els

• Statutory Interpretation Types: (a) Literal Rule · Judge follows ordinary, plain, grammatical meaning of words in a statute· Oxford English Dictionary from the year the statute was made is used. · LNER v Berriman . Advantages: · Respects Parliamentary supremacy as uses words as they intended · Makes law more certain. Definition from OED of the year of statute. Disadvantages: · Strictest rule of statutory interpretation and can lead to absurd results that Parliament would not intend. · Zander – makes judges lazy, just carrying out a mechanical task with OED.
• (b) Golden Rule

  · Judges start by looking at the literal meaning of a word or phrase.

  · But court is allowed to avoid interpretation which will lead to an absurd result.

  · The meaning of the word is modified by the judge to avoid absurdity.

  · Re Sigsworth

  Advantages:

  • Can provide sensible decisions where literal rule would lead to absurdity.

  Disadvantages:

  · Very limited in use, needs literal rule to lead to an absurdity and word able to

  have meaning modified.

  · Does not respect Parliamentary supremacy as allows judges to make law, undemocratic
• (c) Mischief Rule · Literal & golden rule only pay attention to the actual words of the law. · This rule gives judges more freedom as allowed to look at why Parliament passed the law in the first place – what was the mischief · Smith v Hughes -Advantages · Leads to justice, judges able to quickly repair laws that are not working. · Judges try to interpret the law . Disadvantages · Not as useful today as it was when it was introduced · Does not respect Parliamentary supremacy as allows judges to make law, undemocratic.
• · Extrinsic Aids Assist judge on meaning of words outside the statute. E.g. (a) Earlier statutes and cases- if these refer to the meaning of a word, this meaning may be given to the word again in a later statute or case (b)Reports of law reform bodies, e.g. Law Commission, which led to the statute being made can be looked at to discover what reform was wanted. (c) Hansard – as long as strict guidelines are followed from Pepper v Hart, reference can be made to Parliamentary debates. (d) Dictionaries – The OED of the year of the statute may be referred to