Free essays on the rules of statutory interpretation, including the literal rule of interpretation, the golden rule, the mischief rule and the purposive approach. Scroll down for an overview of the rules.
Interpretation of statutes should be done keeping in mind the intent of the legislature. The courts are to avoid arbitrary interpretation of statutes and therefore there have been certain principles to ascertain the true and actual meaning of statutes known as rules of interpretation. SALMOND has defined it as “the process by which the Courts … Read more
This essay is about the school of thought of Ronald Dworkin and how did the school of thought best describes the concept of law. Firstly, it is important to understand the school of thought of Ronald Dworkin. Dworkin claims that laws must be interpreted in light of the best moral principles that underlie philosophy. His … Read more
In Keane v Gallacher, the respondent was found in possession of cannabis resin which was a controlled drug under Section 5(1) and 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. His solicitor argued that as the cannabis resin was, at 10 miligrammes and approximately 1 milligramme, unusable, that he should not be convicted. His solicitor … Read more
Question 1 Judges are set by the Doctrine of Precedent to decide the outcome of cases. Stare Decisis states that like cases should be treated so. For two separate cases of assault with similar circumstances, the Judge should follow the Doctrine of Precedent giving both cases the same sentence by following the decision made by … Read more
Question 1) (A) What Is Delegated Legislation? Delegated legislation is written in an Act of Parliament, but is not made in Parliament itself. The Act of Parliament (also known as the enabling Act) delegates limited law-making powers to an individual or organisation. Delegated legislation is regarded as having the authority of Parliament as it is … Read more
1. What were the material facts of the case? In the case of Weasley v. Dursley and Another, the material facts are as follows. The claimant was driving along a public road when he collided with a horse, which belonged to the defendants. It had escaped from the field in which it was kept after … Read more
By getting a chance to discuss with reference to the rules of statutory interpretation, I will indicate whether I agree or disagree with the statement and if there is a need of statutory interpretation. Laws in United Kingdom are suggested by us, and it gets passed to the House of Parliament where it turns out … Read more
Some would be confident in saying that the law is not made up by the judges but more so upheld by them. The judges do not make the law primarily. They interpret it. The law is made by the parliament. The judges are able to modify the law and apply them to different cases and … Read more
Introduction Statutes consist of written rules or regulations, agreed by Parliament or other legislators. In order for statutes to be enacted, the words of the statute have to be understood, interpreted and applied. Statutes can be valid for many years despite changing social, political, technological, linguistic and economic landscapes. For example, certain sections of the … Read more
“In fact,…, judges neither should be nor are deputy legislators, and the familiar assumption, that when they go beyond political decisions already made by someone else they are legislating, is misleading.” (Ronald Dworkin) Discuss by reference to ONE judgement in Fuller, ‘The Case of the Speluncean Explorers’ (1949) and by reference to Lloyds Bank v … Read more
“No foresight can anticipate nor any document of reasonable length contain express provisions for all possible questions.” Abraham Lincoln : The First Inaugural Address (1861) Amongst lawyers, there is general consensus that it is virtually impossible to anticipate all questions of law. The primary purpose of law, as a lay-person would see it is to provide order and keep … Read more
Ray, a veteran, sought a compensation payment of $25,000 under the One-Off Payments to War Veterans Act 2015 (Cth) in July 2018. On 14 April 1941, Ray’s military unit surrendered to German military forces, an enemy state, in Greece, where they were taken to an open countryside near sea. The surrender area had no physical … Read more
Statutory Interpretation consists of four rules in which the judges use in court which entails the literal, golden, mischief rules, and purposive approach. The rule in which judges use first when interpreting the statute is the literal rule; this is where the meaning of the words in the statutes is in its natural unambiguous meaning. … Read more
This essay will explain the use of juries. To follow a comparison will be drawn on a common law system against a civil system. The terms apply and distinguish will be defined together with an understanding as to which term was applied by Lord Tomlin in Hillas & Co, Ltd v Arcos, Ltd [1932] All … Read more
As Parliament is the one that makes the law, the role of judges is to interpret Parliament’s words, while maintaining neutrality and having no bias towards the outcome of the case. They get specific creative power in the manner in which they interpret legislation and like in any other situation, the legislation can have multiple … Read more
Word Count: 2387 Parties: CQN RTM Company Limited (Appellant), (1) Broad Quay North Block Freehold Limited (2) Broad Quay Management Company Limited (Respondents) Court: Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) Citation: [2018] UKUT 183 (LC) Judges: His Honour Judge Hodge QC Facts: the premises are part of a redeveloped site; located North of a central tower block. It … Read more
The Right to Die has proven a controversial statement that divides opinions on moral interpretations. It was the key focus of R Nicklinson v Ministry of Justice 2014, during which the law and Parliament stood against it. Mr. Nicklinson, paralysed by a stroke some years earlier, contested the 1961 Suicide Act as a violation of … Read more
This essay is based on the sources of law from the uncodified Uk constitution and relevant examples will be provided throughout. The detailed essay focuses on the 5 different sources and the argument that the “legislation source is the most important one within both England and Wales” will be analysed and examined with finally a … Read more
Statutory interpretation is the generic method which is employed by judges whilst concluding a case within a court. There are three primary ‘rules’ which are used in order to determine how best to deal with the defendant in question and will vary on a case-by-case basis. These are the literal rule, the golden rule and … Read more
Many statutes are passed by parliament each year. The meaning of the law in these statutes should be clear and explicit but this is not always achieved. Parliament sometimes includes sections defining certain words used in that statute; such sections are called interpretation sections, which define certain words in the act itself. Despite these aids … Read more
