Hi guys this is the second vedio in the series of interpretation of statutes and it covers the mischeif rule of interpretation. Mischief rule heydons case when a question arises as to the interpretation to be put on an enactment, what the court is to do is to ascertain the intent of them that make it, and that must of course be gathered from the words actually used in the statute. Introduction to statutory interpretation 3 unfortunately for newcomers, this is an inescapably complex task which involves an art, not a science. The rule is based on the heydons case 1584 very old. I think this article is doubling up on purposive theory.
It is incumbent on the court to use the grammatical meaning. Mischief rule when it is not clear whether an act falls within what is prohibited by a particular piece of legislation, the judges can apply the mischief rule. Presentation on the mischief rules of interpretation. Mischief rule advantages and disadvantages flashcards quizlet. The mischief rule is applied to find out what parliament meant. Presentation on the mischief rules of interpretation introductory speech. The basic principles of statutory interpretation are not to be found in. Conclusion it would be idle to expect every statutory provision. Sep 05, 2014 the mischief rule of statutory interpretation is the oldest of the rules. Words are to be understood in their ordinary, everyday meaningsunless the context indicates that they bear a technical sense.
The main aim of the rule is to determine the mischief and defect that the statute in question has set out to remedy, and what ruling would effectively implement this. Mischeif rule heydons case rule originated in in 16 th century in. Interpretation and applicability heydons case the four rules garris v scott bengal immunity company v state of bihar state of karnataka v appu ingale cit mp and bhopal v sodra devi 3. This principle was first applied in an english case in the early 16th century. Cleworth, it was held for the purposes of the sunday observance act 1677 that a farmer was not a tradesman, artificer, workman, labourer or other person, and in sandeman v. Interpretation, rules and principles of statutory oxford. Aqa law unit 1 alevel 4 types of statutory interpretation duration. Rules of statutory interpretation mischief rule seeks to determine the purpose from lw 2903 at city university of hong kong. Under the street offences act 1959, it was a crime for prostitutes to loiter or solicit in the street for the purposes of prostitution.
At its core, the rule is concerned with trying to ascertain what defect. A statute can be interpreted by using the golden rule, the mischief rule or the literal rule. However, when this may lead to an irrational result that acropdf a quality pdf writer and pdf converter to create pdf. The fundamental rule of statutory interpretation, to which all others are subordinate, is that a statute is to be expounded according to the intent of the parliament that made it. The golden rule, or british rule, is a form of statutory interpretation that allows a judge to depart from a words normal meaning in order to avoid an absurd result. Explain the difference between the literal, golden and mischief rule. Mischief rule of statutory interpretation academike.
The mischief rule was established in heydons case in 1584. Purposive interpretation was introduced as a form of replacement for the mischief rule, the plain meaning rule and the golden rule to determine cases. The modern approach includes reference to the mischief rule as part of determining the purpose of the legislation. The rule developed in the early 19th century and has been the main rule applied ever since then. The mischeif rule v the purposive approach the student room. Pdf presentation on the mischief rules of interpretation. The normal way of interpreting or construing a statute is to seek the intention of legislature. Pdf taming the unruly horse of rules of interpretation. These rules each take different approaches to interpretation of a statute. Discuss the rules of statutary interpretation with the. The literal approach interpret according to plain, literal meaning of the words. Heydons case 1584 76 er 637 is considered a landmark case as it was the first case to use what would come to be called the mischief rule for statutory interpretation. Literal rule under this rule words are given plain and ordinary meaning.
The way in which the mischief rule can produce more sensible outcomes than those that would result if the literal rule were applied is illustrated by the ruling in smith v hughes 1960 2 all e. Mischief rule of statutory interpretation academike lawctopus. Jun, 2017 this is fifth lecture of our series on interpretation of statute given by yash sharma covering mischief rule in details with following topics. The mischief rule is more flexible than the golden or literal rule, in that the mischief rule requires judges to look over four tasks to ensure that gaps within the law are covered facts of the case. The mischief rule gives the most discretion to judges and is suited to specific, often ambiguous cases. Free study resources for law students aqa a level including cases, analysis and links on the english legal system. The principal rules of statutory interpretation are as follows. What was the mischief and defect for which the common law did not provide. It is tempting to assume that the process of statutory interpretation simply requires the. The golden rule tries to compliment the literal rule by allowing judges to change the meaning of statutes in order to give justice.
