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THE MISCHIEF RULE ((The definition of the mischief rule comes from…
THE MISCHIEF RULE
The definition of the mischief rule comes from Heydon’s case (1584), where it was said that there were 4 points the court should consider
- 'What was the remedy the Parliament hath resolved and appointed to cure the disease of the commonwealth?’
- 'The true reason of the remedy. Then the office of all the judges is always to make such construction as shall suppress the mischief and advance the remedy’
- ‘What was the mischief and defect for which the common law didn’t provide?’
- ‘What was the common law before the making of the Act?’
The court should then interpret the Act in such a way that the gap is covered (so should provide a remedy)
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Using this rule, the court should look to see what the law was before the Act was passed in order to discover what gap or ‘mischief’ the Act was intended to cover
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Advantages
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The Law Commission prefers the mischief rule and, as long ago as 1969, recommended that it should be the only rule used in statutory interpretation
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