Discuss the golden rule of interpretation of statutes

Explain literal rule, mischief rule aka rule in haydons case, golden rule, rule of harmonious construction, nosciur a sociis, ejusdem generis, reddendo singul singuis. 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. Discuss the rules of statutary interpretation with the help of decided cases. Some of these rules are frequently referred to by the courts as canons of. Rules of interpretation of statutory interpretation. The literal rule the golden rule the mischief rule these are not rules as such, but they are different ways or approaching the interpretation of a statute. The third basic rule of interpretation of statutes is the mischief rule of interpretation. A statute, which is a bill or law passed by the legislature, imposes obligations and rules on the people. It is the safest rule of interpretation of statutes because the intention of the legislature is deduced from the words and the language used. What are the rules of statutory interpretation our law has gradually developed a vast body of authority pertain ing to statutory interpretation.

The narrow approach as defined in jones v dpp 1962 by lord reid states if they are capable of more than one meaning, then you can choose between those meanings. Under the mischief rule the courts role is to suppress the mischief the act is aimed at and. This is also known as the golden rule of interpretation. Judges are able to add or change the meaning of statutes and thereby.

Judges can use three main rules in interpretation acts of parliament. Rules of interpretation interpretation of statutes in hindi. Rules of interpretation interpretation of statutes in. It is known as the golden rule because it solves all the problems of interpretation. Then the court will turn to secondary aids of interpretation to find the intention of the legislature eg. Doubts are resolved in favour of the class of persons for whose benefit the statute is enacted. However, in many an acts, definition clause is inserted to mean a word or expression. Explanations and provisos are inserted to expand or.

The purpose of interpretation of statutes is to help the judge to ascertain the intention of the legislature not to control that intention or to confine it within the limits, which the judge may deem reasonable or expedient. May 22, 2012 discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the operation of the mischief rule. Before we embark upon an inquiry as to what would be the correct interpretation of section 28 a, we think it appropriate to bear in mind certain basic principles of interpretation of statute. Sep 10, 2017 discuss the above rule of interpretation of statutes and refer to at least two decided cases in which the courts in order to avoid the absurdity that the literal rule, if applied, would have resulted in the felt justified to modify the language of the statute to arrive at the true intent of the legislature. Rules of interpretation of tax statutes p a g e 6 49 introduction 1. Primary rule 1 rule of literal construction interpretation of statutes, deeds and documents duration. The rules of statutory interpretation 2 translegal.

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. Mischief rule of statutory interpretation academike. If the statute clearly states the opposite, then a presumption will not apply and it is said that the presumption is rebutted. On the other hand penal and taxing statutes and statutes. The elementary rule of construction is that the language must be construed in its grammatical and literal sense and hence it is termed as litera legis or litera script. The correct is one that best harmonises the words with the object of the statute. Welfare, social and beneficial statutes are not to be construed strictly. If the literal interpretation of the statute were to produce absurdity, then the intention of the. Lecture 7 of series on interpretation of statute covering topic rule of harmonious construction with following topics. The act referred to performances which were not unlawful. Statutory interpretation essay plan legal system ls1025. It is a compromise between the rule of interpretation and the rule of mischief. The rule allows statutes to be refined and developed. Oct 09, 2018 in todays video let us understand the rules of interpretation.

The golden rule of interpretation has to be departed from in cases, where the letter of the. The rule can be used to avoid the consequences of a literal interpretation of the wording of a statute when such an interpretation would lead to a manifest absurdity or to a result that is obnoxious to principles of public policy. This rule implies a preference for the liberty of the subject, in case of ambiguity in the language of the provision. In constructing a penal act, if a reasonable interpretation in a particular case can avoid the penalty the court adopts that construction. It is a form of statutory interpretation that allows a judge to depart from a words normal meaning in order to avoid an absurd result. Discuss the above rule of interpretation of statutes and refer to at least two decided cases in which the courts in order to avoid the absurdity that the literal rule, if applied, would have resulted in the felt justified to modify the language of the statute to. Lord diplock in the duport steel v sirs case 1980 defined the rule. Sep 05, 2014 the mischief rule of statutory interpretation is the oldest of the rules. The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning. This rule applies to the interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions alike. The golden rule approach which says that the words of a statute must be interpreted in such a way that any manifestly absurd result does not arise from interpretation. The court held that what is contemplated is giving of the. This is what is known as the rule of harmonious construction.

The golden rule of interpretation academike lawctopus. An evaluation of the rules of statutory interpretation. The final rule of statutory interpretation is the mischief rule, under which a judge attempts to determine the legislators intention. Crawford has discussed the various ways by which the meaning of. Where there is a potential absurdity in the use of the literal rule, such as ambiguity, the golden rule can provide an escape route. Statutory interpretation approaches and rules applied. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the operation of the 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. Other approaches, including intentionalism, are more open to taking extrinsic considerations into. Past question papers of interpretation of statutes one stop. 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. Mention the various external aids and explain in detail the role. Discuss the rules of statutary interpretation with the.

