9. Interpreting Statutes

Abstract

This chapter discusses statutory interpretation: the language used in a statute, the application of the language to the facts, or both. It covers the so-called rules of interpretation: the literal rule, the golden rule, the purposive rule, and the mischief rule, and why we still refer to them; examples of the ‘rules’ in action; secondary aids to construction; the use of Hansard; how judges choose to explain the construction they have placed on the statute; interpretation and the European Union; interpretation and the Human Rights Act 1998; interpreting secondary legislation; and an example of how to analyse a case on statutory interpretation.