The rule requires that specific words are all of one genus, in which case, the general words may be presumed to be restricted to that genus. Purposive interpretation is a derivation of mischief rule set in heydons case, and intended to replace the mischief rule, the plain meaning rule and the golden rule. Literal rule golden rule mischief rule literal interpretation of a statute is finding out the true sense by making the statute its own expositor. The court interprets statutes using the following approaches. Statutory interpretation is the process of determining whether a statute applies to a particular circumstances and if yes, what are the consequences. The mischief rule allows judges slightly more discretion. The main aim of the rule is to determine the mischief and defect that the statute in question has set out to remedy, and what ruling would suppress the mischief, and advance the remedy.
In the case of corkery v carpenter 1951 1 kb 102, the licensing act 1872 stipulated that it was an offence to be drunk in charge of a carriage. It looks at the gap or the mischief the statute was intended to cover. Like the plain meaning rule, it gives the words of a statute their plain, ordinary meaning. This rule now attained the status of classic is known as the mischief rule. The court applied the mischief rule holding that the. Aqa a level statutory interpretation mischief rule youtube. Mischief rule is a principle used for the interpretation of a statute. The mischief rule, the most firmly established rule for construing an obscure enactment is another rule of statutory interpretation traditionally applied by english courts. Comparative approaches to statutory interpretation in. Demonstrate understanding of the cases in relationto the rules. This means that the courts can take into account the reasons why the legislation was passed. Mischief rule general principles of interpretation youtube.
The mischief rule was established in heydons case 1584 ewhc exch j36 case summary. Words must be given the meaning they had when the text was adopted. Statutory interpretation is an important aspect of the common law. This rule used to interpret the statute when when the statute was passed to remedy. Hey, can someone run through the different between these two rules please. Interpretation of a particular statute depends upon the degree of creativity applied by the judges or the court in the reading of it, employed to achieve some stated end.
The proper construction of a statute is a question of law. The literal rule, the golden rule and therefore the mischief rule. Mischief rule should be applied where there is ambiguity statute. These two concepts blend together, and both are critical to understanding the. The rule of ejusdem generis was clearly ignored here, but this only so that the mischief rule would prevail.
Rules of statutory interpretation mischief rule seeks to. Mischief rule lesson powerpoint linkedin slideshare. The rules of interpretation law essays essay sauce. The rule is contained in heydons case 1584, where it was said that for the true interpretation of a statute, four things have to be considered. Nov 18, 2015 mischief rule general principles of interpretation duration. The third basic rule of interpretation of statutes is the mischief rule of interpretation. Francis burt law education programme fblep statutory interpretation april 2016 the law society of western australia page 1 of 4 statutory interpretation student resource statutory interpretation is the process by which the courts interpret and apply legislation i. Nov 30, 2010 so, whereas the mischief rule is used to look at the specific mischief the act was to prevent, the purposive approach is a broader approach more than a rule, where the courts will look at the rest of the act to help determine the context and general aim. This is fifth lecture of our series on interpretation of statute given by yash sharma covering mischief rule in details with following topics. The meaning of an ordinary word of the english language is not a question of law. Interpretation is the method by which the true sense or the meaning of the word is understood. There is also the purposive approach to the interpretation of statutes. Try the word search on the mischief rule of statutory interpretation.
The rule allows statutes to be refined and developed. Whether the rule of ejusdem generis should be applied or not to a particular provision depends upon the purpose and object of the provision which is intended to be achieved. The mischief rule legal definition of the mischief rule. The mischief rule ii the literal rule iii the golden rule the mischief rule the mischief rule is arguably the oldest known rule of statutory interpretation having its basis in the heydons case of 1584. Golden rule it is a compromise between the plain meaning or literal rule and the mischief rule. Doc the literal, golden and mischief rule john homes.
The mischief rule was developed when acts were a minor source of law. The law commission and the scottish law commission aws. The prostitutes were soliciting from private premises in windows oron balconies so could be seen by the public. Use of the mischief rule could lead to uncertainty in the law. The paper is a critique of the golden rule of interpretation along with relevant case laws. Under this rule of interpretation the courts interpret the statutes in a literal and ordinary sense. This principle aims at finding out the mischief and defect in a statute and to implement a remedy for the same. It can only rule on the legislation as it standseven if it is in the process of. This principle is used by the courts to determine the intention of the legislators.
