legal process
Assignment two
With specific reference to the case of grey v Pearson (1857)6 hlc, discuss the scope and ambit of the golden rule
Golden Rule
In law, the Golden rule, or British rule, is a form of statutory construction traditionally applied by English courts. The other two are the “plain meaning rule” (also known as the “literal rule”) and the “mischief rule.” The golden rule allows a judge to depart from a word 's normal meaning in order to avoid an absurd result1.
The term “golden rule” seems to have originated in the 1854 case of Mattison v. Hart as per Chief Justice Jervis’ propounding and implies a degree of enthusiasm for this particular rule of construction over alternative rules that has not been shared by all subsequent judges. For example, Viscount Simon made a point of including this note in a 1940 decision: “The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning2.”
Like the plain meaning rule, the golden rule gives the words of a statute their plain, ordinary meaning. However, when this may lead to an irrational result that is unlikely to be the legislature 's intention, the golden rule dictates that a judge can depart from this meaning. In the case of homographs, where a word can have more than one meaning, the judge can choose the preferred meaning; if the word only has one meaning, but applying this would lead to a bad decision, the judge can apply a completely different meaning.
History and evolution of the Golden Rule
This rule is founded on Justice Parke (later Lord Wensleydale)’s enunciation in Becke v
Smith where he stated thus: “It is a very useful rule in the construction of a statute to adhere to the ordinary meaning of the words used, and to the grammatical construction, unless that is at variance with the intention of the legislature to be collected from the
Nokes v. Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries3, or leads to any manifest absurdity or repugnance, in which case the language may be
With specific reference to the case of grey v Pearson (1857)6 hlc, discuss the scope and ambit of the golden rule
Golden Rule
In law, the Golden rule, or British rule, is a form of statutory construction traditionally applied by English courts. The other two are the “plain meaning rule” (also known as the “literal rule”) and the “mischief rule.” The golden rule allows a judge to depart from a word 's normal meaning in order to avoid an absurd result1.
The term “golden rule” seems to have originated in the 1854 case of Mattison v. Hart as per Chief Justice Jervis’ propounding and implies a degree of enthusiasm for this particular rule of construction over alternative rules that has not been shared by all subsequent judges. For example, Viscount Simon made a point of including this note in a 1940 decision: “The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning2.”
Like the plain meaning rule, the golden rule gives the words of a statute their plain, ordinary meaning. However, when this may lead to an irrational result that is unlikely to be the legislature 's intention, the golden rule dictates that a judge can depart from this meaning. In the case of homographs, where a word can have more than one meaning, the judge can choose the preferred meaning; if the word only has one meaning, but applying this would lead to a bad decision, the judge can apply a completely different meaning.
History and evolution of the Golden Rule
This rule is founded on Justice Parke (later Lord Wensleydale)’s enunciation in Becke v
Smith where he stated thus: “It is a very useful rule in the construction of a statute to adhere to the ordinary meaning of the words used, and to the grammatical construction, unless that is at variance with the intention of the legislature to be collected from the
Nokes v. Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries3, or leads to any manifest absurdity or repugnance, in which case the language may be
Bibliography: Learning the Law Glanville Williams 12th Ed. (A.T.H Smith) ISBN 0421744200 Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary 9th Ed. (S. Bone) ISBN 042175340 An introduction to the British Constitution I.M.M. MacPhail SBN: 7131 12662 The English Legal System 6th Ed. Slapper & Kelly ISBN 1 85941 7558 Cases and Commentary On Tort 4th Ed. Harvey & Marston ISBN 0273 638432 Torts 8th Edition Micheal A Jones ISBN 0199255334 Law of Tort John Cooke 6th Ed. ISBN 0582 473489 English Legal System 2003 –2004 Q & A Slapper & Kelly ISBN 185941 754x http://wolf-nt.wlv.ac.uk/ http://www.uk.westlaw.com