documents that judges may use to assist them in interpretation of the Act but that are outside the Act itself.
dictionaries
In Vaughan v Vaughan, a man was “pestering” his ex-wife by constantly calling her day and night and she requested a non-molestation order from the court.
How did the court use a dictionary?
The court used an Oxforddictionary in order to find the meaning of the word “molest” as this was not defined in the Family Law Act 1996. They concluded the word “molest” was wideenough to cover the husbands ‘pestering’ behaviour so an order was granted.
Hansard
the official Parliamentaryrecords of whatwasbeingsaid when a Bill is passed in Parliament
Judges were not allowed to use Hansard before which was confirmed in the case of Davis v Johnson
Pepper v Hart
Held Hansard could be used where there is ambiguity or uncertainty in a part of a statute
Finance Act
was in question as to whether a teacher at a privateschool had to pay tax on the perk he received where his child was educated there at a reducedrate. He didnot need to paytax as a result of Hansard.
