Statutory interpretation rules

What are the 4 rules

literal rule

mischeif rule

golden rule

purposive approach

What is the literal rule?

giving words their plain ordinary meaning even if it resulted in an absurd outcome

What rule was applied in Whiteley v Chappell?

Literal

What happened in Whitely v Chappell?

D impersonated a dead person, but was charged with impersonating any person entitled to vote, a corpse can't vote

What rule was applied in LNER v Berriman?

Literal

What happened in LNER v Berriman?

Her claim for compensation failed because a look out only be provided for 'relaying or repairing' not maintenance such as oiling

What rule was applied in Fisher v Bell?

Literal

What happened in Fisher v Bell

D had flick knives in his shop window which was illegal to sell, however technically it was not an offer for sale

When is the golden rule used?

when the literal rule would produce an absurd or unjust result

What is the narrow use of the golden rule?

where a word has two possible meanings, the court chooses the sensible one

What case demonstrates the narrow use of the golden rule?

R v Allen

What happened in R v Allen

bigamy is to marry another, however that is impossible so the interpretation was held to mean to go through with the ceremony

What is the Wide use of the golden rule

Where there is only one literal meaning of a word which would lead to an absurd outcome, the golden rule can be used to alter the meaning of the word(s) in order to avoid the unwanted outcome

What case demonstrates the wide use or the golden rule?

Re Sigsworth

What happened in Sigsworth?

a son murdered his mother and the estate should have gone to him as next of kin so they changed it

From what case does the Mischeif rule come from

Heydon's case

What is the mischeif rule?

that the act should be interpretted in such a way as to provide a remedy for a gap or mischeif

What rule was used in Smith v Hughes?

Mischief

What happened in Smith v Hughes

Soliciting in the street was held to cover houses too to stop people being solicited in the street

What rule was used in Royal college of Nursing case?

Registered medical practitioner was set to include nurses as to prevent back street abortions

What is the purposive approach

to give effect to parliment's intention that reflects the spirit of the law

What rule was used in Jones v Tower boot?

Purposive approach

What happened in Jones v Tower boot?

the wording of the act was irrelevant the intent was to prevent racism

What rule was used in R (Quintavalle) v secretary of state?

Purposive approach

What happened in R (Quintavalle) v secretary of state?

CNR was within the definition of Embryo despite not needing fertalisation, but that had not been established when the acct was passed