Interpreting the bible literally reformed bible studies. Literal interpretation asserts that a biblical text is to be interpreted according to the plain meaning conveyed by its. The judges frequently use this phrase true meaning or literal or plain meaning. Mischeif rule heydons case rule originated in in 16 th century in. Selection of rule applicable 1 introduction 2 grammatical literal or plain meaning rule of interpretation 2.
Application is an integral partne r to interpretation, but prope r interpretation must always precede application. It is also known as literal or primary or natural or popular interpretation. The main modules covered in interpretation of statutes. Hi guys this is the second vedio in the series of interpretation of statutes and it covers the mischeif rule of interpretation.
A statute, which is a bill or law passed by the legislature, imposes obligations and rules on the people. Literal rule law and legal definition uslegal, inc. The object of interpretation of statutes is to determine the intention of the legislature conveyed expressly or impliedly in the language used. The most basic rule of biblical interpretation that we can follow is that we should interpret the bible literally. It must be reiterated that every biblical text has one and only one meaning. The mischief rule is one of three rules of statutory interpretation traditionally applied by english courts. Literal rule the literal rule is a part of one of the statutory rules of interpretation. The literal rule of statutory interpretation should be the first rule applied by judges. There are three major rules of interpretation of statutes. Doc comparative analysis of literal rule and golden rule. The necessity of the study of hermeneutics follows from several considerations. Start studying statutory interpretation literal, golden and mischief rules and the purposive approach.
As there is always the danger that a particular interpretation may be the equivalent of making law, some judges prefer to adhere to the laws literal wording. The court interprets statutes using the following approaches. This rule was defined by higgins j, in the amalgamated society of engineers v the adelaide steamship co ltd 1920. A statute is the will of the sovereign legislature according to which the governments function. This meaning is what the original biblical author intende d through the. By providing no scope for the judges input, it upholds the separation of powers and respects parliamentary supremacy. A tool for statutory interpretation by ekta gurjar ssrn. Heres an amazing pdf file containing the handwritten notes on the law subject interpretation of statutes.
When the literal rule is applied the words in a statute are given their ordinary, plain and dictionary meaning does not call for further interpretation of an act and directly honours the intentions. The rule of grammatical construction is considered to be the first principle of interpretation. However, when this may lead to an irrational result that acropdf a quality pdf writer and pdf converter to create pdf. We believe that there is only one right interpretation of any given biblical. As has been said, the importance of biblical hermeneutics has lain in the bibles status as a sacred book in judaism and christianity, recording a divine revelation or reproducing divine oracles. Golden rule of interpretation law of interpretation of.
They interpret the words of the statute in a way that is used commonly by all. Pdf interpretation of statutes handwritten notes for law. The mischief rule is a rule of statutory interpretation that attempts to determine the legislators intention. Essentially, we are not to treat scripture like a secret code book. Parliament is our lawmaking body and it is therefore correct that judges should apply the law as written by parliament without changing it. In literal rule, the words in a statute are given its plain, ordinary, and literal meaning. Under this rule the considers what the statute actually says, rather than what it might mean. These notes are to the point and will provide you an excellent overview of the key topics of interpretation of statutes. One of the basic rules of interpretation of statute is grammatical interpretation. If there is an ambiguity or an absurdity with this. Chakwarthy, interpretation of statutes, 2nd edition, central law agency pg 55. Literal and purposive techniques of legislative interpretation.
Two such rules of interpretation are the literal rule and the mischief rule. The literal rule of interpretation of statute legal service india. Literal rule literal rule or plain meaning rule is acclaimed as the safest guide to legislative intent, as the legislature is not to be supposed to use words in a statute, in vain. The rule says that to start with we shall go by the literal rule, however, if the interpretation given through the literal rule leads to some or any kind of ambiguity, injustice, inconvenience, hardship, inequity.
Under this rule of interpretation the courts interpret the statutes in a literal and ordinary sense. The other two are the plain meaning rule also known as the literal rule and the golden rule. Liberal interpretation law and legal definition uslegal. Hi guys this vedio calls about the rules of interpretation of statutes. The word interpretation means to arrive at the original meaning the writer intended when he penned the words. It states that if the literal rule produces an absurdity, then the court should look for another meaning of the words to avoid that absurd result. If, applying this rule, a clear meaning appears, then this must be applied, and the courts will not inquire whether what the statute says represents the. Words and phrases should be construed by the courts in their ordinary sense, and the ordinary rules of grammar and punctuation should be applied. Literal interpretation of a statute is finding out.
