The Fundamentals Of Statutory Interpretation

"The modern principle is the official approach to statutory interpretation in Canada and is the foundation for the structure of this text. The modern principle focuses on the language of a statutory provision in light of its purpose, intent and context, and Hutchison devotes separate chapters to each of these aspects of statutory interpretation. The Fundamentals of Statutory Interpretation also critiques the various facets of the modern principle with a view to help identify more convincing interpretations of legislative intent. In addition, it tackles complicated issues concerning both the temporal application of statutes, such as retroactivity and retrospectivity, and when legislation may interfere with "vested rights.""--Publisher's website.

This book deciphers the often confusing and contradictory rules for interpreting legal documents and explains the way these rules relate to each other. The book goes beyond the content of the rules and focuses on their strategic use in constructing arguments and justifying outcomes.

Suitable for students or practitioners, this authoritative overview of the legislative process and statutory interpretation moves smoothly and understandably between the theoretical and the practical. It contains in-depth discussion of such topics as theories of legislation and representation, electoral and legislative structures, extrinsic sources for statutory interpretation, and substantive canons of statutory interpretation. Reap the benefits of the authors' experience, opinions, and insight and gain a working knowledge of the area.

""Interpreting Law" is an accessible introduction to statutory and constitutional interpretation by the nation's leading legislation scholar. This concise treatise not only identifies the primary "canons" or precepts that guide interpretation, but demonstrates how they operate and interact, as a matter of both practice and evolving aspiration. Unlike earlier academic treatises, which rummage through a potpourri of often arcane Supreme Court decisions, Professor Eskridge's new book focuses on a statute prohibiting "vehicles" in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. Each chapter engages the law student and the experienced practitioner to consider the application of the statute and its statutory and institutional context to a wide and often delightful array of situations. As the preface by Justice John Paul Stevens suggests, the reader will emerge from this book with a deeply enriched understanding of-and excitement about-legal interpretation."

Statutory interpretation affects every area of law and is of growing scholarly interest given long-running debate about the coherence of statutory interpretation and the fact that the law of interpretation comprises 'frail guidelines'. This contributed work critically analyses the law in light of this debate. It examines areas where the law is coherent leading to confidence in the judiciary and the administration of the law. It also examines areas where the law is not coherent and is need of improvement.

Today, statutes make up the bulk of the relevant law heard in federal courts and arguably represent the most important source of American law. The proper means of judicial interpretation of those statutes have been the subject of great attention and dispute over the years. This book provides new insights into the theory and practice of statutory interpretation by courts. Cross offers the first comprehensive analysis of statutory interpretation and includes extensive empirical evidence of Supreme Court practice. He offers a thorough review of the active disputes over the appropriate approaches to statutory interpretations, namely whether courts should rely exclusively on the text or also examine the legislative history. The book then considers the use of these approaches by the justices of the recent Rehnquist Court and the degree to which they were applied by the justices, either sincerely or in pursuit of an ideological agenda.

Examination of the general approaches to statutory interpretation, with a detailed focus on the rules developed by the courts. Leading authorities and representative cases relating to those rules are included. The author teaches law at rhe University of Queensland.

"Interpretation of statutes is about understanding enacted law-texts, in other words, making sense of the total relevant legislative scheme applicable to the situation at hand. Apart from poor reading and writing skills, one of the more striking current interpretation problems is the inability of law students (as well as the latest generation of legal practitioners) to interpret and apply legislation within the total legal environment. In Part 1 (‘Statute law’) students are introduced to the different types and categories of legislation, the structural components of legislation, the sometimes confusing ‘codes’ used in legislative texts, as well as the challenges of applying old order legislation together with new legislation (since 1994).Part 2 (‘How legislation is interpreted’) comprises a chapter on the theoretical foundations of interpretation, and an overview of the basic approaches to statutory interpretation in South Africa; and a chapter dealing with the practical application of the rules of interpretation according to an arrangement based on Lourens du Plessis’s five interrelated dimensions of statutory interpretation.Part 3 (‘Judicial law-making during interpretation, and peremptory and directory provisions’) deals with a number of day-to-day applications, and',Part 4 is a basic introduction to constitutional interpretation. In the process students are introduced to less well-known aspects such as deeming clauses, the suspension of legislation, sunset clauses, legalese and the counter-majoritarian difficulty.''--