statutory interpretation

Question 1

why do we need interpretation

Answer 1

a broad term
ambiguity
drafting errors
new technology developments

Question 2

advantages literal rule

Answer 2

follows wording of parliament
prevents uneleced judges making law
makes the law more ceratin
easier to predict how the judges will interpret the law

Question 3

what is the mishief rule

Answer 3

a rule of statutory interpretation that looks back to the gap in the previous law and interprets the act so as to cover the gap

Question 4

a) external aids to interpretation include…

b) give some examples of cases

Answer 4

a)previous acts of parliament the historical setting
earlier case law
dictionaries -cheesman v dpp
hansard -pepperv hart
law commission reports-black-clawson case
international convetions

Question 5

which are the 3 original rule of staturory instruments

Answer 5

the literral rule
the mischief rule
the golden rule

Question 6

what is the purposive proach

Answer 6

an approach to statutory interpretation in which the courts look to see what the purpose was of the law

Question 7

give example of some cases of golden rule

Answer 7

adler v george - the words ‘in vicinity’held to include being in the place
Re Sigsworth -a son who murdered his mother could not inherit her estate as it would be repugnant

Question 8

a) the effect of eu law

b) give an example

Answer 8

a) eu law use purposive approac:
1) interpreting national law in the light and the aim of the european law
2) has made our judges more ready to use the purposive approach
b) marleasing case

Question 9

disadvantages of golden rule

Answer 9

can only be used in limited situation
not possible to predict when the courts will use it
is is a ‘feeble parachute’(zander)

Question 10

the effect of human rights and example

Answer 10

legislation must be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with human rights in the european convention on human rights
mendoza v ghaidan

Question 11

examples of cases under mischief rule

Answer 11

• smith v hughes -it shall be an offence for a common prostitute to loiter or solicit in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution
• Royal College of Nursing v DHSS-a pregnancy should be terminated by a registered medical practitioner
• Elliot v Grey-The defendant’s car was parked on the road. It was jacked up and had its battery removed. He was charged with an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1930 of using an uninsured vehicle on the road.
• Corkery v Carpenter-The defendant was riding his bicycle whilst under the influence of alcohol. S.12 of the Licensing Act 1872 made it an offence to be drunk in charge of a ‘carriage’ on the highway.
• DPP v Bull- The magistrates found him not guilty on the grounds that ‘common prostitute’ only related to females and not males. The prosecution appealed by way of case stated.(a man)

Question 12

disadvantages of the mischief rule

Answer 12

risk of judicial law making
not as wide as purposive approach
limited at the looking back at the old law
can make the law uncertain

Question 13

what are internal aids

Answer 13

are matters within the statute itself that may help to make its meaning clearer

Question 14

give some examples of internal aids

Answer 14

older acts will have preable
modern will not have or will have a short one
some acts will have an interpretation section in them
any headings before a group of sections
any schedules attached to the act

Question 15

what is the literal rule

Answer 15

courts will give words their plain ordinary or literal meaning

Question 16

literal rule disadvantages

Answer 16

not all acts are perfectly drafted
words have more than one meaning
can lead to unfair or unjust decision

Question 17

examples of cases under the literal rule

Answer 17

• R v Harris(1836)-The defendant bit off his victim’s nose. The statute made it an offence ‘to stab cut or wound’ the court held that under the literal rule the act of biting did not come within the meaning of stab cut or wound as these words implied an instrument had to be used. Therefore the defendant’s conviction was quashed.
• Fisher v Bell(1961) -The defendant had a flick knife displayed in his shop window with a price tag on it. Statute made it a criminal offence to ‘offer’ such flick knives for sale. His conviction was quashed as goods on display in shops are not ‘offers’ in the technical sense but an invitation to treat. The court applied the literal rule of statutory interpretation.
• Whitely v Chappe(1868)-A statute made it an offence ‘to impersonate any person entitled to vote.’ The defendant used the vote of a dead man. The statute relating to voting rights required a person to be living in order to be entitled to vote.

Question 18

what is golden rule

Answer 18

a rule of statutory interpretation . it is a modification of the literal rule and avoids an interpretation that is absurd

Question 19

advantages of purposive approach

Answer 19

leads to justice in individual case
allows for new developments in technology
avoids absurd decisions

Question 20

advantages of golden rule

Answer 20

respects the words of parliament
allows the judge to choose the most sensible meaning
avoids the worst problem of the literal rule

Question 21

cases under purposive approach

Answer 21

1) Pepper v Hart -the House of Lords departed from Davis v Johnson and took a purposive approach to interpretation holding that Hansard may be referred to and the teacher was not required to pay tax on the perk he received.
2) Pickstone v Freemans Plc-Miss Pickstone brought a claim against her employer under the Equal Pay Act 1970. She was employed as a warehouse operative and was paid the same as male warehouse operatives. However, Miss Pickstone claimed that the work of the warehouse operatives was of equal value to that done by male warehouse checkers who were paid £1.22 per week more than she was. The House of Lords decided that the literal approach would have left the United Kingdom in breach of its Treaty obligations to give effect to an EU directive. It therefore used the purposive approach and stated that Miss Pickstone was entitled to claim on the basis of work of equal value even though there was a male employee doing the same work as her.
3) R v Secretary of State for Health ex parte Quintavalle -There is only one possible answer to this question and it is negative.”

Question 22

disadvantages of purposive approach

Answer 22

difficult to find parliament’s intention
allows judges to make law
leads to the uncertainity in the law

Question 23

advantages of mischief rule

Answer 23

promotes the purpose of the law
fills in the gap of the law
produces a ‘just’ result

Question 24

cases under golden rule

Answer 24

1) R v Allen-The defendant was charged with the offence of bigamy under s.57 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The court applied the golden rule and held that the word ‘marry’ should be interpreted as ‘to go through a marriage ceremony’. The defendant’s conviction was upheld.
2) Re Sigsworth-A son murdered his mother. She had not made a will. Under the statute setting the law on intestacy he was her sole issue and stood to inherit her entire estate. The court applied the Golden rule holding that an application of the literal rule would lead to a repugnant result. He was thus entitled to nothing.
3) Adler v George-Under the Official Secrets Act 1920 it was an offence to obstruct a member of the armed forces ‘in the vicinity’ of a prohibited palace. The defendant was actually in the prohibited place, rather than ‘in the vicinity’ of it, at the time of obstruction.The court applied the golden rule. It would be absurd for a person to be liable if they were near to a prohibited place and not if they were actually in it. His conviction was therefore upheld.

Question 25

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Answer 25

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Question 26

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Answer 26

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