STATUTORY INTERPRETATION INTRODUCTION & THE LITERAL RULE

L ESSON O BJECTIVES : Explain the need for statutory interpretation by judges in court (all) Explain the literal rule providing relevant case examples (all) Apply the literal rule of statutory interpretation to given scenarios (all) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the literal rule (all)

S MALL GROUP EXERCISE : In pairs, discuss the words and phrases shown below and then provide as many meanings and contexts as you can think of: Vehicle Value Public place Consume In the vicinity of… Sell Repairing 5 mins

S TATUTORY I NTERPRETATION – WHAT IS IT ? Judges decide points of law and therefore need to know what the law is Who makes the laws that judges apply? When Parliament passes an Act they set rules that people have to follow When those rules are broken and someone appears in court, the judge will need to interpret the words Parliament used in order to see what the Act was trying to do We need statutory interpretation because of problems with language

Acts can sometimes be unclear Any suggestions why this might be? Broad terms – use words designed to cover several possibilities Ambiguity – where a word has two or more meanings. Which one is used? Drafting error – Parliamentary Council who drafted Bill may have made an error which was not picked up by Parliament How many stages are there? How many times can an Act be amended? Changes in the use of language Web Fit Vehicle

S MALL GROUP TASK – 10 MINS In your assigned group, create an Act that deals with the following: 1. Stop any form of animal cruelty 2. Everyone must trade their car in for an electric car 3. All food that children are given must be healthy 4. When you go on holiday you must know about the culture

S MALL GROUP TASK – CONTINUED (10 MINS ) Swap your Act with another group and consider the Act in front of you: Are there any problems with the wording of the Act you now have? Why would this lead to complications/confusion? How could these be rectified?

As we can see, language is an imprecise tool: The way in which we interpret the meaning of any communication depends on who we are and what our past experiences have been Legislation may be applied in situations not envisaged by the legislators The Legislation Act 1978 provides certain guidance re: common provisions in Acts: Singular includes plural He includes she etc

T HE R ULES OF S TATUTORY INTERPRETATION 1. The Literal Rule Every day meanings of words 2. The Golden Rule Words interpreted to avoid absurdity 3. The Mischief Rule Words interpreted to fill in the gaps in the original Act 4. The Purposive Approach Very wide interpretation to give meaning to purpose of the Act

T HE L ITERAL R ULE Gives all the words in the statute their normal and every day meaning (“the dictionary definition”) Idea – Best way to interpret the will of Parliament is to follow the literal meaning of the words they have used R v City of London Court Judge (1892): “If the words of the Act are clear, you must follow them even though they lead to a manifest absurdity..”

Q UESTION ? U SING YOUR TRAFFIC LIGHTS … The Facial Whiskers (Fictitious) Act 2010 states that: “Men with beards and moustaches are prohibited from being in the park” Dave has been arrested in the park, is he guilty of the offence? Dave What about Brian? What about Frank?

What about Hezekiah?

Under the Animal Registration (Fictitious) Act 1987 it is a requirement that “…all domestic animals are registered with the local animal authority.” Consider the following and whether they need to be registered:

In his book ‘Statutory Interpretation’ Francis Bennion identified some problems with existing statutes and regulations relating to… …public hospital or school Every owner of a vehicle in Great Britain… No person shall enter or remain in a bathhouse suffering from a communicable disease.

E XAMPLES IN USE : Whitely v Chapell (1868): A statute aimed at preventing election rigging made it an offence to impersonate “…any person entitled to vote” at an election. Defendant was arrested for impersonating a dead person in order to cast an extra vote The Court used the literal rule to decide the case. Was he guilty or not guilty? He was found not guilty as dead people are clearly not entitled to vote!

London and North Eastern Railway Co. v Berriman (1946): A railway worker was knocked down and killed by a train whilst oiling parts of the line. His wife was trying to claim compensation for his death. The relevant statute said that compensation was available for workers who were ‘..killed whilst repairing the line…’ No. The court held that in the ordinary sense of the word, ‘repairing’ did not include oiling as this was merely maintenance The Court used the literal rule to decide the case. Did the widow get any compensation?

Fisher v Bell (1961): Defendant was charged under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 which made it an offence to ‘…offer for sale any flick knife.’ He had a display of flick knives in his shop window. The court held that this was not an ‘offer for sale’ under the ordinary meaning in contract law and Parliament must have known this. Not guilty. Background of contract law – 3 stages: 1.Invitation to treat – display on shelves/windows. 2.Make offer – when go to the checkout. 3.Acceptance & Consideration – payment for product

A DVANTAGES AND D ISADVANTAGES In small groups, think of, and make notes on, the advantages and disadvantages of the Literal Rule of statutory interpretation 10 mins Stretch and challenge: If you were a judge, could you think of a better way to interpret an Act of Parliament?

AdvantagesDisadvantages Respects Parliamentary Supremacy and leaves law making to those elected to the job There can be disagreement as to what amounts to the ordinary or natural meaning Provides no scope for judges to use their own opinions or prejudices Creates awkward precedents which require Parliamentary time to correct Restricts the role of judges to applying the law to the facts of the case Fails to recognise the complexities and limitations of English language and assumes every Act is perfectly drafted Undermines public confidence in the law Creates loopholes in the law Leads to injustice

C ONSOLIDATION T ASK : 1. Give a one sentence definition of the literal rule 2. Explain the facts of two cases that illustrate it 3. Identify what you think are the two strongest arguments in favour of the literal rule and the two strongest against. 4. Explain the following quote from the case: Magor and St Mellons RDC v Newport Corporation (1952) Viscount Simmonds argued that for judges to change the wording of statutes would be a “naked usurpation of the legislative function” If you finish the above questions – complete the activity on pg 82 of your ‘Statutory Interpretation’ chapter handout

L ESSON O BJECTIVES : Explain the need for statutory interpretation by judges in court (all) Explain the literal rule providing relevant case examples (all) Apply the literal rule of statutory interpretation to given scenarios (all) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the literal rule (all)