Thursday, January 3, 2008

Why Do We Need Rules For The Interpretation of Statutes?

We need rules for interpretation for the following reasons :


Words are an imperfect means of communication

Words very often have more than one meaning i.e. they can be ambiguous
A broad term may be used in a statute which can give rise to confusion and uncertainty
There may be errors or omissions when the statute is drafted
New developments in society can make the words used in a statute out of date and they may no longer cover the current situation