Statutory Interpretation

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What is the definition of
Statutory Interpretation?
Statutory Interpretation is a process and set of rules which allow a judge to find the meaning of key words or sections of a statute.
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What are the 4 rules of SI?
(a) The Literal Rule

(b) The Golden Rule

(c) The Mischief Rule

(d) The Purposive Approach
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Who summed up the Literal Rule?
Lord Esher in R v Judge of the City of London Court (1892)
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What is the Literal Rule quote?
“If the words of an act are clear then you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity. The court has nothing to do with the question whether the legislature has committed an absurdity”.
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What does the Literal Rule mean?
Giving words in a statute their plain, ordinary meaning.
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What is Whiteley v Chappell (1868)?
-D tried to vote as a dead person
-"impersonating a person entitled to vote"
-Under literal rule not guilty
-Dead people cannot vote
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What is Cheeseman v DPP [1990]?
-D masturbated in public toilets
-charged w/‘wilfully and indecently exposing his person in a street to the annoyance of passengers’.
-Police officers not passengers
-D not guilty
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What is an advantage of the Literal Rule?
Respects Parliament:
The literal rule respects
parliament which has been
elected democratically.
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What is an advantage of the Literal Rule? (2)
Reliability:
The judges take the ordinary and
natural meaning of the word, this
creates certainty in the law.
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What is a disadvantage of
the literal rule?
Statute Unclear:
A word may have more than one meaning so the Act is unclear.
Even in dictionaries a word may have more than one meaning as in The Dangerous dogs Act (1991)
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What is a disadvantage of
the literal rule?
Unfair Results:
The literal rule assumes all Acts of Parliament have been drafted perfectly.
This is not the case and unjust results can be found in the cases of Whiteley v Chapell (1868)
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Who summed up The Golden Rule?
. The Golden Rule is summed up by Lord Reid in the case of Jones v DPP (1962)
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What is the Golden Rule quote?
“It is a cardinal principle applicable to all kinds of statutes that you may not for any reason attach to a statutory provision a meaning which the words of that provision cannot reasonably bear. If they are capable of more than one meaning, then you choo
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What is the meaning of the
Golden Rule?
if the words used in a statute have more than one meaning or are ambiguous, then a judge may choose the most appropriate meaning.
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What are the 2 different approaches
under the Golden Rule?
-Narrow Approach

-Broad Approach
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What is the Narrow Approach of
the Golden Rule?
A judge can only use the Golden Rule if one word or phrase has more than one meaning
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Narrow Approach case example:
R v Allen (1872)- D was charged with bigamy. Under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.53 it was an offence to
“Marry whilst one’s original spouse was still alive”.
Courts argued Marry had multiple meanings.
They chose it to mean 'go through with a
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What is the Broad Approach of
the Golden Rule?
Changing words/phrases if they lead to
a 'repugnant' outcome (unjust)
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Case example for Broad Approach:
Re. Sigsworth [1935]- A son murdered his mother hoping to claim her property.

Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 the property was actually supposed to go to her son as her ‘next of kin’. However the court decided this was a Repugnant Situation
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Advantage of The Golden Rule
Compromise:
The golden rule is a compromise
between the literal and mischief
rule.
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Advantage of The Golden Rule (2)
Respects Parliament:
The judge only slightly alters the
words in the statute in order to
produce a satisfactory result
(still respecting parliament) for
example Sigsworth (1935)
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Disadvantage of The Golden Rule
Too Much Power:
is rule gives too much power to judges and can lead to inconsistency.
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Disadvantage of The Golden Rule (2)
Subjective :
What one judge thinks is “absurd” another may not, it is a subjective opinion.
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Disadvantage of The Golden Rule (3)
Abuse of Power:
A judge might use the golden rule to ensure a conviction e.g. Adler v George (1964)
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What is the Mischief rule?
This approach is more concerned with
the reason a law was passed.
This approach was originally developed in Heydon’s Case (1584)
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What are the 4 rules within the
Mischief Rule?
1. What was the common law before the making of the act?
2. What was the mischief?
3. What was the remedy the Parliament hath resolved and appointed?
4. The true reason of the remedy.
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What is the case for The Mischief Rule?
Smith v Hughes (1960)- This case involved a number of prostitutes who has been soliciting for customers from their balconies or windows. They would attract attention by shouting or tapping on a window. Under the Street Offences Act 1959 s.1 (1) the offenc
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What did Lord Parker sum up in
Smith v Huges (1960)
“For my part I approach the matter by considering what is the mischief aimed at by this Act? Everybody knows that this was an Act to clean up the streets without being molested or solicited by common prostitutes. Viewed in this way it can matter little wh
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

(a) The Literal Rule

(b) The Golden Rule

(c) The Mischief Rule

(d) The Purposive Approach

Back

What are the 4 rules of SI?

Card 3

Front

Lord Esher in R v Judge of the City of London Court (1892)

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

“If the words of an act are clear then you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity. The court has nothing to do with the question whether the legislature has committed an absurdity”.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Giving words in a statute their plain, ordinary meaning.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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