Introduction 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. It is a compromise between the plain meaning or literal rule and the mischief rule. Mar 21, 2016 the golden rule was formulated in the case of beck vs smith where it was provided that the literal interpretation of a statute should be used only to the extent that it would not produce absurdity or negate from the intention of the legislature. Dec 07, 2012 harsoli devi 23, a constitution bench of this court laid down. An overview of the golden rule of statutory interpretation with case summaries and a. The basic rule is that whatever the intention legislature had while making any provision it has been expressed through words and thus, are to be interpreted according to the rules of grammar. 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.

There are some 1012 rules of interpretation, in this video i am discussing 6 rules of interpretation rest i will discuss in. Discuss literal rule of interpretation of statute answers. The golden rule was applied in the case of council of university of ibadan vs adamolekun where the court had to interpret the provision of s. These rules each take different approaches to interpretation of a statute. The court applied the golden rule to extend the literal wording of the statute to cover. The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima. This rule now attained the status of classic is known as the mischief rule. Here judges rely on the exact wording of the statute for the case. Interpretive methods that emphasize the primacy of text and staying within the boundaries of statutes themselves to discern meaning are textualist. Statutory interpretation refers to the process by which a court looks at a statute and determines what it means.

Interpretation of statutes write essay type answer on. It was originated in england in 1854 and was coined by c. One of the three basic rules of interpretation, construction is golden rule. Mischief rule words are ambiguous words can be chosen to looks at the given their avoid an absurd result. Donaldson in explaining interpretation of legislation. The rule has been stated by supreme court in venkataraman devaru vs state of madrasair 1958 sc 255 in the following words the rule is well settled that when there are in an enactment two provisions which cannot be reconciled with each other, they should be so interpreted, that if possible effect should be given to both. Golden rule of interpretation comparision between english law and indian law introduction the golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning. Apr 30, 2020 statutory interpretation refers to the process by which a court looks at a statute and determines what it means. A prominent recent example is the courts approach to interpretation of tax legislation, incorporating the ramsay doctrine into the process of statutory interpretation, so that there is now in effect a presumption that charging provisions in tax statutes are applicable in relation to transactions undertaken for genuine commercial reasons, and cannot be avoided by imposition of artificial. There may be other errors unnoticed by parliament and statutes cannot cover every eventuality therefore.

Rules of interpretation interpretation of statutes in hindi youtube. When looking at statutory interpretation its vital to understand that some statutes can be straight forward and have a simplistic meaning, however this is not always the case as there can be confusion over the true meaning of various statutes. The rule can be used to avoid the consequences of a literal interpretation of the wording of a statute when such an interpretation would lead to a manifest. Importance of golden rule of interpretation 1 it departs from its strictly literal rules 2 the court adopt the golden rule of interpretation in order to arrive at a perfect interpretation which would bring out the true meaning of the language, in the process of giving effect to the real intention of the legislature. Statutory interpretation advantages and disadvantages. When determining the meaning of particular words the courts will make certain presumptions about the law. Golden rule of statutory interpretation elaw resources. Rule of harmonious construction meaning, nature, scope. Although legislature makes the statute, it may be open to interpretation and have ambiguities. Study unit 1 ios 2601 introduction 3 clauses in the supreme constitution that influence interpretation apart from the constitutional values, the interpretation of statutes was transformed by six provisions of the constitution in particular. The golden rule of statutory interpretation provides that a court may. State the circumstances when these rules are applied by the courts.

The court applied the golden rule to extend the literal wording of the statute to cover the action. There are four rules of statutory interpretation, these are the literal rule, the golden rule, the mischief rule and the purposive approach. The golden gap in law ordinary rule provides a kind of escape route prior to the grammatical when there is a problem with the literal act and meaning. They all take slightly different approaches and the judiciary do not always agree on which approach should be used, so the interpretation of a statute may depend.

The golden rule of interpretation can be said as the modification of the grammatical rule of interpretation. Describe the golden rule used in statutory interpretation. There are some 1012 rules of interpretation, in this video i am discussing 6 rules of interpretation rest i will discuss in part 2 of this video. The golden rule of statutory interpretation may be applied where an application of the literal rule would lead to an absurdity. We might call this the sensible interpretation approach. No enactment has been enacted by the legislature for interpretation of statues including on tax laws. The mischief rule avoids absurd and unjust outcomes. Jul 10, 2017 lecture 7 of series on interpretation of statute covering topic rule of harmonious construction with following topics. Judges are able to add or change the meaning of statutes and thereby become law makers infringing the. The classic statement of the mischief rule is that given by. An overview of the golden rule of statutory interpretation with case summaries and a consideration of its advantages and disadvantages. When it is used rule used duty of court principle laid down by. The golden rule still respects the words of parliament and interprets them in a literal way except in limited situations. Statutes, however, although they make the law, may be open to interpretation and have ambiguities.

The rule can be used to avoid the consequences of a literal interpretation of the wording of a statute when such an interpretation would lead to a manifest absurdity or to a result that is obnoxious to principles of public. Oct 12, 2015 statutory interpretation the golden rule by mrs j. This interpretation is supreme and is called the golden rule of interpretation. In order to assist with the interpretation of statutes the judiciary have developed a number of rules. Statutory interpretation essay example graduateway. The golden rule in english law is one of the rules of statutory construction traditionally applied by the english courts. For example, it is an offence to operate a live sex venue without a licence from the local authority. Harsoli devi 23, a constitution bench of this court laid down. Factors which have influenced the shift in the mode of statutory interpretation are.