Statutory Interpretation

Question 1

What is statutory interpretation?

Answer 1

the process where a judge ‘works out’ the meaning of words in an Act of Parliament and how this then applies to the facts of the case before them.

Question 2

What are the 4 rules of statutory interpretation?

Answer 2

literal rule, golden rule, mischief rule, purposive approach

Question 3

What is the literal rule of statutory interpretation?

Answer 3

giving words their plain,ordinary, grammatical, and literal meaning, as it would appear in a dictionary.

Question 4

What are 2 case studies for the literal rule of statutory interpretation?

Answer 4

Whitley v Chappell (1868) and Fisher v Bell (1961)

Question 5

What happened in the case of Whiteley v Chappell (1868)? (LITERAL RULE)

Answer 5

D was charged with impersonating ‘any person entitled to vote’ at an election. D was acquitted because he impersonated a dead person - and a dead person is not entitled to vote.

Question 6

What happened in the case of Fisher v Bell (1961)? (LITERAL RULE)

Answer 6

D was a shopkeeper who had flick knives on display in his shop window. The Restriction of Offences Weapons Act 1959 made it an offence to ‘offer for sale’ these knives. However, D won by arguing that a display in shop is not an ‘offer for sale’. This led to Parliament amending the law a year later to close this loophole.

Question 7

In which two ways can the golden rule be used in statutory interpretation?

Answer 7

wide and narrow

Question 8

What is the narrow use of the golden rule?

Answer 8

when a word has 2 possible meanings but one meaning would. produce an unwanted/absurd outcome, the court chooses the sensible meaning.

Question 9

What is a case study for the narrow use of the golden rule?

Answer 9

R v Allen (1872)

Question 10

What happens in the case study of R v Allen (1872)? (Narrow use of golden rule)

Answer 10

Allen was convicted of bigamy as the Court decided that ‘marry’ should be interpreted to mean, ‘to go through a ceremony of marriage’.

Question 11

What is the wide use of the golden rule?

Answer 11

when there is only one literal meaning of a word which would lead to an absurd outcome, the golden rule can be used to alter the meaning of the word(s) in order to avoid the unwanted outcome and give effect to Parliament’s intentions.

Question 12

What is a case study for the wide use of the golden rule?

Answer 12

Re Sigsworth (1935)

Question 13

What happened in the case of Re Sigsworth (1935)?

Answer 13

A son murdered his mother(who hadn’t written her will). The Administration of Estates Act 1925 worded that the ‘next of kin’ should get inheritance. However, the court did not want him to benefit from his crime, and therefore he was prevented from inheriting.

Question 14

What is the mischief rule of statutory interpretation?

Answer 14

requires court to focus on the law before legislation was passed to determine the gap or mischief the legislation was intended to cover.

Question 15

Where did the mischief rule of statutory interpretation come from?

Answer 15

Hendon’s Case (1584)

Question 16

What are 2 case studies for the mischief rule of statutory interpretation?

Answer 16

Smith v Hughes (1960) and Royal College of Nursing Case (1981)

Question 17

What happened in the case of Smith v Hughes (1960) ? (MISCHIEF RULE)

Answer 17

Prostitutes were charged under the Street Ofeences Act 1959, which made it and offence to solicit in a public place. They were soliciting from a balcony. The court applied the mischief rule saying that the D’s were committing the ‘mischief’ the act was referring to.

Question 18

What happened in the case of h=the Royal College Nursing (1981)? (MISCHIEF RULE)

Answer 18

The court had to consider the wording of the Abortion Act 1967 which allowed ‘registered medical practitioners’ to carry out abortions. The Court looked at the ‘mischief’ that Parliament was aiming to control (illegal, ‘backstreet’ abortions) and decided that nurses supervising was not unlawful.

Question 19

What is the purposive approach in statutory interpretation?

Answer 19

seeks to give effect to Parliaments intentions when passing a new law

Question 20

What is a case study for the purposive approach of statutory interpretation?

Answer 20

Jones v Tower Boot (1997)

Question 21

What happened in the case of Jones v Tower Boot (1997) ? (PURPOSIVE APPROACH)

Answer 21

The Court of Appeal decided that racial harassment by fellow workers was ‘in course of employment’ making the employer liable. Parliaments intention was to eliminate racism in the workplace so it’s irrelevant that they weren’t being paid to be racist.

Question 22

.

Question 23

What case first set out the mischief rule?

Answer 23

Heydons Case 1584

Question 24

In what case was the purposive approach used to decide that the word ‘embryo’ in the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Act 1990 covered cloning?

Answer 24

R(Quintavelle) v Secretary of State 2003

Question 25

In which case was the mischief rule used to make the decision that nurses could administer labour inducing drugs if acting under a doctors instruction?

Answer 25

Royal College of Nursing v DHSS 1981

Question 26

In which case was the Literal Rule used to decide that ‘offer’ should be given its technical, legal meaning, coming to the conclusion that the display of a flick knife was not a ‘offer for sale’?

Answer 26

Fisher v Bell 1960

Question 27

In which case did the Literal Rule lead to the unjust decision that a widow could not claim compensation when her husband was killed because he didn’t have a lookout. This was because it was stated that workers are only entitled to a lookout if they are ‘relaying or repairing’ but what the husband was doing counted as maintenance.

