Statutory Interpretation

Course aim

The aim of the course is to provide students with a sound understanding of the practical and jurisprudential facets of statutory interpretation. Students will learn and apply the principles of statutory interpretation and engage with issues such as literal versus purposive approaches to statutory interpretation; the significance of statutory interpretation maxims and other aids to interpretation; the importance of legislative history; and the importance of statutory interpretation to constitutional issues such as the relationship between the legislature and the courts.

Course content

•

• Introduction
• Literal and Intention Based Interpretation
• The Revolution of the 1980s as Regards Purpose and Use of extrinsic materials
• The Importance of Context in Understanding Statutes
• The Impact of Amendments to Head Legislation: Interpreting the final product
• The Same words in different statutes: are they to be interpreted similarly?
• Statutes in a jurisdiction that are in conflict: how will the courts resolve the situation?
• Statutory provisions against a backdrop of existing common law rights and presumptions: the presumption of legality
• When may a court ‘read’ words into a statute?
• Drafting styles and possible different approaches to communication of statutory values: fuzzy law

Textbook(s)

Pearce, D.C. and Geddes, R 2011, Statutory Interpretation in Australia , 7th, Lexis Nexis Butterworths, Chatswood N.S.W.

Prerequisite(s)

Common to all relevant programs
Subject Area & Catalogue Number	Course Name
LAWS 1013	Legal Research and Writing
LAWS 1010	Law, Society and Justice
LAWS 1012	Legal Institutions and Methods

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Component	Duration
INTERNAL, CITY WEST
Lecture	4 hours x 10 weeks

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Case study, Class presentation (oral), Research essay

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 4C)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.