The Student Room Group
Reply 1
please can someone help. Im getting relly worried coz i need a good grade in law and am relly getting desperate with this. :bawling:
d'u mean those latin terms?

Noscitur a sociis
•‘a thing known by its companions’
•Words must be interpreted in the context of the words around them
•E.g. Pengelly v Bell Punch Company Co 1961
oFactories Act 1961: all ‘floors, steps, stairs, passageways and gangways’ should be kept clear
oHeld that this did not apply to the parts of the floor that were used for storage, because all the other terms referred to parts of the floor that were used to work on

Ejusdem Generis “of the same kind”
•Where at least two examples are followed by a general expression, the meaning of that expression is restricted to the class to which it belongs to
•E.g. Powell v Kempton Park Racecourse 1899
oBetting Act prohibited keeping a ‘house, office, room or other place’ for the purpose of betting
oHeld that Tattersal’s Ring at a racecourse was not ‘an other’ place because all other places were indoors

Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius
•Express reference to one thing excludes other things which are not referred to
•E.g R v Sedgley Inhabitants 1831
oA statute referred to ‘lands, houses and coalmines’
oHeld that mines other than coal mines were not covered. They did not count as lands
Reply 3
cherrs the explination in my text book is so useless
WTF!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know any of that?!
i checked mark scheme (ocr) n it says that u can still get an A even if u dont mention the actual latin terms, as long as u can explain them
Reply 6
tis_me_lord
WTF!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know any of that?!


You goin' down, foo'.

For noscitur a sociis, I also use Inland Revenue Commissioners v Frere. I just typed that, to prove to myself that I know something, and that my day has not been wasted.
What you guys on?

I just know golden rule, literal rule, mischief rule, puposive approach....

Are we talking about a different topic/ exam board? :confused:
well i'm doing ocr, but we have to know golden rule, literal n all that as well. the bit i posted is another thing that helps judges, also known as cannons of interpretation (rules of language).

wats purposive approach? i'm spose to know that as well but i havent got it nehwere in my notes
Reply 9
anonymous_xx
well i'm doing ocr, but we have to know golden rule, literal n all that as well. the bit i posted is another thing that helps judges, also known as cannons of interpretation (rules of language).

wats purposive approach? i'm spose to know that as well but i havent got it nehwere in my notes


purposive approach is the idea that judges decide what the act of parliament was trying to achieve not just what it says. while literal approach is when judges take the acts of parliament in their plain literal dictionary meaning.
anonymous_xx
well i'm doing ocr, but we have to know golden rule, literal n all that as well. the bit i posted is another thing that helps judges, also known as cannons of interpretation (rules of language).

wats purposive approach? i'm spose to know that as well but i havent got it nehwere in my notes


Dunno, revising this tomorrow....
well den wouldnt purposive approach and mischief rule be the same thing then?
Reply 12
The rules of language are an example of an intrinsic aid with regards to the purposive approach, so they're rather vital, for AQA at least (TML).
Reply 13
anonymous_xx
well den wouldnt purposive approach and mischief rule be the same thing then?


The mischief rule is the way judges follow the purposive approach while the literal rule is followed by judges favouring the literal approach. So yeh they are the same thing pretty much!
2 5 +
The rules of language are an example of an intrinsic aid with regards to the purposive approach, so they're rather vital, for AQA at least (TML).


Oh ok, only learning one aid. They rarely ask more then one, and if they do I'll do the other topics.

I don't like wasting my time. :smile:
elyse180887
The mischief rule is the way judges follow the purposive approach while the literal rule is followed by judges favouring the literal approach. So yeh they are the same thing pretty much!


I think, after glancing at my notes, that the purposive approach is tackling European Law which is always quite vague on purpose, whereas the mischief rule is to do with Acts of Parliament.

I'll give a more detailed answer tomorrow when I've revised this. Last topic to go, come on. :biggrin:
Reply 16
Heres the mark scheme for last years Interpretation question form AQA:

(a) Describe the various rules and other aids available to a judge when interpreting an Act of
Parliament. (20 marks)

Potential Content

(A) Description of rules of interpretation (literal, golden and mischief “rules”, purposive
approach)

(B) Description of internal aids (for example preamble, long and short title, headings, marginal
notes, punctuation, interpretation section, etc) and external aids (for example other statutes,
Interpretation Act 1978, Hansard, dictionaries, legal textbooks, etc)

NB: Material on presumptions and/or rules of language may enhance and/or substitute for (B),
and/or may enhance the quality of (A)


So rules of language will enhace your answer and could replace things you may have left out