Apply the mischief rule to various sources andengage in discussion. The rules of interpretation discussed above do not apply to the interpretation of eec legislation. In re sussex peerage, it was held that the mischief rule should only be applied where there is ambiguity in the statute. Start studying statutory interpretation literal, golden and mischief rules and the purposive approach. There may be other errors unnoticed by parliament and statutes cannot cover every eventuality therefore. The application this rule allow the judge more effective decide on parliament intend. It is impossible to predict when judges will use the rule and what the result of the interpretation will be. The rule does, however, have limitations as it is by no means always easy to discover the mischief at which particular act was aimed.
This article also seems to cover other methods of interpretation, so maybe this article should be renamed to something more general. The golden rule under the golden rule for statutory interpretation, where the literal rule gives an absurd result, which parliament could not have intended, the judge can substitute a reasonable meaning in the light of the statute as a whole. The mischief rule of statutory interpretation is the oldest of the rules. It is a compromise between the plain meaning or literal rule and the mischief rule. Mischief rule of statutory interpretation word search. The mischief rule is a rule of construction that judges can apply in statutory interpretation in order to discover parliaments intention. Principles of interpretation of statutes 205 process of ascertaining the meaning at an act of parliament or of a provision of an act. In applying the rule, the court is essentially asking the question. The mischief rule was only used when the literal rule created an ambiguity or absurdity. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The defendants were prostitutes who had been charged under thestreet offences act 1959 which made it an offence to solicit in a publicplace. Purposive interpretation is used when the courts use extraneous materials from the preenactment phase of legislation, including early drafts, hansards, committee reports, and. The mischief rule is a certain rule that judges can apply in statutory interpretation in order to discover parliaments intention.
Court looks at gap in the law that parliament had passed the act to fill and then interprets the act fill that gap and remedy the mischief. If there is an ambiguity or an absurdity with this. Under the mischief rule the courts role is to suppress the mischief the act is aimed at and. The irony of the learned judges interpretation of the very constitutional provision dealing with the prescribed manner of interpretation of statutory provisions, where he refers to and in. There are three major rules of interpretation of statutes. In about half of all reported cases in australia, the courts are required to rule on the meaning of legislation. This third rule gives a judge more discretion than either the literal or the golden rule. I would suggest to merge these articles and crossreference.
The rule is contained in heydons case 1584 3 co rep 7a, where it was said that for the true interpretation of legislation, four things have to be considered. This rule requires the court to look to what the law was before the statute was passed in order to discover what gap or mischief the statute was intended to cover. I know the mischief rule is where the court looks at the law prior to the introduction of the act in order to establish what gap in the law mischief the act was intended to remedy, and that the purposive approach is described as going beyond this by seeking to established what parliament intended to achieve by the. May 19, 2012 audio podcast on mischief rule and statutory interpretation.
Under the mischief rule the courts role is to suppress the. It is yet another rule of construction that when the words of the statute are clear, plain and unambiguous, then the courts are bound to give effect to that meaning, irrespective of the consequences. Statutory interpretation laws1052 uni study guides. How can the court interpret the legislation so as to correct the mischief or defect according to the true intent of the parliament. Find case names and words relating to the mischief rule. The case of adler v george 1964 is a classic example of the courts applying the golden rule. There are four rules of statutory interpretation, these are the literal rule, the golden rule, the mischief rule and the purposive approach. Literal rule of interpretation is the primary rule. They interpret the words of the statute in a way that is used commonly by all. The mischief rule is one of three rules of statutory interpretation traditionally applied by english courts. Purposive interpretation is exercised when the courts utilize extraneous materials from the preenactment phase of legislation, including early drafts, committee reports, etc. The mischief rule tells an interpreter to read a statute in light of the. Statutory interpretation advantages and disadvantages.
The application of this rule gives the judge more discretion than the literal and the golden rule as it allows him to effectively decide on. Under the mischief rule the courts role is to suppress the mischief the act is aimed at and advance the remedy. Demonstrate understanding of the literal, goldenand mischief rule. I have provided leading case laws and included definition, merits, demerits and application of the rule in my said paper. The other two are the plain meaning rule also known as the literal rule and the golden rule. The interpretation is favoured that remedies the problem or mischief thus, no dogs allowed would not necessarily exclude guide dogs. The oldest and most flexible rules is mischief rule. The rule was first laid out in a 16thcentury ruling of the barons of the exchequer court in heydons case 16 which have been continually cited with approval and. Mischief rule law and legal definition uslegal, inc. Statutory interpretation literal, golden and mischief. The mischief rule 1 is one of three rules of statutory construction traditionally applied by english courts.
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