statutory interpretation Flashcards
(21 cards)
statutes created by Parliament have to be applied to real life situations, by judges in court cases. the wording/meaning may be unclear for various reasons such as:
if the statues is old- it may contain words which have changed their meanings
new technology/scientific changed since the Act was passed
ambiguous language
errors in the Act- especially if it was passed in a hurry in response to public/media pressure. dangerous dogs 1991
what is the literal rule?
words in an Act are given their original, dictionary meaning by the judge. the literal rule in the case of Whiteley v Chappell where the words of the act stated “it is an offence to impersonate ‘any persons who is entitled to vote’.” Held that a dead person is not entitled to vote- guilty
what did Lord Esher state about the literal rule?
That if Parliament has made a mistake with the wording of an act, it is the role of Parliament to correct it, bit the role of the judges. this is due to Parliamentary Sovereignty
literal rule- case of BRB v Berriman
railway worker was killed while doing maintenance work, compensation pleaded as there was no look-out man. Act stated that look-out man should be provided for men working on or near railway line “for the purposes of relaying or repairing it”.
Held: court took the words of “relaying” and “repairing” in literal meaning. oiling parts is not relaying nor repairing, so Ms Berrimans claim failed
what is the golden rule
this is where the judge can choose the best interpretation of ambiguous words or avoid an absurd result.
adler v george (narrow)
act stated that “it is an offence to obstruct her majesty’s Forces in the vicinity of a prohibited place.” the defendants had obstructed HM forces in the prohibited place
Held: the words should be read as meaning “in or near” the prohibited place (narrow), not just “near”. Therefore the defendants were guilty.
case of Sigsworth (wide)
act stated that “the estate of a person who dies intestate will be inherited by his/her issue”. the defendant had murdered his mother and the court had to decide whether he could inherit her property.
Held: “issue” will not include someone who has killed the person from whole they could be inheriting.
difference between narrow and wide application
narrow: this is used if a word has 2 possible meanings. the judge can choose to apply which meaning that’ll avoid absurd result.
wide: this is used if a word/phrase only has one possible meaning and this will lead to an absurd result. the judge will change the meaning by substituting another meaning which will lead to a fair outcome.
what is the mischief rule
comes from Heydons case and four points court should consider:
- what was the common law before the making of the Act?
- What was the mischief and defect for which the common law did not provide?
- what was the remedy the Parliament hath resolved and appointed to cure the disease of the commonwealth?
- true reason of the remedy
what does the mischief rule emphasise?
what Parliament meant rather than what it literally said, as Parliament wouldn’t deliberately publish bad laws.
Smith v Hughes
the act stated “it shall be an offence for a common prostitute to loiter or solicit in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution.” women argued that they were not literally “in a street or public place”
Held: court decided that they were guilty, as the judge believed that the main purpose of the act was to clean up the streets, meaning he put his own interpretation on Parliaments words.
Royal college of nursing v DHSS
act stated that a pregnancy should be “terminated by a registered medical practitioner”
Held: judges decided it was lawful- took literal view of the act and believed other judges were “redrafting it with a vengeance”
what is the purposive approach
where judges decide what they believe Parliament meant to achieve and giving effect to that purpose. can be seen as a more open version of the mischief rule but no need to ask the 4 questions
R v Secretary of State for health
act stated that “ embryo means a live human embryo where fertilisation is complete”.
Held: Parliament could not have intended to distinguish between embryos produced by, or without, fertilisation since it was unaware of latter possibility.
Jones v Tower Boot co
young black worker was physically and verbally abused at work by fellow workers. sued employers, claiming them to be liable. “course of employment” deems them to be liable.”
Held: using purposive approach, Parliaments intention when passing the Wct was to eliminate discrimination within the workplace. as a result, the employers were liable.
advantages of the literal rule
follows the words that have been used
makes the law more certain
respects Separation of Powers
focuses on Parliaments intentions
disadvantages of the literal rule
- rule assumes all acts will be perfectly drafted. dangerous dogs act 1991.
- words may have more than one meaning resulting in the word being unclear.
- following the words can lead to absurd decisions. BRB v Berriman.
- unrealistic perfection of acts and wording by the craftsmen of the act
advantages of the golden rule
- rule respects the exact words of Parliament except in limited situations. narrow allows for most sensible meaning
- wider approach can provide sensible decisions in cases where the literal rule would lead to a repugnant situation (Sigsworth)
disadvantages of golden rule
- it is very limited in its use, so it’s only used on rare occasion and it is not always possible to predict when courts will use the golden rule over the literal rule
- has an escape route but cannot do very much
advantages of the mischief rule
- law commotions approve. legal experts say that it should be the only one used for SI
- mischief rule aims to look back on the gap in the law that the act was designed to cover.
