uSING LEGISLATION Flashcards
Anatomy of an act of parliament
- short title explains how to refer to act
- Citation: year and chapter (c)
- Long title:
- date of royal assent:
- Enacting formula:
- main body:
- marginal notes:
short title (Act)
explains how act should be referred
Long title (act)
explains the act and its provisions briefly
date of royal assent (act)
date when bill became an act and law
Enacting formula (act)
Usually the same, states act was created by proper authority
DIFFERS if the act was forced by HOC and without HOL.
Main body (act)
Divided into sections, subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs
marginal notes (act)
Older acts and have titles of each sections
difference between marginal acts and section headings (act)
- section heading are a part of the act
- marginal notes are not and so have no leal effect
commencement and expiry (act)
Date of royal assent: commencement provision, found towards the end of act, can separate the sections and when they became law
Extent provisions of an act
specifies that certain provisions only come into force in particular areas.
Schedules (act)
can contain:
- defintion of terms
detailed provisions referred to in the main act
- details. of minor and consequential amendments to other legislation
- repeals of pre-existing legislation
Preambles (act)
Contained in older statutes
describe the purpose of the act in more detail than the long title.
explanatory notes (act)
recent acts provide useful information but are not binding
anatomy of statutory instrument
citation
subject matter
title
key dates
authority
main body: paras + articles (if older)
Minister
Explanatory note
How to interpret statutory provision
The literal rule
The golden rule
The mischief rule
(‘classic rules’)
The purposive approach
The teleological approach
Literal rule
words must be given their plain, ordinary and literal meaning
- can lead to absurdities
- expects acts to be perfectly drafted
- failure to apply to modern world.
- little judicial scope: how judge interprets words
whittley v chappel: impersonation of dead person and right to vote
The golden rule
words given their plain, ordinary and literal meaning as long as it doesnt result in absurd results (narrow) or against public policy (broad)
R v Allen: narrow approach (marrying more than one person)
Re Sigsworth: public policy (broad), Sigsworth killed dad to get insurance payout.
The mischief rule
Heydon’s case
examination of former law in an attempt to find Parliaments intentions when passing the act
applies only where the words of statute are ambiguous.
4 questions of mischief rule
- what did case law say before Parliament stepped in
- What was wrong with the case law? What situation did it not cover?
- What did Parliament say should be done?
- Why did they think this should be done?
The purposive approach
seeking an interpretation of the law which ives effect to its general purpose.
‘they must do what the framers of the instrument would have done if they had thought about it’ - Lord Denning, Bulmer v Bollinger
The teleological approach
spirit of the legislation is considered. BROADER THAN PUrPOSIVE
particularly important when referring to EU law
Rules of language
Ejusdem Generis
noscitur a sociis
expressio unius est exclusio alterius
Ejusdem generis
‘of the same type’
where a word with general meaning is followed by a list of specific words, the general word only applies to things of the same type as the specified words.
‘hats, coats, scarves, gloves and other articles’
‘other articles’ would be outdoor accessories.
noscitur a sociis
‘known by the company it keeps’
words in a list take thier meaning from other words in the list
Pengellery v Bell punch: floors= did not include part of factory floor used for storage since the other words related to passageways.
expressio unius est exclusio alterius
express one thing is to exclude the others
a list of specific things may be interpreted as excluding others of the same type.
R v Inhavitant of Sedgley: tax levied on ‘houses, lands, tithes and coal mines’ does not apply to limestone mines.
Intrinsic aids to interpretation
-short title
- longtime
- preamble
- marginal notes
- punctuation
- shedules
Extrinsic aids to interpretation
- The interpretation act 1978
- dictionaries
- previous interpretations of the same words
- hansard, reports of recommendations from law commission and government departmental committees(ONLY PERMITTED UNDER RULES FROM PEPPER V HART)
