What are the disadvantages of the purposive approach?
Disadvantages
- finding the intention of parliament can be quite difficult.
- it is undemocratic.
- it might cause uncertainty if a judge changes the meaning of a statute.
Why is the purposive approach undemocratic?
In Pickstone v Freemans the purposive approach was used to decide an equal pay case. The rule allows for judicial law making which can be argued is undemocratic as it gives power to decide to unelected judges. The dissenting judges argued it was public policy matter not for judges to decide.
What are the advantages of the purposive approach?
Purposive Approach
| Purposive Approach | |
| Advantages leads to justice in individual cases allows for new developments in technology avoids absurd result | Disadvantages difficult to find Parliament’s intention allows judges to make law leads to uncertainty in the law |
| Evaluation |
What does the purposive approach do?
The purposive approach to statutory interpretation is used in the European Court of Justice. being thus placed…the court proceeds to ascertain the meaning of the statutory language. ‘ Thus the purposive approach to statutory interpretation seeks to look for the purpose of the legislation before interpreting the words.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the literal rule?
An advantage of the literal rule is that it forces judges to carry out Parliaments intention. This is important as it stops unelected/appointed judges from making law, which would be contrary to the doctrine of the separation of powers. After all, their function is to apply, not make.
What are the disadvantages of statutory interpretation?
Disadvantages
- Literal Rule- Can end in absurdities. Can be unjust(ER v Berriman).
- Golden Rule- Limited in use. Undemocratic as judges use it.
- Literal Rule- The unelected judges make the law. Leads to unclear results.
- Purposive Approach- Judges become Law makers, infringing Separation of Powers Act.
What are the disadvantages of interpretation?
The biggest disadvantage is speed. Interpreted code runs slower than compiled code. This is because the interpreter has to analyse and convert each line of source code (or bytecode) into machine code before it can be executed.
What is the difference between the mischief rule and purposive approach?
The term purposive approach refers to a mischief rule which judges sometimes apply when interpreting statutes. The mischief rule however is different to the strict criteria set out in Heydon’s case. The purposive approach goes further by seeking to determine Parliament intentions in passing the act.
What happened in Heydon’s Case?
The ruling was based on an important discussion of the relationship of a statute to the pre-existing common law. The court concluded that the purpose of the statute was to cure a mischief resulting from a defect in the common law.
What is a purposive?
Definition of purposive 1 : serving or effecting a useful function though not as a result of planning or design. 2 : having or tending to fulfill a conscious purpose or design : purposeful.
What are the disadvantages of literal rule?
Disadvantages
- The rule clearly produces absurd, unjust and indefensible results which cannot represent Parliament’s true intentions.
- It ignores the fact that language has its limitations and can change in meaning over time.
- The rule demands standards of unattainable perfection from the parliamentary draftsman.
What are the disadvantages of using the mischief rule?
The main advantage of The Mischief Rule is that it closes loopholes in the law and allows laws to develop. The main disadvantage is that it creates a crime after the event has taken place, which can be seen in the Smith v Hughes (1960) case.
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