This article focuses on the rules to be kept in mind while using it. The case of adler v george 1964 is a classic example of the courts applying the golden rule. The purpose rule, or purposive approach, has been given preeminence by both. The final rule of statutory interpretation is the mischief rule, under which a judge attempts to determine the legislators intention. The main aim of the rule is to determine the mischief and defect that the statute in question has set out to remedy. Originating from a 16th century case in the united kingdom, its main aim is to determine the mischief and defect that the statute in question has set out to remedy. Introduction to statutory interpretation 3 unfortunately for newcomers, this is an inescapably complex task which involves an art, not a science. The mischief rule is one of three rules of statutory interpretation traditionally applied by english courts. Statutory interpretation juridical understanding of legislation statutory interpretation deals with the body of rules and principles used to construct and justify the meaning of legislative provisions to be applied in practical situations. There are numerous rules of statutory interpretation. Under the mischief rule the courts role is to suppress the mischief the act is aimed at and advance the remedy. This third rule gives a judge more discretion than either the literal or the golden rule. These rules are examined under the mainly four titles. Over time, various methods of statutory construction have fallen in and out of favor.
The court interprets statutes using the following approaches. The hon michael kirby ac cmg statutory interpretation has replaced the analysis of judicial reasons about the common law as the most important task ordinarily performed by australian lawyers. Theory of appellate decision and the rules or canons about how statutes. The human rights act 1997 provides a new canon of statutory interpretation that acts are, where possible, to be interpreted so as to comply with the european convention on human rights. Literal by the literal rule, words in a statute must be given their plain, ordinary or literal meaning. Statutory merger law and legal definition uslegal, inc.
The ostensible purpose of every rule is to clarify statutory meaning. A basic understanding of theory is essential for a perspective on and understanding of legal interpretation. Francis burt law education programme fblep statutory interpretation april 2016 the law society of western australia page 2 of 4 some of the rules have been enacted by parliament as well as the high court of australia. The main aim of the rule is to determine the mischief and defect that the statute in question has set out to remedy, and what ruling would suppress the mischief, and advance the remedy. Business judgment rule generally recognizes boards prerogative. It is a compromise between the plain meaning or literal rule and the mischief rule. This principle was first applied in an english case in the early 16th century. Seventh circuit uses methodological stare decisis to reverse substantive precedent. Interpretation sections found within many statutes the definition of terms implied by the rest of the act the context rule.
So, too, the unwritten rules that we already have are law, in pretty much the same way. Rules of statutory interpretation phillips law offices. Statutory interpretation lecture notes law teacher. This rule is usually avoided to complete interpretation unless the intent in itself can be interpreted properly. According to the author, they involve deriving meaning from close consideration of the text, context and purpose policy of any contested provisions. Statutory interpretation free download as powerpoint presentation. In this case the house of lords had to decide if it was legal for nurses to administer hormones to induce abortions. Statutory interpretation laws1052 uni study guides. Denning and lord simon long campaigned for a more open approach and favour the european model of statutory interpretation.
Statutory interpretation is the process of determining whether a statute applies to a particular circumstances and if yes, what are the consequences. This essay aims to give brief explanation on the rules of interpretation in the united kingdom as a foremost common law example. However, the rules of statutory interpretation are varied, it is not one set rule, and therefore the most effective rule should be applied in consideration of the case. Expressio unius est exclusio alterius is a latin phrase that means express mention of one thing excludes all others. The words rules of statutory interpretation are used loosely in this article to include any of the legal principles and concepts devoted to the meaning of statutes. Together the rules allow for contemplation and are the starting point to allow for the most effective action in upholding the law. The rules of statutory interpretation 2 translegal. The rules behind statutory interpretation law teacher.
Sometimes the words of a statute have a plain and a straightforward meaning. The mischief rule was established in heydons case 1584 ewhc exch j36 case summary. At one level it is clearly the most flexible rule of interpretation, but it is limited to using previous common law. Where there is no interpretation section and a general interpretation act does not apply then a number of rules may be applied. The objective of the court is to discover the intention of parliament as expressed in the words used. What was the common law before the making of the act. If the interpretation of a particular statute becomes an issue in a case, the court must rely on rules of statutory interpretation or construction in deciding the laws meaning. Over time, a number of rules of statutory interpretation have been developed, providing an important framework for interpretation. The supreme court has expressed an interest that congress be able to legislate against a background of clear interpretive rules, so that it may. The rules of statutory interpretation that congress could pass would be law. Statutory interpretation plain meaning rule statutory.
State the circumstances when these rules are applied by the courts. Some amount of interpretation is often necessary when a case involves a statute. Mischief rule is a principle used for the interpretation of a statute. This rule requires the court to look to what the law was before the statute was passed in order to discover what gap or mischief the statute was intended to cover. Mischief rule hangman find cases decided under the mischief rule of statutory interpretation. These rules each take different approaches to interpretation of a. At one level it is clearly the most flexible rule of interpretation, but it is limited to using previous common law to determine what mischief the act in question was designed to remedy.
D a sward, a criticism of the interpretation of statutes in the new zealand courts. Sep 05, 2014 the mischief rule of statutory interpretation is the oldest of the rules. The main body of the law is to be found in statues, together with the relevant statutory instruments, and in a case of law as enunciated by judges in the courts. This was inevitable as the amount of law made by, or under, legislation increased and the room for the residual common law narrowed. Michael kirby ac cmg the main task of modern lawyers although we still describe ours as a common law system to distinguish it from the countries of the civil law tradition, the label is. Literally interpreting the law a appraisal of the literal rule of interpretation in india alekhya reddy. This is one of the rules used in interpretation of statutes. Law hangman on the mischief rule of statutory interpretation. All that the court has to see at the very outset is, what does the provision say.
