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Statutory interpretation
The function of the courts, in relation to both primary and
subordinate legislation, is to interpret and apply it; they
have no discretion to refuse to apply it even if they feel that
it is unjust or causes hardship in any particular case. When
legislation is drafted by Parliamentary draftsmen great care
is taken to ensure that there is no room for doubt as to the
meaning of the legislation, and that it contains no ambiguity.
To assist those who may be affected by them, and also to assist
the courts, Acts of Parliament often contain an ‘interpretation’
section in which words and phrases used in the Acts are defined.
In addition, all Acts are governed by the Interpretation Act
1889, which lays down certain rules of interpretation which
apply generally. For example, it provides that ‘words
in the singular shall include the plural and words in the plural
shall include the singular’. Such general rules may, however,
be excluded by the express provisions of a particular Act.
In Hutton v. Esher Urban District Council (1973) the council
had power to construct a public sewer ‘in, on or over
any land….’ and proposed to demolish the plaintiff’s
house so that it could build a sewer. The plaintiff argued that
the word
‘land’ did not include a house. His argument was,
however, unsuccessful, as the Interpretation Act 1889 provides
that the term ‘land’ includes ‘messuages,
tenements and hereditaments, houses and buildings of any tenure’.
The final statute or statutory instrument should be absolutely
clear, so that the task of the judges in applying it should
present no problem. This is, however, a counsel of perfection,
and in practice ambiguities do creep in, so that it has become
necessary for the courts in such circumstances to devise rules
of interpretation. There are three rules: the ‘literal’
rule; the ‘golden’ rule; and the ‘mischief’
rule.
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