statutory interpretation - topic 2

Question 1

what is the literal rule?

Answer 1

gives the word plain ordinary or dictionary meaning

Question 1

Why might the courts have to become involved in interpreting an Act of Parliament?

Answer 1

A broad term e.g. crisps
ambiguity - e.g. cake
drafting error
new developments
change in use of language overtime

Question 2

explain what happened in the case Whitley v Chappell and how it illustrates the literal rule

Answer 2

1. defendant impersonated a dead man to gain another vote.
2. found not guilty because he was impersonating a person who wasn’t entitled to a vote
3. the rule was taken literally by saying a dead person had no entitlement to a vote

Question 3

explain what happened in London and north eastern railway v berriman

Answer 3

1. man was oiling a railway and was not supplied a lookout because his job didn’t qualify for one
2. got run over by a train and the widow couldn’t claim damages because berriman wasn’t relaying or repairing a track which meant his job didn’t qualify

Question 4

what are the advantages of the literal rule?

Answer 4

rules follow the words parliament have used

Question 5

what are the disadvantages of the literal rule?

Answer 5

1. assumes every act is perfectly drafted
2. following the words exactly can lead to unfair or unjust outcomes - R v Harris or London and north eastern railway co. v Berriman

Question 6

what is the golden rule?

Answer 6

a modification of the literal rule that avoids an absurd interpretation

Question 7

what happened in the case Adler v George?

Answer 7

1. Defendant obstructed HM forces in the prohibited place
2. the law stated that it was an offence to prohibited the forces ‘in the vicinity’ of a prohibited place
3. it was argued that because the exact wording of the law didn’t apply that the defendants weren’t guilty
4. defendants were still found guilty as it would be absurd if those causing obstruction weren’t guilty

Question 8

what happened in the case Re Sigworth/ R v Allen?

Answer 8

1. son murdered his mother in hopes to inherit her money
2. it was held the literal rule should not apply and the golden rule was used to prevent the repugnant situation of the son inheriting money off of the mother

Question 9

what are the advantages of the golden rule?

Answer 9

1. respects the words of parliament in limited situations
2. allows the judge to choose the most sensible meaning where there is more than one meaning to a word in the act

Question 10

what are the disadvantages of the golden rule?

Answer 10

limited use

Question 11

what is the mischief rule?

Answer 11

looks back to the gap in previous law and interprets the act so as to cover the gap

Question 12

what happened in the case Smith v Hughes?

Answer 12

1. prostitutes were advertising in front windows instead of on the streets as they weren’t allowed to advertise on the streets
2. women were grabbing mens’ attention through shop windows
3. it was argued that these women couldn’t be found guilty because they weren’t on the street
4. found guilty because they were still contributing to the mischief

Question 13

what happened in Eastbourne Borough Council v Stirling?

Answer 13

1. Taxi driver had no license but was still plying for hire
2. his vehicle wasn’t in the street but on a taxi rank on the station forecourt
3. found guilty even though the taxi was on a private land he was likely to get customers off the street

Question 14

what happened in the case DHSS v Royal college of nursing?

Answer 14

1. wording of the abortion act was unclearas to wether or not the nurses can do the procedure as they are not a doctor
2. using the mischief rule it was legal for nurses to carry out abortions

Question 15

what are the advantages of the mischief rule?

Answer 15

1. promotes the purpose of the law
2. more likely to produce a just result

Question 16

what are the disadvantages of the mischief rule?

Answer 16

1. risk of judicial law making
2. uncertainty

Question 17

what is the purposive approach?

Answer 17

courts look to see what is the purpose of law

Question 18

what happened in R v Registrar General, ex parte Smith?

Answer 18

1. Adoption Act 1976 stated 18 year olds would be allowed to gain access of their biological mother if they wanted to
2. To do this you had to attend 2 counselling sessions
3. Smith had been to both counselling sessions however because he was violent and in a psychiatric ward his nurses speculated he just wanted to hurt his biiological mother and not meet her
4. he was not given access to information of his biological mother

Question 19

what happened in Quintaville?

Answer 19

1. HOL had to decide wether organisms created by CNR came within the definition of ‘embryo’in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
2. the act stated an ‘embryo means a live human embryo where fertilisation is complete’
3. Fertilisation however is not needed for CNR
4. Using the purposive approach the HOL decided that embryos produced through CNR were covered by the 1990 Act

Question 20

What are the advantages of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 20

1. Leads to justice in individual cases. broad approach allows law to cover more situations than applying the words literally.
2. useful where there is new technology - Quintaville - if the literal rule had been used it would have been necessary for parliament to make a new law to deal with the situation

Question 21

What are the disadvantages of the purposive approach?

Answer 21

1. May mean judges refuse to follow the clear words of Parliament
2. Difficult to discover parliaments intention - Hansard only gives details of debates including those MPs who didn’t agree

Question 22

what are intrinsic aids?

Answer 22

aid ‘inside the act’

Question 23

what are some examples of intrinsic aids?

Answer 23

1. explanatory notes included in the margin to show what the section is about
2. glossary of key terms in some acts

Question 24

what are extrinsic aids?

Answer 24

aids ‘outside the act’

Question 25

what are some examples of extrinsic aids?

Answer 25

1. dictionaries or textbooks - R v Jewell Lady justice Rafferty referred to smith and hogans criminal law textbook
2. historical context of the act - OAPA 1861 uses the word ‘grievous’ which is no longer commonly used but it was when the law was drafted