Rules Of Statutory Interpretation Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is parliamentary supremacy
Parliament is the supreme law making body which means any laws by parliament cannot be overturned or repeated by any other body
What is statutory interpretation
As legislation is not always clear cut, the language used can be complex and ambiguous. The courts must interpret legislation to bring about intention of parliament
What is the literal rule
Examines the plain ordinary and natural meaning of a word
Assumes that parliament intended what has been written and the approach will usually achieve the result that parliament intended
What was the result of LNER V Beriman
Man was killed on train tracks and he was carrying out maintence work and was oiling
The courts held that oiling tracks is not relaying or repairing the tracks therefore there was no comensation
What was the case in cheeseman
A D had been exposing himself in public toilets, the police were stationed there after the reports
Court held that the police were not passers by as they were stationed there
What is meant by the golden rule
The extension of the literal rule, it is used when the literal rule leads to an absurd or unjust result
What happened in the case of R V Allen
Charged with bigamy as under the literal rule the offence would be impossible to commit as civil law would not recognise more than one marriage
- marry should be interpreted as to go through one marriage ceremony
What is meant by the mischief rule?
Every act is passed to correct a mischief in the law
Judges will look at the mischief was and then interpret law in order to solve the mischief
What is the outcome in Hayden’s case
Case was set out to what courts should consider when they apply the mischief rule
1. What was the common law before the mischief
2. What was the mischief in the law that the common law did not remedy
3. What was the remedy parliament intended to provide
4. What was the reason for the remedy
What happened in smith v Hughes’s
The mischief was to stop the harassment of men by prostiitutes
What is the purposive approach
Modern descendant from the mischief rule as it is very flexible
Looks at what parliament meant and said
Approach allows judges to add or ignore words in establishing the purpose