Answer 27

LNER v BERRIMAN 1946

Question 28

In which case was the mischief rule used to give effect to parliaments aim to protect the public from being solicited by prostitutes in public places, even though they were on a balcony.

Answer 28

Smith v Hughes 1960

Question 29

In which case was the golden rule used to avoid the absurd situation of a man who murdered his mother then inheriting her money.

Answer 29

Re Sigsworth 1935

Question 30

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION LNER v Berriman (1946)

Answer 30

Literal Rule

Question 31

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Adler v George

Answer 31

Golden Rule

Question 32

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Smith v Hughes 1960

Answer 32

Mischief Rule

Question 33

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION R v Allen 1872

Answer 33

Golden Rule

Question 34

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Fisher v Bell

Answer 34

Literal Rule

Question 35

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Whitely v Chappell

Answer 35

Literal Rule

Question 36

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Re Sigsworth 1935

Answer 36

Golden Rule

Question 37

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Cheeseman

Answer 37

Literal Rule

Question 38

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Royal College of Nursing v DHSS 1981

Answer 38

Mischief rule

Question 39

MATCH THE CASE TO THE RULE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION Jones v Tower Boot

Answer 39

Purposive Approach

Question 40

What are the 2 different types of 'aids' a judge may use to help them interpret statutes?

Answer 40

intrinsic or extrinsic

Question 41

What is a intrinsic aid?

Answer 41

an aid found 'inside the act'

Question 42

What are the examples of intrinsic aids?

Answer 42

long and short title preamble or purpose section interpretation section schedules explanatory notes punctuation

Question 43

How can the long and short title help a judge interpret statutes? | intrinsic aid

Answer 43

These may give some clues as to the meaning fo words used in the act.

Question 44

What is a preamble or purpose section? | Intrinsic Aid

Answer 44

An outline of the statute and its purpose. ## Footnote Preamble-older acts Purpose section-newer acts

Question 45

What is an example of the long title being used to aid interpretation? | Intrinsic Aid

Answer 45

in Royal College of Nursing v DHSS, the court referred to the long title of the Abortion Act 1967 to help confirm its purpose - "an Act to clarify the law relating to the termination of pregnancy by registered mediacl practitioners"

Question 46

What is the interpretation section? | Intrinsic Aid

Answer 46

Sometimes known as a definition section, like a glossery of key terms

Question 47

What is an example of the interpretation section? | Intrinsic Aid

Answer 47

The Theft Act (s.1) defines a 'weapon of offence' in aggravated burglary as 'any article made or adapted for use for causing injury'

Question 48

What is a 'schedule' within an Act? | Intrinsic Aid

Answer 48

They come at the end of an act and contain a more detailed clarification of rules.

Question 49

What are explanatory notes in an Act? | Intrinsic Aid

Answer 49

These are inserted by Parliamentary draftsmen when the Act goes for printing. They are notes to show what particular sections are about and aid interpretation.

Question 50

What is an extrinsic aid?

Answer 50

an aid 'outside the act'

Question 51

What are examples of extrinsic aids?

Answer 51

Dictionary, Law Commission Reports, Hansard, Precedent, EU Law, Human Rights Act 1998, Academic Textbooks, Interpretation Act 1978

Question 52

What is Hansard? | Extrinsic Aid

Answer 52

a transcript from the debates in Parliament during the progress of a bill

Question 53

What are the advantages of the literal rule?

Answer 53

* respects parliamentary sovereignty * respects separation of powers * legal certainty and predictability * precision

Question 54

What are the disadvantages of the literal rule ?

Answer 54

* absurd results * undermine Parliaments intention * unrealistic * ignores the limitations of language

Question 55

What are the advantages of the Golden Rule?

Answer 55

* avoids absurdities * upholds Parliaments morality (assumes Parliament never intends to pass absurd law) * respects Parliaments Supremacy * saves Parliament having to pass amending legislation

Question 56

What are the disadvantages of the Golden rule?

Answer 56

* 'absurd' - subjective * gives judge too much power * unpredictable * limited use

Question 57

What are the advantages of the Mischief Rule?

Answer 57

* promotes purpose of the law * avoids absurd and unjust outcomes * felxibility * making sure that the gap (mischief) is filled

Question 58

What are the disadvantages of the Mischief Rule?

Answer 58

* judicial law-making * uncertainty * difficult for judge to know Parliaments intention * more limited that purposive approach

Question 59

What are the advantages of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 59

* leads ro justice in individual cases * flexibility * allows discretion * more appropriate to modern Acts of Parliament

Question 60

What are the disadvantages of the Purposive Approach?

Answer 60

* judicial law-making * difficult for judge to know Parliaments intention * uncertainty

Question 61

In which case did the House of Lords decide that judges may look at Hansard to help them establish Parliament’s intention when interpreting legislation?

Answer 61

Pepper v Hart 1993

Question 62

True or False The Human Rights Act 1998 requires the judge to interpret the words of an Act in a way that is compatible with the European Convention of Human Rights.

Answer 62

True