literal rule

• traditional approach
• words in act given dictionary definition from time act was passed
• (dpp v cheeseman) 'passengers'
• (whiteley v chappell) dead people aren't entitled to vote
• (fisher v bell) 'invitation to treat' not 'offer to sale'
• (l&ner v berriman) 'maintaining' not 'repairing'
• ++ follows words democratically elected parliament has used
• ++ prevents unelected judges making law, supports parliamentary sovereignty
• ++ makes laws certain, interpreted as written
• ++ forced parliament to be clear drafting
• -- assumes every act is perfectly drafted, not possible to word an act to cover every situation (whiteley v chappell)
• -- words may have more than one meaning, act unclear, dictionaries may include many definitions for a word
• -- impossible to draft law to cover every situation parliament intended
• -- following words exactly can lead to unfair or unjust decisions (l&ner and berriman)
• -- demands unrealistic perfection of wording by draftsmen foresight of how it will cover every situation