Art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and intention of the authors of the law with respect to its application to a given case, where that intention is rendered doubtful, among others, by reason of the fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law caltex phils, inc. A guide to reading, interpreting and applying statutes. Some linguistic analysis, 23 akron tax journal, 33 2008. The system of basic rules and maxims applied by a court to aid in its interpretation of a written document, such as a statute or contract. Statutory authorities designing buildings wiki share your construction industry knowledge. As well as being potentially liable for breach of contract or for breach of a duty owed under common law, a person may also be exposed to a claim for damages as a result of a breach of a statutory duty, such as a duty owed under the australian consumer law. Where one reading of a statute would make one or more parts of. This code shall take effect one year after such publication. Statutoryconstruction statutory construction preliminary. Statutory language not to be construed as mere surplusage.
Chiang and lawrence solum argue that construing a patent is no different from any other form of legal analysis performed by judges, whether that analysis is performed in constitutional, statutory, or contract law. This appendix collects the canons of statutory construction that have been used or developed by the rehnquist court, from the 1986 through the 1993 terms of the court inclusive. A strict or liberal construction will depend upon a combination of many. A statute requires that contracts for the sale of goods, wares, merchandise of. A rule of liberal construction applies to remedial statutes. For example, jacobs nine column entry for parliament includes. A will is a legal document setting out who will be beneficiaries of your estate, how and when they receive their inheritance.
Under the surplusage canon of statutory interpretation, courts attempt to give effect to every provision congress has enacted. Introduction statutory interpretation treatises guides at. To discover a statutes original intent, courts first look to the words of the statute and apply their usual and ordinary meanings. Sutherland statutes and statutory construction lillian. Omnicom of michigan v giannetti investment co, 221 mich. United states promises to be a primetime event for statutory interpretation geeks. General principles and recent trends congressional research service summary the exercise of the judicial power of the united states often requires that courts construe statutes to apply them in particular cases and controversies.
A collection of georgias rules of statutory construction. Statutory interpretation and tcja the national law forum. L22301 august 30, 1967the people of the philippines, plaintiffappellee, vs. Jul 19, 2011 based on the book, statutory construction by ruben e. In our opinion, the decision of the panel in catallo impermissibly renders the. People of the state of michigan, plaintiffappellant, v jody. Statutory construction preliminary considerations civil code of the philippines article 2 article 2. If the language is susceptible to more than one reasonable meaning, we turn to standard rules of statutory construction and consider other indicia of legislative intent, such as legislative.
Fernando, j chanrobles virtual law librarythe sole question in this appeal from a judgment of conviction by the lower court is whether or not the appointment to and holding of the position of asecret agent to the. Sixth circuit precedent offers responses to four common. Consideration of the subject is divided into four parts. A resident or inhabitant or both of this state and of any city, town or other political subdivision of this state shall be a person who is domiciled or has a place of abode or both in this state and in any city, town or other political subdivision of this state, and who has, through all of his actions, demonstrated a current intent to.
According to the court, allen failed to provide sufficient proof that the states intent was negated by a statutory scheme that was, in actuality, punitive. Other than planning permission, the main statutory approval that will be required on a building project is building regulations approval. Statutory construction oklahoma indigent defense system. Sutherland statutes and statutory construction first published over 100 years ago, this is the definitive treatise when it comes to statutory interpretation. The task of statutory construction must begin with close consideration of the text itself, free from policy considerations. The ministry of housing, communities and local government mhclg is responsible for building regulations from 2012, wales has had the power to bring. In statutory interpretation, the sixth circuit will not apply expressio unius a list of specific items implies the exclusion of items not listed where the narrowed construction would undermine the effectiveness of the statute and frustrate congresss intent.
When general statutes and specific statutes conflict by steve. Statutory approvals for buildings designing buildings wiki share your construction industry knowledge. Thus, any construction of a statute that does not give meaning to every word implicates the rule against surplusage. When statutory law is altered during the pendency of a lawsuit, the courts at every level must. A statute should not be interpreted in a way that renders a word superfluous. Statutory obligation information for construction projects. If you are here for practical guidance on the principles of statutory construction, the best that i can offer is three words read the statute.
In construing a statute, this court should avoid any construction that would render a statute, or any part of it, surplusage or nugatory. High court decisions confirm a more literal approach to statutory interpretation. Any question of statutory interpretation begins with looking at the plain language of the statute to discover its original intent. People of the state of michigan, plaintiffappellant, v. Statutory construction statutory interpretation public. Based on the book, statutory construction by ruben e. The court alluded to but did not explicitly invoke familiar maxims or canons of construction that were seemingly applicable. Statutory interpretation is the process by which courts interpret and apply legislation. Pathfinder on statutory construction guide to the literature. The revised code of washington rcw is the compilation of all permanent laws now in force. Statutory approvals for buildings designing buildings wiki. When congress includes limiting language in an earlier version of a bill, but deletes it prior to enactment, we presume that the limitation was not intended.
