The Purposive Approach Flashcards
intro [paragraph 1]
In many statutes, the wording is ambiguous or old-fashioned or the words could have multiple meanings. Because of this, judges have developed rules over time to help them ‘find’ the meaning of the words. One of which is known as the Purposive Approach.
definition [paragraph 2]
The Purposive Approach is broader than the mischief rule, as it looks to what Parliament were trying to ‘achieve’ with the law. This is an approach most commonly associated with European Law (either European Union or European Human Rights Law).
meaning [paragraph 3]
Essentially, this approach attempts to look at the purpose of the law rather than looking at the specific words of the statute.
R v Registrar – Ex Parte Smith
Under the Adoption Act 1976, any adopted individual who wished to contact their birth parents could do so through the Registrar-General. Smith, who was serving a life sentence for the murders of 2 people, accepted the terms and it was left to the court to decide whether they should be able to contact his mother. The court heard that he should not be able to contact his mother as the purpose of this act was to reunite families and Parliament would not have intended for this to happen as the defendant’s (D) violent past could put the mother in danger.
Quintavalle Case
Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, there was only one recognised form of fertilisation, IVF. However, a new form of fertilisation, Cell Nuclear Replacement (CNR), had emerged that was not around in 1990. The court heard that the purpose of the act was to cover all embryology rather than just the treatments available at the time of the statute and so CNR was to be included.
