Statutory Interpretations

Question 0

What is the literal rule?

Answer 0

Where judges give words their ordinary meaning from the Oxford English Dictionary

Question 1

Name 3 literal rules

Answer 1

R v Harris 1836, London v NER v Berriman 1946, Fisher v Bell 1961, Whitley v Chappel 1868

Question 2

Name the case, if goods have a price label and are being displayed it is an invitation to treat and not an offer, the offer is made when the customer presents the item to the cashier with payment

Answer 2

Fischer v Bell 1961 - Literal rule

Question 3

What is the golden broad approach?

Answer 3

Extension of the literal rule, can change the meaning of the word

Question 4

Name 2 broad approaches cases

Answer 4

Re sigsworth 1935, Adler v George 1964, Maddox v Stoner 1963

Question 5

What is the golden narrow approach

Answer 5

Where a word has two meanings and the judges pick the less absurd

Question 6

Name the case, the defendant has prohibited an RAF station which was a prohibited place within the Act, he was prosecuted for having obstructed a member of her Majesty’s forces who engaged in Security duty in relation to the station

Answer 6

Adler v George 1964

Question 7

Who quoted “If they are capable of more than one meaning then you can choose between those meanings but beyond this you cannot go”

Answer 7

Jones v Dpp 1962

Question 8

Name one case of the narrow golden approach

Answer 8

R v Allen 1872

Question 9

In R v Allen was the word “marry” to mean that they have to have a after party?

Answer 9

No, it means that they have to go through a ceremony

Question 10

What is the Mischief rule?

Answer 10

Set to find out what parliament was meant to address, gives judges more discretion and power to favour an Act

Question 11

Name the 4 steps of the Hayden case 1584

Answer 11

1. What was the common law before making the Act, 2. Identify what was wrong with that law - what ‘mischief’ did it not provide for? 3. Decide how parliament intended to improve the law through the passing of the statute under consideration - what remedy has parliament put in place. 4. Apply the statute in that context

Question 12

Which case included prostitutes being charged under the street offences Act 1959

Answer 12

Smith v Hughes 1960

Question 13

What is the purposive approach?

Answer 13

A Morden descendent of the mischief rule, consider what parliament intended to be the purpose of the statute and applies it to the present case

Question 14

Name at least one mischief rule

Answer 14

Smith v Hughes 1960, Royal college of Nursing v DHSS 1981, Hayden’s case 1584

Question 15

Is the purposive approach in line with the law commission?

Answer 15

Yes, the report on the interpretation of statues 1969

Question 16

“We sit here to find out the intention of parliament and carry it out, and we do this better by filling in the gaps and making sense of the enactment”- Who quoted this under what rule?

Answer 16

Lord Denning - Purposive approach

Question 17

Name at least 2 purposive approach cases

Answer 17

Knowles v Liverpool City Council 1993, Magor and St Mellors RDC v Newport Corp 1950, Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association 2001

Question 18

Does the literal rule connect with the European Communities Act 1972, Where the UK courts must give effect to the European law so should also use their methods?

Answer 18

No, it links with the purposive approach

Question 19

Name important details of The Fitzpatrick v Sterling housing association 2001 case

Answer 19

Judges look at the purpose of the housing Act, held that a gay man was entitled take over the tenancy formally held by a male partner, the term ‘family’ now means same sex relationship as well

Question 20

What Act made in 1969 links with Knowles v Liverpool City Council 1993

Answer 20

Employees liability (defective equipment) Act 1969

Question 22

name 3 advantages of the purposive approach

Answer 22

In 1969 the law commission describes it as a ‘rather more satisfactory approach’, promotes flexibility enabling the law to be applied as parliament intended, can help prevent absurd or unjust results, generally same advantages as the mischief rule

Question 23

Name 3 disadvantages of the purposive approach

Answer 23

Can be seen to give far too much power to unelected judiciary, in some cases it can be argued that judges are updating legislation which should be left for parliament to do, can result in uncertainty in the law and subjective law making, can lead to inconsistency

