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.
What are the three main rules of statutory interpretation?
In the construction (interpretation) of statutes, the principle aim of the court must be to carry out the “Intention of Parliament”, and the English courts developed three main rules (plus some minor ones) to assist them in the task. These were:
the mischief rule, the literal rule, and the golden rule.
What is the golden rule of interpretation of statutes?
Editor’s Note: The golden rule is that
the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning
. 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.
What is the golden rule when interpreting a will?
In other words, the golden rule holds that
courts must ascertain the wishes or intentions of the testator by merely looking at the language used by the testator
. Accordingly, this rule makes no provision for courts to have regard to external factors when interpreting the testator’s language.
What is the golden rule in court?
the rule of construction that directs the person construing a provision, usually a statute, to read it according to the ordinary sense of the words unless
, however, such a reading produces some illogicality or inconsistency.
What are the 4 rules of statutory interpretation?
There are four Rules of Statutory Interpretation, these are
the literal rule, the golden rule, the mischief rule and the purposive approach
. These rules will be discussed within the body of this essay.
What is the difference between Golden Rule and mischief rule?
The Golden Rule tries to
compliment the Literal Rule
by allowing judges to change the meaning of statutes in order to give justice. However, this infringes the separation of powers. The Mischief Rule gives the most discretion to judges and is suited to specific, often ambiguous cases.
What are the general principles of interpretation?
The main and most important objective of interpretation is
to see the intention that has been merely expressed by the words
. The words of the statute are to be interpreted so as to ascertain the mind of legislature from natural and grammatical meaning of the words which it has used.
What are the basic rules of interpretation?
The primary rule is
to interpret words as they are
. It should be taken into note that the rule can be applied only when the meanings of the words are clear i.e. words should be simple so that the language is plain and only one meaning can be derived out of the statute.
What is the basic principle of statutory interpretation?
The fundamental principle of statutory interpretation is that
the words of a statute be read in their entire context and in their grammatical and ordinary sense harmoniously with the scheme of the Act
, the object of the Act, and the intention of the legislature.
Who Cannot inherit under a will?
The following people have no right to inherit where someone dies without leaving a will:
unmarried partners
(sometimes wrongly called ‘common-law’ partners) lesbian or gay partners not in a civil partnership. relations by marriage.
What are the methods of interpretation?
The interpretative methods of international law fall into four categories:
textual (2.1), systematic (or contextual) (2.2), purposive (or teleological) (2.3), and historical (2.4)
. They are congruent with the four methods of statutory interpretation identified by Friedrich Karl von Savigny.
Can a juristic person inherit?
Both natural and juristic persons may be beneficiaries in terms of a will
. If there is no will, or if the will is invalid, the estate devolves in terms of the law of intestate succession.
What is the silver rule of Confucianism?
The silver rule states “
Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you
.” The silver rule has its own deficiencies, as it only requires an individual not harm others, and does not ask that person to engage in positive behavior.
What is the ratio law?
Ratio decidendi is Latin for ‘
the reason for deciding
. ‘ This ‘reason’ is not 1) the facts of the case, 2) the law that the case applies, or 3), the orders of the case. Instead, it’s the ‘necessary step’ that the judge needed to resolve the case.
Do not do unto others what?
Simply put, this means
you should treat others the way you would like to be treated
. If you don’t want to be hurt, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, don’t do those things to other people.
