Statutory Interpretation Contents in United Kingdom

The Interpreter

This section covers:

Preliminary

This subsection includes:

• To ‘construe’ or ‘interpret’?
• Interpreter’s duty to arrive at legal meaning
• Real doubt as to legal meaning

Types of interpreter

This subsection includes:

• the legislator
• courts and other enforcement agencies
• the jurist or text writer
• the subject

The subject as interpreter

This subsection includes:

• Duty to obey legislation
• Ignorantia juris neminem excusat
• Mandatory and directory requirements
•  Where contracting out and waiver allowed
• Where contracting out and waiver not allowed
• Criminal sanction for disobedience (the offence of contempt of statute)
• Civil sanction for disobedience (the tort of breach of statutory duty)

Enforcement agencies

This subsection includes:

• Administrative or executive agencies
• Authorising agencies
• Investigating agencies
• Prosecuting agencies
• Courts and other adjudicating authorities
• Interpretation by adjudicating authorities
• Doctrine of judicial notice
• Adjudicating authorities with original jurisdiction
• Adjudicating authorities with appellate jurisdiction
• Judicial review
• Executive agencies ancillary to adjudicating authorities
• Dynamic processing of legislation by courts and other enforcement agencies

The Instrument to be Interpreted: Acts of Parliament

This section covers:

• Definition of an Act
• Types of Act
• Interpreter’s need to understand nature of an Act
• Temporal, territorial and personal operation of an Act
• Doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty
• Overriding effect of an Act
• Uniqueness of an Act
• Whether an Act binds the Crown: the doctrine of Crown immunity
• Need for validation of Act
• Enactment procedure
• Royal assent procedure
• Royal assent (signification)
• Royal assent (communication)
• Royal assent (absence or illness of Monarch)
• Royal assent (demise of the Crown)
• Royal assent (regency)
• Validation under Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 (money Bills)
• Validation under Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 (other Bills)
• Settling of text of Act and promulgation
• Official published editions of Acts

The Instrument to be Interpreted: Subordinate Legislation

This section covers:

Prerogative instruments

This subsection includes:

• Nature of a prerogative instrument
• Interpretation of a prerogative instrument

Delegated legislation

This subsection includes:

• Nature of delegated legislation
• Parliamentary control of delegated legislation
• Types of delegate: (1) The Sovereign
• Types of delegate: (2) Privy Council
• Types of delegate: (3) House of Commons
• Types of delegate: (4) Ministers of the Crown
• Types of delegate: (5) Other functionaries
• Duties as to exercise of a power to make delegated legislation
• Ultra vires delegated legislation
• Delegated legislation: the rule of primary intention
• Delegated legislation: general interpretative principle
• Types of delegated legislation: (1) statutory instruments
• Types of delegated legislation: (2) orders
• Types of delegated legislation: (3) regulations
• Types of delegated legislation: (4) rules
• Types of delegated legislation: (5) byelaws
• Types of delegated legislation: (6) other instruments
• Sub-delegation
• Commencement of delegated legislation
• Amendment of delegated legislation
• Revocation of delegated legislation

Commencement, Amendment and Repeal of Acts

This section covers:

Commencement of acts

This subsection includes:

• Meaning of ‘commencement’
• Commencement on passing of Act
• Commencement on date specified in Act
• Commencement on date or dates specified by government order
• Commencement of different provisions on different days
• Preparatory orders etc

Amendment of acts

This subsection includes:

• Meaning of ‘amendment’
• Textual amendment
• Indirect express amendment
• Implied amendment
• Amendment by delegated legislation
• Consequential amendment
• References to an amended enactment
• Extra-statutory concessions

Repeal or expiry of acts

This subsection includes:

• Meaning of ‘repeal’
• The practice of ‘double’ repeal
• Implied repeal
• Generalia specialibus non derogant
• Savings on repeal
• Commencement of substituted provisions
• Repeal and re-enactment (adaptation of references)
• Repeal and re-enactment (preserving delegated legislation)
• Repeal and re-enactment (preserving other things done)
• Expiry
• Desuetude