PART A Weasley v. Dursley and Another [2004] UKHL 1. What were the material facts of the case? In this case, the material facts conclude of that the appellant suffered personal injuries due to a collision whilst driving his car with a horse. The defendant, the owners of the horse, had not fenced the field … Read more
The English Legal System (ELS), also known as English Common Law, is split into two sections; Civil and Criminal Law. English Common Law originates from King Henry II, he instructed London based judges to travel around the UK and make decisions in the King’s name. These decisions would be based on local customs, the judges … Read more
Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to give a clear definition of statutory interpretation and the approaches associated with it. This is so a better understanding can be created on how judges use these approaches to interpret statutes when in court. Statutory interpretation consists of three main rules which are described as the literal … Read more
Foundations of Law: Statutory Interpretation Essay Q 2 At a surface level, when supplied with the information regarding the case of Billy Tripe, one would believe him to be held responsible for the mistreatment of his herd of alpacas. However, upon closer inspection of Mr. Tripe’s case, in particular, the circumstances of the misfortunate treatment … Read more
Law making process Scrutiny is a major advantage as it is a democratic process and opens an opportunity for debate. The process involves expertise and is often a long procedure, but enables the bill to be thoroughly scrutinised. Another advantage would be Parliament makes laws made with overview in mind, not on one case, for … Read more
Explain the application of judicial precedent in the courts (P1) Judicial precedent is a court-made decision used in the future as a source or reference for decision making in future cases with similar facts. In Latin, this precedent is known as ‘stare decisis’, which translates to: ‘let the decision stand’. As these decisions are made … Read more
Essay plan: Introduction: This paragraph lists the rules of the judicial interpretation of statues described in the core literature for this module, and highlights the importance of the decision maker. Body: This section discusses the most widely used rules of the judicial interpretation of statues. Section 1: The rule of literal interpretation: Paragraph 1: Focuses … Read more
Statutory Interpretation is a term referring to the judges’ interpretation of the wording and meaning of statue. The term statutory interpretation covers a process, where statue is created, the judge then interprets the statue and finally applies their interpretation to the case they are dealing with. To help a judge interpret the meaning and wording … Read more
Judges have often said that the aim of statutory interpretation is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of Parliament (source).
To do this, a number of rules may be applied when interpreting a piece of legislation.
These include:
The literal rule is the starting point for any interpretation – it requires courts pay respect to the literal language of the statutory provision. They must interpret the legislation using the ordinary and natural meaning of the words used.
Where the meaning of the statutory words is plain and unambiguous it is not then for the judges to invent fancied ambiguities as an excuse for failing to give effect to its plain meaning because they consider the consequences for doing so would be inexpedient, or even unjust or immoral.
The oft-quoted case illustrating this rule is Fisher v Bell (1960).
The use of this rule can sometimes lead to absurdities and loopholes which can be exploited by an unmeritorious litigant (source).
Where using the literal rule would lead to such absurdity, judges may instead look to the golden rule which requires them to look for another meaning of the words to avoid that absurd result.
As set out by Lord Wensleydale in Grey v Pearson (1857) HL Cas 61:
The grammatical and ordinary sense of the words is to be adhered to unless that would lead to some absurdity or some repugnance or inconsistency with the rest of the instrument in which case the grammatical and ordinary sense of the words may be modified so as to avoid the absurdity and inconsistency, but no farther.
An example of the court applying the Golden rule can be found in Re Sigsworth (1935) concerning a case where a son had murdered his mother.
Since the mother had not made a Will, the son stood, as her next of kin, to inherit her estate under the Administration of Justice Act 1925.
Whilst there was no ambiguity in the legislation, applying it literally would produce an absurd result – and the courts were not prepared to allow someone to benefit from their crime in such a manner. The golden rule was therefore used and the son did not inherit.
Sometimes neither rule is of use to a court. Enter the mischief rule. This rule allows the court to look behind the making of the legislation. It is set out in Heydon’s Case (1584) and four things must be considered:
Perhaps the most famous case illustrating the mischief rule was Corkery v Carpenter (1951).
The facts of the case involved the defendant who was drunk and was pushing his pedal bicycle along the street. He was subsequently charged under section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872 with being drunk in charge of a “carriage”.
The 1872 Act made no reference to “bicycles”. The court, applying the mischief rule, found that the purpose of the Act was to prevent people from using any form of transport on a public highway whilst in a state of intoxication. Since the bicycle was clearly a form of transport, the defendant had been correctly charged.
A fourth means of statutory interpretation has emerged in more recent times. Rather than simply look at what the law was previously, the courts have begun to examine what Parliament was trying to achieve. The approach was always used when interpreting European Law, although Britain has of course now left the EU.
First, the courts have been required to accept that, from 1973, the purposive approach has to be used when deciding on EU matters. Second, as they use the purposive approach for EU law they are becoming accustomed to using it and more likely to use it to interpret domestic law.
An example of how the courts have taken this approach can be found in Pickstone v Freemans plc (1998).
In short, her work as a warehouse operative was seen as equal in value to the work that the male warehouse checkers were doing. The fact that there were male warehouse operatives who were also receiving the same lower sum as Miss Pickstone was not a bar to her claim.
How should law students approach an essay on statutory interpretation?
