statutory interpretations

Question 1

why do judges interpret statutes

Answer 1

ambiguity
new inventions/ tech
change in language
a broad term
drafting errors

Question 2

what are the four rules of interpretations

Answer 2

literal rule
golden rule
mischief rule
purposive rule

Question 3

what does the literal rule

Answer 3

lord esher said “if the words of an act are clear, you must follow them even if they lead to a manifest absurdity” the literal rule requires judges to apply the literal, ordinary, dictionary meaning of word even if they lead to manifested absurdity

Question 4

what is the case for the literal rule

Answer 4

LNER V berriman

Question 5

what happened in lner v berriman

Answer 5

the v was oiling the railway when a train hit him. but the railway company werent liable because he was maintaining and not relaying and repairing.

Question 6

what act did they have to interpret in LNER V berriman

Answer 6

fatal accidents act 1846 because it covers all fatal accidents at the workplace.

Question 7

where can the literal rule also be seen

Answer 7

dpp v cheeseman

Question 8

what happened in r v Cheeseman

Answer 8

he masturbated in a public toilet but was not found gulty of a crime

Question 9

what statute was Cheeseman charged under

Answer 9

town police cause act 1847, which stated that indecent exposure of ones person in the street to the annoyance of passengers is illegal

Question 10

how did the public health acts amendment act1907 define street

Answer 10

any place of public resort under the control of local authority. therefore the toilet may count as the street.

Question 11

what was the definition of passenger and where did they find it

Answer 11

a passer by or through its place for its ordinary purpose, in a dictionary from 1847.

Question 12

did the police count as passengers in r v Cheeseman

Answer 12

no because they weren’t passing by or through the toilet, they were waiting for him.

Question 13

explain the golden rule

Answer 13

starts by looking at the words literal meaning in the act but if it were to end in a manifested absurdity or unjust result they can use the golden rule

Question 14

what is the broad approach in the golden rule

Answer 14

grammatical and ordinary sense of the words may be modified as to avoid absurdity lord wensleydale and grey v pearson

Question 15

what case links to the broad approach with the golden rule

Answer 15

re Sigsworth,

Question 16

explain the re Sigsworth case

Answer 16

the deceased person had not made a will, intestate, so the administration of estates act 1925 came into effect, this act said that the son would inherit the mothers estate as he was the mothers issue. however the son had murdered the mother so this was a problem, as the court didn’t want the murderer to benefit from his crime so the court decided that the issue inherits in the absence of a will but not when the issue has murdered the deceased.

Question 17

what is the narrow approach in the golden rule

Answer 17

lord reid jones v dpp
if the words are capable of more that one meaning then you are allowed to chose between the meanings.

Question 18

what is the case that links to the narrow approach

Answer 18

r v allen

Question 19

explain r v allen case

Answer 19

he tried to commit bigamy (marrying more than one person at once) the oapa 1861outlines this offence. but there is two ways to interpret the word marriage, being legally married and going through the wedding ceremony therefore they chose the second definition, so he was guilty

Question 20

explain how the mischief rule works.

Answer 20

the mischief rule requires judges to identify the mischief ie problem, parliament was trying to stop by making the statute and interpret the statute and try and stop the mischief heydons case gives us four questions to ask when using this rule, what was the common law before the act, what was the mischief the common law did not provide, what was the remedy parliament created, what was the reason for the remedy.

Question 21

smith v hughes

Answer 21

the staturte the court was interpreting wa sthe street offence act 1959 which tried to stop prostitutes from harassing passers by, but the appellants were in their windows and balconies harassing men and its problematic because they weren’t in the street, so they modified the meaning of street to include the balconies. therefore it is now an offence for a common prostitute to loiter or solicit on the street in public [lace for the purpose of prostitution.

Question 22

royal college of nursing v dhss

Answer 22

the statute they were interpreting was the abortion act 67, there was a problem because nurses weren’t medically registered practitioners so shouldn’t be helping with the abortion however they changed it it involve nurses as they wanted to prevent backstreet operations.

Question 23

what did lord denning’s say about the purposive rule

Answer 23

lord denning said we sit here to find out the intention of parliament and we do that better by filling in the gaps than by making a nonsense out of literal meanings.

Question 24

what did lord simmons argue about the purposive approach

Answer 24

argued that this approach was a naked usurpation of the legislative function under the thin guise of interpretation, ie basically taking over parliament and pretending to interpret.

Question 25

jones v tower boot co

Answer 25

C was suing his employer because of racial harassment. they interpreted race relations act 1976. under this act employees were liable for acts of their employees when done by a person in course of employment. but the employer said he wasnt liable because the harassment wasnt part of the employees jobs. however the court used the purposive rule so he was liable.

Question 26

r v registrar general ex parte smith

Answer 26

the claimant was adopted, mentally ill and murdered his adopted mother, he was applying for getting his birth certificate in order to fine his mother. however he had expressed that he wanted to kill her. the act that covered the rules on this was the adoption act 1976. which sais if someone wants their birth certificate they shall give it to them ie they have to however they said no as it wasnt the parliament purpose to harm or put the mother in danger.

Question 27

Where are intrinsic aids found

Answer 27

inside the statute itself

Question 28

what is involved in intrinsic aids

Answer 28

short titles
definition section
marginal notes

Question 29

the short title is

Answer 29

the name and date of the act
they include the date so you can find definitions of the words in the dictionary from that year

Question 30

a definition section is and example

Answer 30

sections of an act that define the act so all judges understand the act
oxford v moss the d stole exam answers,

Question 31

marginal notes and example

Answer 31

r v montila they are added by parliamentary council but dont have to be followed

Question 32

whats an extrinsic aid

Answer 32

the rules also allow the judges to use external aids, in other words help found outside of the statute itself

Question 33

what are examples of extrinsic aids

Answer 33

dictionary
hansard
law reform reports
the interpretations act

Question 34

what is hansard

Answer 34

an edited record of all the proceedingsin both houses of parliament.

Question 35

why is hansard useful

Answer 35

judges can look if they want to find what parliaments intention was in passing a particular statute.

Question 36

what did davis v johnson say and what did lord dennings say in response about hansard

Answer 36

D V J said that they did nto allow the use of hansard, and lord dennings said that not to use hansard would be to grope around in the dark for the meaning of an act without switching the lights on.

Question 37

what did pepper v hart say about the three circumstances when your allowed to use hansard

Answer 37

1) words of an act are ambiguous and could lead to an absurdity.
2) there was a statement in hansard relating to the statute in question.
3) the statement would clear up ambiguity.

Question 38

why was lord mackay not allow hansard

Answer 38

its costly and timely.

Question 39

what was lord bridges’ compramise in hansard

Answer 39

judges can only look at hansard if its relevant

Question 40

cases for law reform reports

Answer 40

black-clawson international ltd v papierwerke
DPP v Bull