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AIDS TO STATUTORY INTERPRETATION (INTRINSIC (INTERNAL) AIDS (The long…
AIDS TO STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
INTRINSIC (INTERNAL) AIDS
Anything in the Act itself which may help to make its meaning clear:
The long and/or short title of the Act.
In Royal College of Nursing v DHSS the House of Lords referred to the long title of the Abortion Act 1967 to help confirm its purpose
‘an Act to clarify the law relating to termination of pregnancy by registered medical practitioners’.
Interpretation sections.
Most Acts now contain interpretation or definition sections. E.g s.10 of the Theft Act 1968, defines “a weapon of offence“ in aggravated burglary, as “ any article made or adapted for use for causing injury.”
Punctuation.
Punctuation is now taken into account in deciding the meaning of an Act. Lord Lowry said in Hanlon v The Law Society that this was the sensible approach.
EXTRINSIC (EXTERNAL) AIDS
Materials found outside the Act that may be referred to by the judge.
Dictionaries
Authorised dictionaries of the time of the Act will be used.
In Vaughan v Vaughan 1973 the CA had to interpret the word “molest” The court consulted the dictionary which defined “molest” as to “cause trouble, vex, annoy or put to inconvenience” and decided that D’s behaviour was therefore included
Previous Acts of Parliament
In Wheatley 1979 the long title of the Explosive Substances Act referred to an earlier Act so the CA looked at this earlier Act to assist their interpretation.
The Human Rights Act 1998 Judges must interpret the words of Acts of Parliament so their meaning is consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights.
International Treaties entered into by the UK
The court will look at the overriding objectives of such treaties if the Act being interpreted is intended to comply with the these
E.g The Treaty of Rome will often be referred to in interpretation of EU law