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Advantages
- It ensures that the law is consistent and that the outcomes of cases are predictable, as judges are following the letter of the law, as shown in the case of Berriman.
- The rule prevents judicial law making and it respects the supremacy of parliament. It is democratic as it prevents unelected judges interpreting what they think parliament was trying to achieve with the statute, as shown in R v Bentham.
- In R v Bentham if the judges hadn't used the literal rule, then they would have been creating a new criminal offence of "pretending to be in possession of an imitation firearm", which was a job for parliament and not judges.
- If the application of the rule results in an absurdity then it can be used to send a message to parliament about poorly drafted legislation, which needs to be improved. For example, after Fisher v Bell, Parliament amended the Restrictions of Offensive Weapons Act to cover the scenario as happened in Fisher.
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Disadvantages
- The rule can result in an injustice which parliament could not have intended. This is clearly illustrated in the case of Berriman, where the widow morally was entitled to compensation.
- A very strict, technical reading of the law can result in absurdity, which parliament could not have intended. This is illustrated in the case pf Whitley v Chappell, where the intention of Parliament was clearly thwarted by the case decision.
- The literal rule is rigid and could prevent law developing with changes in technology and society. The judges are prevented from giving a modern interpretation to the law and if parliament has not updated the statute to deal with modern situations, then the law remains static.
- The rule assumes that every act is perfectly drafted, which is impossible. Most statutes are wordy and lengthy and so it is impossible to ensure they never contain drafing errors.
- The Law Reform Commission stated that the literal rule requires "unobtainable perfection in draftmanship"
- The Berrimen case shows how unfair a strict literal approach can be.
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