·
Ambiguity
– This might be caused by an error in drafting or word may have dual meaning.
·
Uncertainty
– may arise where words of a statute are intended to apply to a range of
factual situations and the courts must decide whether the case before them
falls into any of those situations.
·
There
may be unforeseeable development.
·
The
legislation may use a broad term.
Courts
have developed principles to assist them in ascertaining the meaning of
statutes. Some of the principles 1are referred to as rules. However, they do
not have the binding the binding force of law.
These
principles can be 3divided into four categories;
·
Primary
rules
·
Secondary
rules
·
Extrinsic
aids
·
Presumption
1. Primary
rules of statutory interpretation
Nature
of primary rule
The
primary rules deal with the courts’ overall approach to interpretation. The
following are the primary rules;
a) The literal rule
This
rule requires the court to give the words of a statute their plain meaning. It
is for a court to interpret Parliament’s intention from what it has actually
said – not from what it thinks it meant to say.
Whiteley
v Chappell (1868-69) LR 4 QB 147
- It was a statutory offence to impersonate “any person entitled to vote” at an
election. The defendant impersonated someone who was on the electoral register
but who had died before the election. He was acquitted as deceased persons had
no right to vote in the election.
b) The golden rule
This
rule is an extension of the literal rule.
It
allows the court to depart from the literal rule where this would produce and
obviously absurd result.
McMonagle
v Westminster City Council [1990] 1 All ER 285 - McMonagle was charged with using
premises as a 'sex encounter establishment' without a licence, contrary to the
Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. The definition of such an
establishment was “premises at which performances which are not unlawful are
given which...comprise the sexual stimulation of persons admitted to the
premises...” McMonagle's defence was that the prosecution had not proved that
the performance in question were not unlawful. As they may have been unlawful
he would not therefore have required a licence and he was not therefore guilty
of the offence! The House of Lords rejected this interpretation as being
absurd. The words “which are not unlawful” had been introduced by an
incompetent draftsman simply to emphasize that the grant of a licence conferred
no immunity from the criminal law
c) The mischief rule
The
Mischief Rule can be applied by the courts to resolve an ambiguity which is
produced by the application of the Literal Rule. It involves asking what
‘mischief’ in the common law, was intended to be corrected by the statute. The
court then applies the interpretation which is consistent with correcting the
mischief.
In
Cockery
v Carpenter, the court held that a bicycle was a ‘carriage’ for the
purposes of the Licensing Act 1872 where a defendant was charged with the
offence of cycling whilst intoxicated. The purpose of the act was to prevent
people who are intoxicated from operating any form of transport on public
roads.
d) The purposive approach
The
Purposive Approach to statutory interpretation can be seen as an extension of
the Mischief Rule. Instead of confining itself simply to the mischief which the
statute was intended to correct, the court resolves ambiguities by reference to
the statute’s overall purpose.
e) The contextual rule
The
contextual rule means that a word should be construed in its context. It is
permissible to look at the statute as a whole to discover the meaning of a word
in it.
2. Secondary
rules of statutory interpretation
Nature of secondary rules
The
secondary rules are concerned, less with the overall approach to
interpretation, and more with the precise application and structure of language
within the statute.
a) The ejusdem
generis rule (of the same class)
Where
general words follow particular words, the general words are construed as being
limited to the subject matter of the class outlined by the particular words.
Powell v Kempton Park Racecourse Co Ltd[1899] AC 143 - A statute prohibited
the keeping of “a house, office, room or other place” for betting. The
defendant kept an uncovered enclosure for betting. The House of Lords held that
he was not in breach of the statute. The enclosure was not an “other place”
within the meaning of the statute. It was not ejusdem generis with the particular places previously listed as
they were all indoor places.
b)
Noscitur a socis
(‘The
meaning of a word can be gathered from its context’.) Words draw meaning from
words around them. Thus if a statute mentioned children books, children toys,
and clothes, it would be reasonable to assume that clothes meant children’s
clothes.
c) In pari materia
If
a statute forms part of a series of statutes that deals with similar subject
matter, the court may look to the interpretation of the previous statute on the
assumption that parliament intended the same thing.
3. Presumptions
Certain
presumptions of statutory interpretation have developed over the years. In the
absence of a clear contrary intention within the statute the courts will presume
that Parliament intended the statute to have the meaning favored by the
presumption. All presumptions may be rebutted by clear contrary wording in the
statute.
Examples
of some particular presumptions;
·
A
statute does not alter existing common law
·
If
a statute deprives a person of his property, he is to be compensated for its
value.
·
A
statute is not intended to deprive a person of his liberty. If it does so,
clear words must be used.
·
A
statute does not have retrospective effect.
·
A
statute does not oust the jurisdiction of courts
4. Extrinsic
and intrinsic aids to interpretation
a) Extrinsic aids
Extrinsic
aids to interpretation are those which come from outside the statute which is
being interpreted. They include;
·
Dictionaries
·
Reports
of Law Commissions, Royal Commission, the Law Reform Committee or other
official committees.
·
Hansard
– the official record of parliamentary debates. In Pepper v Hart, it was
decided that it is acceptable to look at the original speech which first
introduced a Bill to ascertain its meaning, but only if the statute is
ambiguous or obscure or its literal meaning would lead to absurdity.
b) Intrinsic aids
Intrinsic
aids to statutory interpretation consist of;
·
The
long title of the an Act, which may give guidance to the overall objectives of
the of the Act.
·
The
Preamble of an Act often directs the judge as to its intentions ad objectives.
·
Interpretation
sections of the Act.
·
Side
note.
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