Transitional provisions

This subsection includes the Transitional provisions on repeal, amendment etc

Retrospective operation of acts

This subsection includes:

• Presumption against retrospective operation
• Retrospective operation: procedural provisions
• Retrospective operation: events occurring over a period
• Retrospective operation: delegated powers
• Retrospective operation: cause of doubt

Extent and Application of Acts

This section covers:

Territorial extent of an Act

This subsection includes:

• Basic rule as to extent of an Act
• The ‘extent’ of an Act
• Uniform meaning throughout area of extent
• Composition of an enactment’s territory
• Presumption of United Kingdom extent
• Extent to Her Majesty’s independent dominions
• Meaning of ‘associated state’
• Meaning of ‘baseline’
• Meaning of ‘Berwick upon Tweed’
• Meaning of ‘British Islands’
• Meaning of ‘British possession’
• Meaning of ‘The Channel Islands’
• Meaning of ‘colony’
• Meaning of ‘England’
• Meaning of ‘Great Britain’
• Meaning of ‘Her Majesty’s dominions’
• Meaning of ‘Her Majesty’s independent dominions’
• Meaning of ‘high seas’
• Meaning of ‘internal waters’
• Meaning of ‘Isle of Man’
• Meaning of ‘Monmouthshire’
• Meaning of ‘Northern Ireland’
• Meaning of ‘Scotland’
• Meaning of ‘territorial waters’ or ‘territorial sea’
• Meaning of ‘United Kingdom’
• Meaning of ‘Wales’

Application of an act to persons and matters

This subsection includes:

• General principles as to application
• Application to foreigners and foreign matters within the territory
• Application to foreigners and foreign matters outside the territory
• Application to Britons and British matters outside the territory
• The high seas and other unappropriated territories
• Deemed location of an omission
• Deemed location of composite act or composite omission
• Deemed location of an artificial person

The Enactment and the Facts

Besides the application of the enactment to the facts, this section covers:

What an enactment is

This subsection includes:

• The unit of inquiry in statutory interpretation
• Nature of an ‘enactment’
• Selective comminution
• Challenging an enactment’s validity
• Precise and disorganised enactments
• Drafting presumed competent
• The factual outline
• The legal thrust

The facts of the instant case

This topic includes:

• Relevant and irrelevant facts
• Proof of relevant facts
• Judicial notice of relevant facts
• Questions of fact and degree
• Opposing constructions of an enactment

The Legal Meaning of an Enactment: Grammatical and Strained Constructions

This section covers:

The legal meaning

This subsection includes the nature of the legal meaning

The grammatical meaning

This subsection includes:

• Nature of the grammatical meaning
• Grammatical ambiguity (application of interpretative factors)
• Grammatical ambiguity (general and relative ambiguity)
• Grammatical ambiguity and the opposing constructions
• Semantic obscurity and the ‘corrected version’
• Use of the phrase ‘literal meaning’

Strained construction

This subsection includes:

• Nature of strained construction
• When strained construction needed
• Strained construction as former ‘equitable construction’
• Repugnancy within the Act
• Enactment repugnant to descriptive component of Act
• Term or phrase with differing legal meanings

The Legal Meaning of an Enactment: Legislative Intention

This section covers:

• Legislative intention as the paramount criterion
• Is legislative intention fictitious?
• Legislative intention and the nature of legislation
• The duplex approach to legislative intention
• Legislative intention and delegation to the court
• Where no actual intention existed
• Unforeseen facts and accidental fit
• Intention distinguished from purpose or object
• Intention distinguished from motive

The Legal Meaning of an Enactment: Filling in the Textual Detail

This section covers:

• Nature of a legislative implication
• Is it legitimate to draw implications?
• When legislative implications are legitimate
• When legislative implications affect related law
• Dynamic processing by the court (stare decisis)
• Interstitial articulation (general)
• Interstitial articulation by the advocate
• Interstitial articulation by the court

The Legal Meaning of an Enactment: Interpretative Criteria and Interpretative Factors

This section covers:

Interpretative criteria

This subsection includes:

• Nature of the criteria: rules, principles, presumptions, canons
• Ascertaining the cause of doubt
• Strict and liberal construction

Interpretative factors

This subsection includes:

• Nature of an interpretative factor
• Positive and negative interpretative factors
• Interpretative factors all pointing one way

Weighing the factors

This subsection includes:

• Nature of the weighing operation
• Where legislator has indicated a view about weighting
• Dealing with grammatical ambiguity
• Dealing with semantic obscurity
• Where strained construction needed
• Coping with changes in legal policy

Rules of Construction (General)

This section covers:

• Nature of rules of construction
• Basic rule of statutory interpretation
• Duty to respect the juridical nature of an enactment
• The plain meaning rule
• Rule where meaning not ‘plain’
• The commonsense construction rule
• The rule ut res magis valeat quam pereat

Rules of Construction Laid Down by Statute

This section covers:

• Statutory definitions
• The Interpretation Act 1978

Rules of Construction: The Informed Interpretation Rule (General)

This section covers:

• Statement of the rule
• The ‘context’ of an enactment
• Need to avoid unpredictability and lengthening of proceedings
• The two-stage approach to statutory interpretation
• Interpreter’s need for legal knowledge
• Skeleton arguments
• Admission de bene esse of matter bearing on interpretation

Rules of Construction: The Informed Interpretation Rule (Legislative History)

Legislative history serves as a guide to construction. This section covers:

Pre-enacting history

This subsection includes:

• The basic rule
• The pre-Act law
• Consolidation Acts
• Codifying Acts

Enacting history

This subsection includes:

• Meaning of enacting history
• The basic rule
• Use of sources referred to in Act
• Use of committee reports leading up to Bill
• Use of Hansard
• Use of amendments to Bill
• Use of explanatory memoranda
• Special restriction on parliamentary materials (the exclusionary rule)
• Use of international treaties
•  Judicial use of enacting history
• Inspection of by court of enacting history
• Recitals of by advocates of enacting history
• Adoption as part of advocate’s argument
• Use of enacting history to ascertain Parliament’s view of pre-Act law
• Use to ascertain mischief
• Use of enacting history as an indication of Parliament’s intention
• Enacting history as persuasive authority only
• Not binding authority

Post-enacting history

This subsection includes:

• The basic rule
• Use of official statements on meaning of Act
• Use of delegated legislation made under Act
• Use of later Acts in pari materia
• Use of judicial decisions on Act
• Use of committee reports on Act
• Use of commentaries on Act

Rules of Construction: The Functional Construction Rule

Besides statement of the rule, this section covers:

Operative components of Act

This subsection includes:

• Nature of operative components
• The section
• The Schedule
• The proviso
• The saving

Amendable descriptive components of Act

This subsection includes:

• Nature of amendable descriptive components
• The long title
• The preamble
• The purpose clause
• The recital
• The short title

Unamendable descriptive components of Act

This subsection includes:

• Nature of unamendable descriptive components
• Chapter number
• Date of passing
• Enacting formula
• Heading
• Section name (sidenote, heading or title)
• Format
• Punctuation

Incorporation of provisions by reference

This subsection includes:

• Nature of incorporation by reference
• Archival drafting
• Acts construed as one
• Collective titles

Interpretative Principles (General)

This section covers:

• Nature of legal policy
• Law should serve the public interest
• Law should be just and fair
• Law should be certain and predictable
• Law should not operate retrospectively
• Law should be coherent and self-consistent
• Law should not be subject to casual change
• Municipal law should conform to international law

Interpretative Principles Derived from Legal Policy: Principle against doubtful penalisation

This section covers:

• Principle against penalisation under a doubtful law
• Statutory interference with human life or health
• Statutory restraint of the person
• Statutory interference with family rights
• Statutory interference with religious freedom
• Statutory interference with free assembly and association
• Statutory interference with free speech
• Statutory interference with economic interests
• Statutory interference with status or reputation
• Statutory interference with privacy
• Statutory interference with rights of legal process
• Other statutory interference with rights as a citizen

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: Interpretative Presumptions (General)

This section covers:

• Nature of interpretative presumptions
• Presumption that text is primary indication of legal meaning
• Presumption that literal meaning to be followed
• Presumption that consequential construction to be given
• Presumption that rectifying construction to be given
• Presumption that updating construction to be given

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: The Mischief and its Remedy

This section covers:

• Presumption that court to apply remedy provided for the ‘mischief’
• Meaning of the ‘mischief’
• The resolution in Heydon’s Case
• The social mischief
• The legal mischief
• Party-political mischiefs
• Ambit of the mischief
• The particular mischief of an enactment
• The mischief for which Parliament actually legislated
• Mischief arising only within context of the remedy
• Phasing out a legal mischief
• Discerning the mischief
• Use of the mischief in interpretation
• Remedy provided for the mischief

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: Purposive Construction

This section covers:

• Presumption that enactment to be given a purposive construction
• Nature of purposive construction
• Purposive-and-literal construction
• Purposive-and-strained construction
• Statements of purpose
• Where purpose unknown or doubtful
• Judicial acceptance of legislator’s purpose
• Purposive construction not excluded for taxing etc Acts
• British and European versions of purposive construction

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: Construction Against ‘Absurdity’

This section covers:

• Presumption that ‘absurd’ result not intended
• Avoiding an unworkable or impracticable result
• Avoiding an inconvenient result
• Avoiding an anomalous or illogical result
• Avoiding a futile or pointless result
• Avoiding an artificial result
• Avoiding a disproportionate counter-mischief

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: Construction Against Evasion

This section covers:

• Presumption that evasion not to be allowed
• Evasion distinguished from avoidance
• Tax avoidance
• Methods of evasion: doing indirectly what must not be done directly
• Methods of evasion: deferring liability
• Methods of evasion: repetitious acts
• Construction which hinders legal proceedings under Act
• Construction which otherwise defeats legislative purpose

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: Application of Ancillary Rules of Law

This section covers:

• Presumption that ancillary rules of law apply
• Presumption that rules of constitutional law apply
• Presumption that public law decision-making rules apply
• Presumption that rules of equity apply
• Presumption that rules of contract law apply
• Presumption that rules of property law apply
• Presumption that rules of tort law apply
• Presumption that rules of criminal law apply
• Rules of evidence
• Presumption that rules of private international law (conflict of laws) apply

Interpretative Presumptions Based on the Nature of Legislation: Application of Ancillary Legal Maxims

This section covers:

• Presumption that ancillary legal maxims apply
• Intentions deduced from actions: acta exteriora indicant interiora secreta
• Act of God: actus dei nemini facit injuriam
• Reliance on illegality: allegans suam turpitudinem non est audiendus
• Hearing both sides: audi alteram partem
• Double detriment: bona fides non patitur, ut bis idem exigatur
• De minimis principle: de minimis non curat lex
• Domestic sanctuary: domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium
• Impotence: Impotentia excusat legem
• Impossibility: lex non cogit ad impossibilia
• Necessity: necessitas non habet legem
• Judge in own cause: nemo debet esse judex in propria causa
• Benefit from own wrong: nullus commodum capere potest de injuria sua propria
• Presumption of correctness: omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta
• Agency: qui facit per alium facit per se
• Vigilance: vigilantibus non dormientibus leges subveniunt
• Volenti principle: volenti non fit injuria

Linguistic Canons of Construction in General

This section covers:

• Nature of linguistic canons of construction
• Construction of Act or other instrument as a whole
• Interpretation of broad terms

Linguistic Canons of Construction: Use of Deductive Reasoning

This section covers:

• Use of deductive reasoning
• Nature of deductive reasoning
• The hypothetical syllogism
• The ambiguous middle term
• The principle of contradiction

Linguistic Canons of Construction: Interpretation of Particular Words and Phrases

This section covers:

• Interpretation of individual words and phrases
• Ordinary meaning of words and phrases
• Composite expressions
• Technical terms (general)
• Technical legal terms
• Technical non-legal terms
• Terms with both ordinary and technical meaning
• Neologisms and slang
• Archaisms
• Terms applied in a foreign context
• Abbreviations
• Homonyms
• Meaningless terms
• Judicial notice of meaning
• Evidence of meaning

