INTRODUCTION TO INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES

Introduction to Interpretation of Statute:

The term statutory interpretation refers to the action of a court in trying to understand and explaining the meaning of a piece of legislation. Many cases go to appeal on a point of interpretation, Indeed, Lord Hailsham, a senior English judge, once said that “probably 9 out of 10 cases heard by the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords turn upon or involve the meaning of words contained in statute or secondary legislation.”

Why is this the case? First, laws must be drafted in general terms and must deal with both present and future situations. Often, a law which was drafted with one particular situation in mind will eventually be applied to quite different situations. A classic example is the UK Criminal Justice Act, part of which was originally designed to curb illegal warehouse parties but which was later used to crush demonstrations, often involving people from very different backgrounds to those attending the so-called raves.

Legislation is drawn up by draftsmen, and a draftsman’s capacity to anticipate the future is limited. He may not foresee some future possibility, or overlook a possible misinterpretation of the original intentions of the legislation. Another problem is legislation often tries to deal with problems that involve different and conflicting interests.

Both legal and general English contain many words with more than one meaning. In fact, some of the terms in TransLegal’s Legal English Dictionary have seven or more distinct definitions. With this being the case, even the best drafted legislation can include many ambiguities. This is not the fault of the draftsman, simply a reflection of the fact that where people look at a text from different points of view they will naturally find different meanings in the language used.

Judges in England generally apply three basic rules of statutory interpretation, and similar rules are also used in other common law jurisdictions. The literal rule, the golden rule and the mischief rule. Although judges are not bound to apply these rules, they generally take one of the following three approaches, and the approach taken by any one particular judge is often a reflection of that judge’s own philosophy.

Need For Interpretation


In his The Law-Making Process, Michael Zander gives three reasons why statutory interpretation is necessary:

1. Complexity of statutes in regards to the nature of the subject, numerous draftsmen and the blend of legal and technical language can result in incoherence, vague and ambiguous language.

2. Anticipation of future events leads to the use of indeterminate terms. The impossible task of anticipating every possible scenario also leads to the use of indeterminate language. Judges therefore have to interpret statutes because of the gaps in law. Examples of inderterminate language include words such as “reasonable”. In this case the courts are responsible for determining what constitutes the word “reasonable”.

3. The multifaceted nature of language. Language, words and phrases are an imprecise form of communication. Words can have multiple definitions and meanings. Each party in court will utilize the definition and meaning of the language most advantageous to their particular need. It is up to the courts to decide the most correct use of the language employed.

General Rules of Interpretation, Internal Aids to Interpretation, External Aids to Interpretation, Literal Rule, Golden Rule, Mischief Rule, Subsidiary Rules and Harmonious Construction are some of the most important rules.