parliaments words as written, makes the law certain, may force parliament to be more precise in the future

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8
Q

What are 2 disadvantages of the literal rule?

A

It assumes every act will be drafted perfectly, it can result in unjust outcomes

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9
Q

What is the golden rule?

A

Modification of the literal rule, look at the literal meaning but can avoid an absurd outcome

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10
Q

What are the 2 branches of the golden rule and what are they?

A

Narrow approach - Where the word is capable of more than 1 meaning the least absurd meaning is applied
Wider approach - Where the words of an act are clear but following this would lead to an absurd outcome

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11
Q

Name 1 case that follows the golden rule, narrow approach

A

Alder v George 1964 - parachuting into an RAF base “in the vicinity of a prohibited place”

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12
Q

Name 1 case that follows the golden rule, wider approach

A

Re Sigworth 1935 - killed mother to inherit her property

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13
Q

What are the 3 advantages of the golden rule?

A

Allows judges to choose most sensible meaning, avoids absurd results, avoids injustices (for example Re Sigworth being able to gain inheritance)

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14
Q

What are the 3 disadvantages of the golden rule?

A

Limited in use as can only be used in rare cases, no clear meaning of the word ‘absurdity’, not possible to predict when the court will use the golden rule

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15
Q

What is the mischief rule?

A

Judges trying to find the gap in the law follwing Heydons Case 1584

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16
Q

What are the 4 rules for consideration in Heydons Case?

A

What was the law before the act was made?
What was the mischief the common rule did not provide?
What remedy did parliament apply?
What was the reason for the remedy?

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17
Q

What are 2 examples of cases using the mischief rule?

A

Smith v Hughes 1960 - prostitutes on balconies
Royal College of Nursing v DHSS 1981 - abortion act, abortions can now be carried out by technology with nurses whereas the law stated it had to be done by a ‘registered medical practitioner’

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18
Q

What are the 3 advantages of the mischief rule?

A

More flexibility, promotes purpose of the law, judges can look back at what the gap in the law was

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19
Q

What are the 3 disadvantages of the mischief rule?

A

Judges own interpretation, uncertainty in the law, not democratic

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20
Q

What is the purposive approach?

A

Court is looking at the gap in the law along with looking at parliaments intentions

21
Q

Which rule do Lords prefer?

A

The purposive approach - it finds out parliaments intentions which is what they believe in (Lord Denning)

22
Q

What are 2 cases using the purposive approach?

A

Jones v Tower Boot Co Ltd 1997 (racism by coworkers)
R v Registrar-General, ex parte Smith 1990 (wanted to find birth mother but had committed 2 murders and was mentally unstable so they said no as harm could come to mother)

23
Q

What are the 3 advantages of the purposive approach?

A

Uses extrinsic aids, leads to justices, considers parliaments intentions

24
Q

What are the 2 disadvantages of the purposive approach?

A

Not always easy to find out parliaments intentions, makes judges to powerful as they are not elected to make these decisions

25
Q

What are the 3 aids to interpretation?

A

Intrinsic aids, extrinsic aids & hansard

26
Q

What are intrinsic aids?

A

Matters within the statute/act that may help make words clearer (short & long title, marginal notes etc)

27
Q

What are extrinsic aids?

A

Help from outside the statute itself (earlier case law, dictionaries, hansard, explanatory notes)

28
Q

What is Hansard?

A

The official record of parliamentary debates in writing. Includes discussions on words & phrases and what they should mean, includes votes etc

29
Q

What did Lord Denning think of the use of hansard?

A

Very useful. He said that “to look for the meaning of a word without using hansard was like groping about in the dark without switching on the light”

30
Q

Which Lord helped in the banning of hansard?

A

Lord Scarman (material is an unreliable guide) - BANNED THE USE OF HANSARD

31
Q

When was the ban of using hansard lifted?

A

Pepper v Hart 1993 - the law lords said hansard could only be consulted where the legislation was leading to an absurdity

32
Q

If one lawyer party consulted hansard in a case what do they have to do?

A

Notify the other party so they have the same opportunity

33
Q

When is the only time a wider use of hansard can be used?

A

When a court is considering an act that introduced an INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION or EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE INTO ENGLISH LAW

34
Q

Why is this the only time a wider use of hansard can be used?

A

As it is important to be consistent with European materials

35
Q

What are the 2 advantages of using hansard?

A

It can find out what the minister was trying to achieve

Lord Denning said its ridiculous not to use it

36
Q

What are the 3 disadvantages of using hansard?

A

Lack of clarity
Parliamentary intentions may not be clear
Lord MacKay pointed out the time and cost would be great to use hansard in every case

37
Q

When are law reports allowed to be used as an extrinsic aid?

A

To discover the gap in the law which the legislation designed the law report to be based on

38
Q

What are international conventions?

A

Where explanatory notes and other preparatory materials can be used in international cases as other countries are allowed to use these materials

39
Q

Since when have acts been accompanied by explanatory notes to summarize the provisions of the act?

A

1999

40
Q

In what case was more than 1 extrinsic aid used?

A

Laroche v Spirit of Adventure Ltd 2009 - needed to find meaning of word aircraft and if hot air balloon counted

41
Q

What are the 3 rules of language?

A

THE GENERAL RULE, THE SPECIFIC RULE, THE CONTEXT RULE

42
Q

What is the general rule?

A

Where a list of words is followed by general words, the general words are limited to the same kind of items (house, office, room or other place for betting) are all inside so ‘other place’ should be interpreted as inside

43
Q

What is the specific rule?

A

The mention of one thing excludes another - where a list of words then the act only applies to the words on the list

44
Q

What is the context rule?

A

Words must be looked at in context and interpreted accordingly, involves looking at other words in the same section

45
Q

What is a presumption?

A

Something taken for granted about the law unless the act makes it clear that the presumption is not to be applied

46
Q

What are the 4 presumptions?

A

Common law will apply unless parliament has made it clear in an act that common law has been altered
Criminal offences will require the defendent to know or had the intention to commit the offence
The crown (government) is not bound by a statute unless the act says so
Legislation will not apply retrospectively (War Crimes Act 1991)

47
Q

Which of the 4 rules has the EU adopted?

A

The purposive approach

48
Q

Why has being an EU member affected the English courts (2)?

A

The courts have to use the purposive approach as they are part of the EU
Judges are now more accustomed to the purposive approach as it is used widely

49
Q

What does the Human Rights Act 1998 say about legislation and human rights?

A

It has to be compatible with human rights (e.g The Rent Act 1977 said only heterosexual partners could take over a flat/house but the Human Rights Act says they were in breach of this and that it should apply to homosexual couples aswell

Law AS - Sonia LA2 (7 decks)

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