Statutory Interpretation

Statutory Interpretation

1. Aids

   • Intrinsic Aids
     • Definition Section
       • Dictionary inside the act which define words used in an Act if the word has multiple meanings
       • Oxford v Moss
         • In the Theft Act the definition section defines what counts as 'property' to decide that information did not fall within the definition section, so could not be stolen
     • Short Title and Long Title
       • Indication of what statute is about
       • LNER v Berriman- Fatal Accidents Act showed this act was about minimising deaths caused by fatal accidents
     • Headings
       • Divide the statute into sections
     • Marginal Notes
       • Additional guidance on how an Act should be interpreted, which are written after the Act is in place by Parliamentary Counsel Office
   • Extrinsic Aids
     • Dictionaries
       • Help define key words used in statutes which Parliament hasn't defined in a definition section by using The Oxford Dictionary Of English
       • DPP v Cheeseman
         • Judges used the 1847 English Dictionary to look up the meaning 'passengers' used in the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and it defined it as a 'passer-by or through' and therefore D was acquitted
     • Interpretation Act
       • 'He' will also refer to and include 'She'
       • all words which appear in the singular form will include the plural
     • Hansard
       • An edited record of all proceedings in both House Of Parliament
       • Where judges can look if they want to find what Parliament's intention was in passing a particular statute
     • Law reform reports
       • Written before the statute to help them identify the mischief which the statute was trying to stop
       • DPP v Bull
         • Street Offences Act 1959- Parliament was only trying to deal with the problem caused by female prostitutes, so acquitted the male prostitutes of any offence under the statute

2. The Golden Rule

   • Narrow Approach
     • R v Allen
       • Offences Against the Persons Act 1861- charged with bigomy
         • Marry had 2 meanings; to legally marry, and to go through a marriage ceremony. Court chose the 2nd meaning and was convicted as it would not be possible for d to be guilty if used the 1st meaning
   • Broad Approach
     • Adler v George
       • Official Secrets Act 1920- charged with obstructing a member of the armed forces 'in the vicinity of' a prohibited place
         • He argued that he was not in the vicinity of a prohibited place but actually in the place so the court added the words 'in or in the vicinity of'-D was found guilty
   • Advantages
     • Can avoid the absurd decisions caused by the literal rule
     • Helps courts to put in to practice Parliaments intentions
   • Disadvantages
     • No definition of 'absurd'
     • Can undermine Parliamentary Supremecy
   • Starts by looking at the literal meaning of a word in an Act but if wrong that literal meaning would produce an absurd or injust result, then the court can use the Golden Rule to avoid it

3. The Mischief Rule

   • Originally developed in Heydon's Case 1584
     • 4 questions to ask when using the mischief rule to avoid absurdity and injustice
       • What was the common law before the Act was made?
       • What mischief(Problem) was the law not addressing?
       • What was the remedy(solution) that Parliament created in the statute to solve the mischief?
       • What was the reason for the solution?
   • Smith v Hughes
     • Street Offences Act 1959-charged with soliciting in a street or public place for the purposes of prostitution
       • They were in a doorway and on a balcony of a house seeking to get attention of passers-by in the street below
       • The act intended "to clean up the streets" as before the SOA was passed they were harassing passers-by. It doesn't matter they weren't physically in the street but they were causing mischief which the statute is trying to stop so were found guilty of the offence
   • Royal College of Nursing v DHSS
   • Corkery v Carpenter
   • Advantages
     • Avoids absurdity and injustice
     • Promotes flexibility in the law
   • Disadvantages
     • Risk of judical law making
     • Judges may not be able to find/agree on what mischief is

4. The Purposive Approach

   • Looks forward at what Parliament is aiming to achieve
   • Jones v Tower Boot Company
     • The claimant had suffered racial abuse from fellow workers, such as verbal abuse and being burned with a screwdriver.
     • The Race Relations Act 1976 said that an employer was liable for employees acts in 'course of employment'. The employers wanted to use the literal rule as this would have resulted in a not guilty verdict as these acts were not literally done in the course of employment. Court decided the purpose of the statute was to better intergrate people, prevent racism, and to educate people in the workplace it was important to hold employers accountable.
   • R v Registrar-General ex parte Smith
   • Advantages
     • Avoids absurdity and injustices
     • Allows for social, economic and technological change
   • Disadvantages
     • Risk of judicial law making
     • Judges may not be able to find/agree on what purpose is

5. The Literal Rule

   • Plain, ordinary, literal meaning even if doing so leads to an unfair and absurd result
   • Used when there is a broad or ambigous word in an Act
   • Whiteley v Chappell
     • "impersonating a person entitled to vote" A person must be living in order to be entitled to vote-acquitted
   • LNER v Berriman
     • Fatal Accidents Act 1846-Oiling the track counts as maintaining the track and not relaying or repairing-case lost
   • DPP v Cheeseman
     • S28 of the town Police clauses Act 1847- Policeman were stationed at the toilets and did not count as "passengers"
   • Advantages
     • Ensures Parliamentary Supremacy
     • Provides certainty within the law
   • Disadvantages
     • Can lead to absurdity and injustice
     • Assumes unattainable perfection in draftsmanship

6. Rules of Language

   • Noscitur a sociis
     • To be interpreted in context
     • Looking at other words in the same section or at other sections in the Act to decipher the meaning of a word in an Act
     • Inland Revenue Commissioners v Frere
       • 'Interest' was interpreted as meaning 'annual interest' as the term 'annual interest' was used in the same section of the Act
   • Ejusdem generis
     • Things of the same kind
     • Where there is a list of words which is followed by general words, then the general words are limited to the same kind of items as the specific words
     • Powell v Kempton Park Racecourse
       • Betting Act 1853- charged with illegal betting
       • The statute made it a crime to bet in a 'house, room, office or other place'- All these places refer to inside places, D was acquitted as he was betting outside
   • Expressio unius est exclusio alterius
     • Where the inclusion of one type excludes the other
     • Where there is a list of words which is not followed by general words, then the Act applies only to the items in the list
     • Inhabitants of Sedgeley
       • A statute raised taxes on 'land, houses and coal mines' but not limestone mines