Literal rule of interpretation is the primary rule. It covers literal rule plaingrammar rule of interpretation. Brett, peter the theory of interpreting statutes 1953 uqlawjl. The case of adler v george 1964 is a classic example of the courts applying the golden rule. The golden rule tries to compliment the literal rule by allowing judges to change the meaning of statutes in order to give justice. The oracles are primarily prophetic utterances, but often their narrative setting has also come to acquire oracular. Liberal interpretation law and legal definition liberal interpretation means interpretation agreeing to what the reader believes the author reasonably intended. Principles of proper bible interpretation skeptics have often asked, if the bible is gods word, why are there so many different interpretations of what he supposedly said. Rules of interpretation grammatical or literal rule of interpretation. In order to achieve this, the judge will give the words in the statute of literal meaning, their plan ordinary everyday meaning, even if the effect of this to produce what might be considered as an otherwise unjust or undesirable outcome. Statutory interpretation advantages and disadvantages.
Literal rule the literal rule is the primary rule which takes precedence over the others. To have the interpretation of scripture rest on mans wisdom is to have flesh interpreting that which is spiritual. In order to achieve this, the judge will give the words in the statute a literal meaning, that is, their plain ordinary everyday meaning, even if the effect of this is to produce what might be considered as an otherwise unjust or undesirable outcome. Those who accept the bible as the word of god believe that god has spoken to us unambiguously. The executive must act and the judiciary in the course of administration of justice must apply the law as laid down by the said legislative. Pdf literal rule of interpretation azeem mian academia. Statutory interpretation literal, golden and mischief. It is known as the golden rule because it solves all the problems of interpretation. The literal rule says that the intention of parliament is best found in the ordinary and natural meaning of the words. Abstract in indian constitution, there is a broad separation of power, the indian constitution has not provided the judiciary to be supreme, the judiciary have its own limitation and it is necessary that judiciary should not cross the line that. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the law journals at brooklynworks. The literal rule declares that the literal or ordinary meaning of the words used must be followed, whatever the result.
Statutory interpretation lecture notes law teacher. Discuss the rules of statutary interpretation with the. The meaning of meaning 115 courts, lawyers and others need to make in a transparent, consistent and principled manner. Secondly, the growth in the size and importance of the laws made by and under parliament has also led to changes in the rules applicable in australia to the performance of statutory construction. Further the position of this rule in the present times has been discussed. The main aim of the rule is to determine the mischief and defect that the statute in question has set out to remedy, and what ruling would suppress the mischief, and advance the remedy. The golden rule under the golden rule for statutory interpretation, where the literal rule gives an absurd result, which parliament could not have intended, the judge can substitute a reasonable meaning in the light of the statute as a whole. This rule explains what the law is rather than explaining what the law means. Statutory interpretation is the process of determining whether a statute applies to a particular circumstances and if yes, what are the consequences. Statutory interpretation refers to the process by which a court looks at a statute and determines what it means. A tool for statutory interpretation legislature and the way of interpreting or construing it is to seek the intention of its maker. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Lockharts axioms of hermeneutics rules of interpretations are based upon corollaries formed from two 2 axioms. But, a liberal interpretation does not necessarily mean an interpretation that would accomplish a change in former practice.
Biblical literature types of biblical hermeneutics. The mischief rule was regarded by the law commission, which reported on statutory interpretation in 1969, as a rather more satisfactory approach than the other two established rules. The literal approach interpret according to plain, literal meaning of the words. Like the plain meaning rule, it gives the words of a statute their plain, ordinary meaning. In the history of biblical interpretation, four major types of hermeneutics have emerged. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw a trend towards a more literal approach. Under the literal rule, the words of the statute are given their natural or ordinary meaning and applied without the judge seeking to put a gloss on the words or seek to make sense of the statute.
In order to achieve this, the judge will give the words in the act a literal meaning, that is, their plain ordinary everyday meaning, even if the effect of this is to produce what might be considered as an otherwise unjust or undesirable outcome. However, its inflexibility can also create injustices. Week 3 what is literal, historical cultural, grammatical, rhetorical interpretation. The golden rules departs from its strictly literal rules, it is elaboration or extension of literal rule. A statute is the will of the legislature and the fundamental rule of interpretation, to which all others are subordinate, and that a statute is to be expounded, according to the intent of them that made it. In the literal rule of interpretation, the law has to be considered as it is and the. Justice higgins said the fundamental rule of interpretation, to which all others are subordinate, is. When interpreting a statute, the courts generally applies the literal rule first before applying any other rules of interpretation. This article focuses on the rules to be kept in mind while using it. It is incumbent on the court to use the grammatical meaning. Biblical literature biblical literature types of biblical hermeneutics.