Linguistic Canons of Construction: Elaboration of Meaning of Words and Phrases

This section covers:

• Canon regarding elaboration of meaning of words and phrases
• Noscitur a sociis principle
• Ejusdem generis principle: description
• Ejusdem generis principle: nature of a ‘genus’
• Ejusdem generis principle: single genus-describing term
• Ejusdem generis principle: genus-describing terms followed by wider residuary words
• Ejusdem generis principle: genus-describing terms surrounding wider word
• Ejusdem generis principle: general words followed by narrower genus-describing terms
• Ejusdem generis principle: express exclusion of
• Ejusdem generis principle: implied exclusion of
• Rank principle
• Reddendo singula singulis principle
• Expressum facit cessare tacitum
• Expressio unius principle: description
• Expressio unius principle: words of designation
• Expressio unius principle: words providing remedies etc
• Expressio unius principle: words of extension
• Expressio unius principle: words of exception
• Expressio unius principle: where other cause for the expressio
• Implication by oblique reference
• Implication where statutory description only partly met

Statute Interpretation under the Human Rights Act 1998

This section covers:

THE CONVENTION RIGHTS (GENERAL)

This subsection includes:

• Nature of the Convention rights
• Duty to take account of Convention jurisprudence

COMPATIBILITY OF UK LEGISLATION WITH CONVENTION RIGHTS: JUDGES’ FUNCTIONS

This subsection includes:

• Compatible construction rule
• Judicial declaration of incompatibility (primary legislation)
• Judicial declaration of incompatibility (subordinate legislation)
• Effect of incompatibility declaration
• Joinder of Crown where incompatibility declaration expected

COMPATIBILITY OF UK LEGISLATION WITH CONVENTION RIGHTS:MINISTERS’ FUNCTIONS

This subsection includes:

• Ministers’ statements of compatibility regarding Bills
• Rectifying of legislation which is subject to incompatibility declaration
• Rectifying of legislation after finding by ECtHR
• Consequential amendment of power to make subordinate legislation
• Content, effect etc of remedial orders
• Parliamentary control of remedial orders

INCOMPATIBLE ACTS AND OMISSIONS OF UK PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

This subsection includes:

• Illegality of incompatible acts and omissions of public authorities
• Exceptions from liability for incompatible acts and omissions
• Proceedings for incompatible non-judicial acts and omissions
• Proceedings for incompatible judicial acts and omissions
• Relying on incompatible acts and omissions in legal proceedings
• Remedies for incompatible acts and omissions of public authorities: general
• Remedies for incompatible acts and omissions: damages
• Saving for other rights

INDIVIDUAL CONVENTION RIGHTS

This subsection includes:

• Article 2 of Convention (right to life)
• Article 3 of Convention (prohibition of torture)
• Article 4 of Convention (prohibition of slavery and forced labour)
• Article 5 of Convention (right to liberty and security)
• Article 6 of Convention (right to a fair trial)
• Article 7 of Convention (no punishment without law)
• Article 8 of Convention (right to respect for private and family life)
• Article 9 of Convention (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)
• Article 10 of Convention (freedom of expression)
• Article 11 of Convention (freedom of assembly and association)
• Article 12 of Convention (right to marry)
• Article 14 of Convention (prohibition of discrimination)
• Article 16 of Convention (restrictions on political activity of aliens)
• Article 17 of Convention (prohibition of abuse of rights)
• Article 18 of Convention (limitation on use of restrictions on rights)
• Article 1 of First Protocol (protection of property)
• Article 2 of First Protocol (right to education)
• Article 3 of First Protocol (right to free elections)
• Article 1 of Thirteenth Protocol (abolition of death penalty)
• Article 2 of Thirteenth Protocol (death penalty in time of war)
• Special provision regarding Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)
• Special provision regarding Article 10 (freedom of expression)

Interpretation

This subsection includes:

• Meaning of terms defined in or connected with Human Rights Act 1998
• Meaning of ‘the Convention’.
• Meaning of ‘public authority’.