This principle, legislative primacy, has been the most significant motivation for the movement against the use of. Two such rules of interpretation are the literal rule and the mischief rule. In re sussex peerage, it was held that the mischief rule should only be applied where there is ambiguity in the statute. T 1 literal rule of interpretation is one of the oldest methods of interpretation adopted by the judiciary. It should be used to prevent abuses of words of art and presumption to advantage the government and prejudice. Explanatory notes have been published for new acts since 1999.
When something is mentioned expressly in a statute it leads to the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Literal construction in construing a statutory provision the first and the foremost rule of construction is that of literal construction. The phrase indicates that items not on the list are assumed not to be covered by the statute. The rules of statutory interpretation free solution click. It is an elementary principle of construction of statutes that the words have to be read in their literal sense.
Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Important maxims related to interpretation of statutes. These rules each take different approaches to interpretation of the words in legislation. If there is an ambiguity or an absurdity with this. May 15, 2014 explanatory notes have been published for new acts since 1999.
One of the reasons for the dismal state of statutory. Some of these rules are frequently referred to by the courts as canons of construction. With reference to the rules of statutory interpretation and the doctrine of binding precedent, to what extent do uk judges trespass on the proper function of government and the legislature when exercising their legal decisionmaking functions. It can only rule on the legislation as it standseven if it is in the process of. Explain literal rule, mischief rule aka rule in haydons case, golden rule, rule of harmonious construction, nosciur a sociis, ejusdem generis, reddendo singul singuis. These are known as the literal rule, the golden rule and the mischief rule.
This principle is used by the courts to determine the intention of the legislators. This principle aims at finding out the mischief and defect in a statute and to implement a remedy for the same. This rule gives the court justification for going behind the actual wording of the statute in order to consider the problem that the particular statute was aimed at remedying. An evaluation of the rules of statutory interpretation. A guide to reading, interpreting and applying statutes. Statutory interpretation is the process by which courts interpret and apply legislation. The literacy rule and the golden rule both direct the judge to internal aids, acts passed since the beginning of 1999 are provided with explanatory notes, published at the same time as the act. Craies statute law and maxwell on the interpretation of statutes. Introduction statutory interpretation is the process of interpreting and applying legislation to decide.
Discuss the rules of statutary interpretation with the. A tool for statutory interpretation legislature and the way of interpreting or construing it is to seek the intention of its maker. The unwritten federal rules of statutory interpretation. The truth about mobile phone and wireless radiation dr devra davis duration. Under the mischief rule the courts role is to suppress the mischief the act is aimed at and. The court had to decide if the word prostitution was a word that could only.
The golden rule, or british rule, is a form of statutory interpretation that allows a judge to depart from a words normal meaning in order to avoid an absurd result. This article discusses the main rules of statutory interpretation or construction. Mischief rule of statutory interpretation academike. The surviving corporation acquires the assets and liabilities of the merged corporations by operation of state law. A tool for statutory interpretation words in their natural and ordinary sense. Sixth circuit uses erisa dispute to debate corpus linguistics. Pierreandre cote is a highly respected scholar in the field whose collaborative text on statutory interpretation is an important reference that informs practitioners and courts across canada, originally prepared in french.
The mischief rule of statutory interpretation is the oldest of the rules. Solan in interpreting statutes, judges frequently refer to their obligation to avoid substituting their own policy preferences for those of the legislature. Pdf statutory interpretation, judicial discretion, and. Legislative intent the courts primary goal in interpreting a law is to determine the legislative. What are the two most important sourcesof english law. Eu law acts of parliament and the considerablequantities of delegated legislation.
The basic principles governing statutory interpretation are repeatedly stated, without apparent disagreement, in decisions of the high court of australia. These rules each take different approaches to interpretation of a statute. The mischief rule is contained in heydons case 1584 3 co rep 7, where it was stated that for the true interpretation of all statutes four things are to be considered. The golden rule under the golden rule for statutory interpretation, where the literal rule gives an absurd result, which parliament could not have intended, the judge can substitute a reasonable meaning in the light of the statute as a whole. Within the context of law, the mischief rule is a rule of statutory interpretation that attempts to determine the legislators intention. Under the literal rule, the words in a statute are given their ordinary and natural meaning. The literal approach interpret according to plain, literal meaning of the words. Literal rule or plain meaning rule is acclaimed as the safest guide to legislative intent, as the legislature is not to be supposed to use words in a statute, in vain. Mischief rule law and legal definition uslegal, inc. The classic statement of the mischief rule is that given by. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. When there is a conflict between two or more statues or two or more parts of a statute then the rule of harmonious construction needs to be adopted. The most fundamental rule of statutory interpretation requires that judges should examine the difficult words or provisions in their contextin the statute as a whole.
A statutory merger is defined as a combination of two or more corporations under the corporation laws of the state, with one of the corporations surviving. Sh h ld v t t a mshareholders vote to approve merger. The other two are the plain meaning rule also known as the literal rule and the golden rule. This rule is of narrower application than the golden rule or the plain meaning rule, in that it can. This form is intended for use by people litigating against the government or in a courtroom controlled by a government judge. Some judges prefer one rule, while other judges prefer another.
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