Post by CLARE MARIE ?! on May 16, 2010 17:13:36 GMT -5
Judges can use internal and external aids to help them understand the law better.
Internal aids are things that are found in a act.
- WORDS OF A WHOLE STATUTE
When the Judge reads the whole statute, it can give them an idea in what the act was there to cover and what purpose it holds.
[/li][li]PREAMBLE
the preamble is a part of the act that sets out the purpose and effects of an act. Most new acts now, do not have these, and if they do it's usually a very small blurb.
[/li][li] LONG TITLES[/b]
all new acts have a long title, in which summarises it's aims.
[/li][li] HEADINGS, SIDENOTES AND PUNCTUATION.[/b]
these are taken in and looked at along with the context, it helps them understand and gives them more information.
external aids are those used outside of the act to give the judges more information.
[/li][li]HISTORICAL SETTINGS
Judges can look at when the act was set and then look at other acts that are about the same thing.
[/li][li]DICTIONARIES AND TEXTBOOKS
Dictionaries are used when a judge is unsure of the meaning of a word in the act, the dictionary must be from the year the act was set, however.
[/li][li] LAW REFORM REPORTS
Reports made by the law commission can be looked at by Judges to help them understand the mischief behind the law. This is more appropriate for the Mischief Rule.
[/li][li]EXPLANATORY NOTES
These are notes that are published alongside the act of Parliament which will explain the background to the law and explain the aims of the Act.
[/li][li] HUMAN RIGHT ACTS
All laws passed today must comply with the issue of human rights. Therefore when Judges are interpreting the Act, they can always look back to the Human Rights Act.
[/li][li]HANSARD
This is a copy of the debate that takes place in Parliament when the MP's are discussing the bill. Reading the debate helps Judges understand why the act was passed. This can help with the Mischief rule and the Purposive rule.
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