What is statutory interpretation?
The process of interpreting and applying the law on decided cases
Why is statutory interpretation important?
- The impossibility to ask an individual parliament member what they meant when using certain terms
- The status may have been too vague so needed to resolved by judge
- Some words or phrases have core and peripheral meanings that can’t be understood by the laymen
List down some of the rules of statutory interpretation
-literal rule
-golden rule
-mischief rule
What rule essentially asks the question; by creating the new act of parliament what was the mischief/defect of the previous or existing statute or law did not cover that the new act cover
The mischief rule
How can you define the literal rule?
This is when the courts interpret statutes in their plain and ordinary sense without examining parliament’s intention
When can the courts apply the golden rule?
When the literal rule results in an absurd result and the courts now need to investigate whether that was parliament’s intention
What does pari materia mean?
It means ‘on the same subject matter’
What does the doctrine of pari materia cover?
That if two or more statutes or laws deal with the similar matter, the courts should take those statutes as one system to interpret the law especially where it is unclear
What does Noscitur a sociis mean?
It means ‘it is known from its context’
How is the the doctrine of noscitur a sociis apply?
It applies when a specific term is too vague or unclear that the courts may need to consider the other words surrounding it to understand and interpret
What does ejusdem generis mean?
It mean ‘of the same kind or nature’
When is the doctrine of ejusdem generis applied?
Where there’s a list of specific terms that’s followed by a more general term, the courts have to interpret that the general term is in the same nature
What does expresio unius exclusio alterius mean?
It means ‘ to express one is to exclude others’
When is the doctrine of expressio unius exclusio alterius used?
Where the mention of specific things will be presumed that the the other things not mentioned but of the same kind is excluded
