Statutory Interpretation

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STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
- Internal (intrinsic) Aids
  - Matters within the statute
    - Headings
      - marginal notes
        provisos
        Long title of the Act
        Explanatory Notes
- External (Extrinsic)Aids
  - Law Reports
  - Hansard-official report of what was said in Parliament when the Act was debated
- Why?
  - Bad drafting, ambiguous nature of language, technological & social change
- Purposive Approach
Matters within the statute
- Headings
  - marginal notes
    - provisos
      - Long title of the Act
        Explanatory Notes
it said it could consider what the law was before the Act was passed...
- ...in order to discover what GAP or MISCHIEF the Act intended to cover
  - Smith v Hughes (1960) this rule was applied to interpret the Street Offences Act 1959
goes beyond the Mischief Rule
- Judges decide what they believe Parliament meant to achieve
  - R v registrar General, ex parte Smith (1990) Adoption Act gives children right to see birth certificate
- Purposive Approach

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