Statutory Interpretation Evaluation

Literal rule - advantages

• Respects parliamentary sovereignty

• Law becomes more certain

• Limits judicial law making

• Respects the separation of powers

Literal rule - disadvantages

• Assumes perfection of every act

• Not always possible to cover every possibility

• Words may have more than one meaning

• Can lead to unfair decisions

Golden rule - advantages

• Rule expects exact wording of parliament

• Judges can chose the most appropriate meaning

• Allows for more flexibility

Golden rule - disadvantages

• Only used in rare occasions

• Not alway possible tot force when a judge will apply the rule

Mischief rule - advantages

• Unintended gaps in law can be fixed by judges without needing to go back to parliament

• Law commission prefers the mischief rule and have recommended it to be the only rule used

Mischief rule - disadvantages

• Risk of judicial law making

• Leads to uncertainty

• Not as wide as the purposive approach as the mischief has to be identified

Purposive approach - advantages

• Courts have flexility and can ensure that fair results are achieved

• Judges can take into account new technology

• Judges can fill in any gaps in the law

Purposive approach - disadvantages

• Undemocratic as judges interpret law the way they consider parliament meant which is not always clear

• Expensive

• Creates uncertainty as lawyers will not know how the ;aw will be interpreted until the end of the trial