At the end are some canons that apply to specific areas of law. Menahem pasternak, christophe rico, tax interpretation, planning, and avoidance. A statute, which is a bill or law passed by the legislature, imposes obligations and rules on the people. See florida statutes for information regarding the following or additional topics. In our opinion, the decision of the panel in catallo impermissibly renders the legislatures limiting language obsolete. This interpretation matters installment examines courts application of that canon to state and local tax controversies. It is a collection of session laws enacted by the legislature, and signed by the governor, or enacted via the initiative process, arranged by topic, with. When there is a straightforward, parallel construction that involves all nouns or verbs in a series. Singer first published over 100 years ago, this is the definitive treatise when it comes to statutory interpretation. Canons of construction legal definition of canons of construction. Construction, verily, is the art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and intention of the authors of the. Singer, sutherland statutes and statutory construction s 47. The sexual discrimination act was capable of 2 different interpretations, one that suited the applicant, and the respondent. The art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and intention of the authors of law, where that intention is rendered doubtful by reason of the ambiguity in its language or the fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law.
Dictionary term of the day articles subjects businessdictionary. The presumption against surplusage also can guide interpretation of redundancies across statutes, but the canon is strongest when an. Topics covered in this multivolume treatise include, legislative power, legislative organization and procedure, and statutory interpretation. The multivolume sutherland statutory construction is the authoritative text on the rules of statutory construction. The court stated that the case chiefly involved an issue of statutory construction although the illinois statute expressly specified that proceedings under the act shall be civil in nature. The surplusage canon requires courts to give each word and clause of a statute. When the words may and shall are used in the same statutory section, we can infer that the legislature was aware of the different denotations and intended the words to have their precise meanings. In a recent article, the interpretationconstruction distinction in patent law, t.
Breach of statutory duty construction law made easy. Topics covered in this multivolume treatise include, legislative power, legislative organization and. Mar 29, 2012 the distinction is particularly significant when the words may and shall are used in the same statutory section. Statutory construction by agpalo page 1 of 10 construction the art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and intention of the authors of law, where that intention is rendered doubtful by reason of the ambiguity in its language or the fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law. There is a presumption that the legislature put every word in the statute for a reason. One traditional canon of statutory construction is that, when they conflict, a specific statute controls a general statute regardless of which came first. Although legislature makes the statute, it may be open to interpretation and have ambiguities. The appendix divides the canons into three conventional categories. Where the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, courts give effect to the statute as written, without engaging in statutory construction. Nov 11, 2014 in statutory interpretation, the sixth circuit will not apply expressio unius a list of specific items implies the exclusion of items not listed where the narrowed construction would undermine the effectiveness of the statute and frustrate congresss intent. Statutory construction epla conference 16 october 2015 1. Including a discussion of legislative powers, constitutional regulations relative to the forms of legislation and to legislative procedure, volume 2 volume 2 of statutes and statutory construction, jabez gridley sutherland. Statutory construction epla conference 16 oct 2015. Local planning authorities are required to undertake statutory consultations on proposed development as set out in article 10 of the town and country planning general development procedure order 1995.
Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. Statutory construction offense of simple possession of child pornography should have been prosecuted under the specific law, rather than the general statute that covers the more serious offense of manufacturing and distributing child pornography. Indeed, one could tout this as the battle of the canons the exchange of volleys between two venerable canons of statutory construction. The statutory interpretation doctrine of ejusdem generis also dictates a finding the. The distinction is particularly significant when the words may and shall are used in the same statutory section.
Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the official gazette, unless it is otherwise provided. A superfluous and useless statement of matter wholly foreign and impertinent to the cause. In project blue sky, the observation about the objective of statutory interpretation follows from the court s conclusion as to the literal meaning of a provision, and is followed by a statement that. Hol held that all courts must read acts of parliament to be compatible with eu law, in other words the meaning consistent with eu law is to be preferred. The question before us is whether that term, read in the context of the agreement, is restrictive, as lawler urges, or merely explanatory, as the court found. Listing the canons of construction idaho state bar. Boli stepbystep method for statutory construction places the absurdresult maxim at the third level of analysis. Karl llewellyn, remarks on the theory of appellate decisions and the rules or canons about how statutes are to be construed 3 vand. Sutherland statutes and statutory construction by norman j. Any person who is 18 years of age or older and who is of sound mind may make.
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