Question 24

Name 3 disadvantages of the mischief rule

Answer 24

Can be hard to discover the ‘mischief’, considered out of date, in some cases it’s argued that judges are updating legislation when it should be parliament doing so, it can lead to confusion because judges may change the meaning of what the Act says ( Stack v Frank Jones Ltd)

Question 25

Name 3 advantages of the mischief rule

Answer 25

Parliamentary sovereignty is respected, can help prevent unjust and absurd results, allows judges to interpret statutes in the light of changing social and technological circumstances (RCN v DHSS) promotes flexibility enabling the law to be applied as intended and was describes as a ‘rather more satisfactory approach’ by the law commission in 1969

Question 26

What are 3 advantages of the golden rule

Answer 26

• can help prevent absurd or unjust results, enables judges to avoid absurdity in the public interest which is shown in Re sigsworth, And allows for justification that parliaments intention was not to create an absurd situation, more likely to produce what parliament intended

Question 27

Name 3 disadvantages of the golden rule

Answer 27

Michael Zander described it as a ‘feeble parachute’ basically saying it is irrelevant, there is no clear definition of what amount to an absurd results so the outcome of the cases can be unpredictable, what seems absurd to one judge may not be absurd to another,

Question 28

Name 3 advantages of the literal rule

Answer 28

Can highlight the problems of an Act (Fischer v Bell 1961) Quick decisions can be made such as finding the meaning of the word ‘passenger’ in Cheeseman 1847, parliamentary supremacy is respected, this approach satisfies the separation of powers as the judiciary is not given too much power and statutes are interpreted as parliament enacted them

Question 28

Name 3 disadvantages of the literal Rule

Answer 28

Can produce absurd results as there is no flexibility for judges, so can therefore be seen to not follow the intentions of parliament, becoming less relevant because of the importance of the European Law, words can often have more than one meaning, which makes a simple definition difficult to apply, can produce unjust or unfair results (berrimen) assumes that draftsmen will always do their job properly

Question 29

Name an important case about the ejusdem generis rule

Answer 29

Powell v Kempton Racecource 1899, a rule A rule was made that there should not be bets made in a room office or house (‘’House, office, room or other place for betting’’) and these words only refer to indoor places so as his tattersall’s ring was outside, so the defendant was eventually found guilty.

Question 31

How can we refer to the Ejusdem generis rule?

Answer 31

Of the same kind - Where a law lists specific classes of persons or things and then refers to them in general, the general statements only apply to the same kind of persons or things specifically listed

Question 32

How can we refer to the expressino inius exlusio alterius rule?

Answer 32

the mention of one thing excludes the other, If there is a list of words which is not followed by general words then the Act applies to only things in that list

Question 33

whats an important case of the expressino inius exlusio alterius rule?

Answer 33

Tempest v Kilner, Tempest v Kilner refers to the statutes of frauds 1677; a contract is required a contract for the sale of ‘goods wares and merchandise’ of more than £10 to be evidenced in writing, which was held not to apply

Question 34

How can we refer to the noscitur a scoiis rule?

Answer 34

a word is known by the company it keeps, Word is looked at in the context and interpreted accordingly

Question 35

What are the 3 rules in Latin that we refer to in SI?

Answer 35

Noscitur a scoiis, Expressino inius exlusio alterius, The Ejusdem generis rule

Question 36

Whats an important case of the noscitur a scoiis rule?

Answer 36

Muir v Keay (1975) where under the Refreshment Houses Act 1860, The shop needed a license if it wanted to be kept open for ‘entertainment’ during certain hours of the night. Entertainment of the Act meant musical and theatrical and also drinking a coffee, So the defendant was found guilty

Question 37

What is Lord Eshers quote for the literal rule?

Answer 37

“If the words of an act is clear you must follow them, even though they lead to a manifest absurdity”

Question 38

What is the golden rule?

Answer 38

A modification of the literal rule, this is split into two different sections in broad and narrow. Broad is where judges can modify words to avoid future problems and narrow is where a word has two meanings and the judges pick the less absurd