AO1 - Purposive Rule

• Definition - Similar to the mischief rule but it is not limited to reformed acts. The judge will look at the 'purpose' of the act and can look forward to see what Parliament wanted the act to achieve. They will often look outside the act to find Parliament's true intentions
• Features:

  • Modern day approach
  • Takes a broader approach than the mischief rule
  • Judge is not looking at the meaning of individual words or the gap in the old law, they are deciding what they believe Parliament meant to achieve and giving effect to that purpose
• Cases:

  • Registrar General ex parte Smith - He was refused access to his birth certificate as it would not have been the intention of Parliament to do this
  • Jones v Tower Boot - The purpose of the act was to stop any kind of racial discrimination, so Mr Jones won his claim