Statutory Interpretation

Aids and rulesStatutory Interpretation

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Statutory InterpretationApproaches to statutory interpretation

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Objectives• State the different intrinsic aids to interpretation

• State the different extrinsic aids to interpretation

• State the different rules of language

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Key Terms• Intrinsic Aids

• Extrinsic Aids

• The ejusdem generis rule

• Expressio unius est exclusio alterius

• Noscitur a sociis

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Intrinsic Aids• Found within Act itself• Judge may use other parts of act to aid

understanding• Long and/or short title may be used as guidance• E.g. Abortion Act 1967 is fully entitled ‘An Act to

amend and clarify the law relating to termination of pregnancy by registered medical practitioners.’

• Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom v DHSS (1981)

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Royal College of Nursing of the UK v DHSS (1981) 1 All ER 545Use of nurses to carry out abortions who used drugs and procedures not thought of when the Act was passed in 1967. The Act required abortions to be carried out by a ‘registered medical practitioner’.

Principle – The Act was intended to provide for safe abortions and nurses could do this. Lord Wilberforce and Lord Edmund Davies claimed that judges were not interpreting legislation but re-writing it.


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Intrinsic Aids• Older statutes may have a preamble serving as a

purpose statement• Newer acts may have objectives or purposes section• E.g. Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006

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Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006

1 Purposes

(1) The principal purpose of this Act is to enhance the United Kingdom's contribution to combating climate change.

(2) In performing functions under this Act, the relevant persons and bodies shall have regard to - (a) the principal purpose set out in subsection (1),(b) the desirability of alleviating fuel poverty, and(c) the desirability of securing a diverse and viable long-term energy supply.

(3) In this section “the relevant persons and bodies” means - (a) the Secretary of State;(b) any public authority.

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Intrinsic Aids• Older statutes may have a preamble serving as a purpose

statement• Newer acts may have objectives or purposes section• E.g. Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 • Schedules appear as additions to main body of Act• Hunting Act 2004 - ‘Hunting is exempt if it is within a class

specified in Schedule 1’• Most new Acts contain a special interpretation definition

section• Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996 – Section 2(3)

defines fatal offence as:

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Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996

3) In subsection (2) “fatal offence” means—

(a) murder, manslaughter, infanticide or any other offence of which one of the elements is causing a person’s death, or

(b) the offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a person’s suicide.

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Intrinsic Aids• Punctuation is now seen to have an effect• Hanlon v Law Society (1981)• Lord Lowry;

“To ignore punctuation disregards the reality that literate people, such as parliamentary draftsmen, do punctuate what they write.”

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Extrinsic AidsMaterials found outside the Act:1. Dictionaries

e.g. Vaughan v Vaughan (1973) (interpretation of word molest)

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Vaughan v Vaughan (1973) 1 WLR 1159

In this case the court had to interpret the word ‘molest’. D had been subject to injunctions in respect of previous violence towards his ex-wife who was afraid of him. D argued that pestering his ex-wife to resume their relationship by going to her home early in the morning and late at night and also calling on her at work, did not amount to molesting her.

Principle – The judges consulted the dictionary, which defined molest as ‘to cause trouble, vex, annoy or , to put to inconvenience’/ and held that the defendant's behaviour did amount to molestation.


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Extrinsic AidsMaterials found outside the Act1. Dictionaries


2. Previous Actse.g. Wheatley (1979)- Explosives Substances Act 1883 amending the Explosives Act 1875

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R v Wheatley [1979] 1 All ER 954

A man D was found in possession of a metal pipe filled with sodium chlorate and sugar, and was charged with possessing an explosive substance contrary to s.4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883. He argued that its effects would be pyrotechnic rather than explosive, but the court referred to the Explosives Act 1875, in which "explosive" was defined as including "pyrotechnic".

Principle – Since the long title of the 1883 Act referred expressly to the 1875 Act, the definition from the earlier statute could be imported into the later.


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Extrinsic AidsMaterials found outside the Act1. Dictionaries


2. Previous Actse.g. Wheatley (1979)- Explosives Substances Act 1883 amending the Explosives Act 1875

3. The Interpretation Act 1978 e.g. what constitutes masculine words?

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The Interpretation Act 1978

6 Gender and number.In any Act, unless the contrary intention appears,

(a) words importing the masculine gender include the feminine; (b) words importing the feminine gender include the masculine; (c) words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular.

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Extrinsic Aids4. Reports of the Law Commissione.g. Highlights what is wrong with old Act5. International Treaties e.g. especially EU Law6. Hansarde.g. Pepper v (Inspector of Taxes) [1993] but only in certain

circumstances

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Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart [1993] 1 All ER 42 The wording in the Act must be ambiguous or obscure, or a literal interpretation would lead to an absurdity.

Judges may look only at the statement as made by a minister or other promoter of the bill.

The statements must be clear in order for them to be relied upon.


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Extrinsic Aids4. Reports of the Law Commissione.g. Highlights what is wrong with old Act5. International Treaties e.g. especially EU Law6. Hansarde.g. Pepper v (Inspector of Taxes) [1993] but only in certain

circumstances 7. Explanatory notese.g. not part of Act so not an internal aid8. Textbookse.g. Re Castioni (1891) – J. F. Stephen referred to h is own book

History of the Criminal Law of England to define ‘political crime’

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The Rules of Language• In addition to the four rules we looked at earlier

there are three rules of language• Often referred to as subsidiary rules

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The ejusdem generis rule• Where general words follow particular words the general

words are interpreted to be of the same kind as the particular words:

• ‘Dogs, cats and other animals’ • Particular words are ‘dogs and cats’• General words are ‘other animals’• Under this rule ‘other animals’ interpreted like ‘cats and

dogs’ • They are domestic animals so this means other

domestic animals

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Powell v Kempton Park Race Course (1899) AC 143D’s company kept an open-air enclosure used by bookmakers and race-goers who wished to place bets. Under a Regulation it was prohibited to keep a ‘house, office, room or other place’ for betting purposes.

Principle – The court applied the ejusdem generis rule and held the defendant was not guilty because the enclosure was not a relevant place. The general words of ‘or other place’ following the specific words ‘house,’ ‘office,’ and ‘room’ referred to any defined spaces used for betting which their enclosure was not.


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Expressio unius est exclusio alterius

• Expression of one thing implies the exclusion of another• Where ‘particular’ words are used and not followed by

‘general words’ the Act applies only to the particular words

• Inhabitants of Sedgley (1837)– Rates were charged on ‘land, titles and coal mines’ – therefore

rates could not charged on any mine other than coal mines

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Noscitur a sociis• Meaning of word is to be gathered from the context in

which it is written.• Refreshment Houses Act 1860 – all houses, rooms,

shops or buildings kept open for ‘entertainment’ during certain hours of the night must be licensed.

• Muir v Keay (1975)– Kept café open to public during night without a licence. Court

applied noscitur a sociis rule and implied that ‘entertainment’ did not only mean music and theatre, but meant other form of entertainment including drinking coffee.

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Objectives• State the different intrinsic aids to interpretation

• State the different extrinsic aids to interpretation

• State the different rules of language

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Statutory Interpretation

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