BENNION ON STATUTORY INTERPRETATION ... - Francis Bennion

BENNION ON STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
Fifth Edition Updating Notes (Version 24, 25 Mar 2010)
In Rani Santosh v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [1997] FCA 1493 the
Federal Court of Australia applied Code s 288(2) to rule that a reference in an Act to
regulations made under it referred such regulations as amended from time to time. The court
also applied s 288(2) in Wojciech Marian Szelagowicz v John W Stocker, Brian G Gibbs,
Gerald Neil Haddad and William Mark Tunningley [1994] FCA 1110; (1994) 35 ALD 16, at
[18].
Page 892 Relevant Index entry: updating construction:definition of
The expression „Yet their words remain law‟ was cited by the Israeli Supreme Court in Solel
Boneh Building and Infrastructure Ltd and another v Estate of the late Ahmed Abed Alhamid
deceased and others (2006) LCA 8925/04 at [8], where the court went on to cite President
Barak‟s dictum: „Interpretation is an ever-changing process. Modern content should be given to
the old language. Thus the disparity between the statute and life is reduced. Against this
background it is correct to say, as Radbruch did, that the interpreter may understand the statute
better than the creator of the statute, and that the statute is always wiser than its creator. This
leads to the interpretive approach that is accepted in England, whereby statute should be given
an updating interpretation . . .‟
Page897-899 Relevant Index entry: updating construction:law, changes in
As to Example 288.15 see Sonea v Mehedinti District Court, Romania [2009] EWHC 89
(Admin), [2009] 2 All ER 821.
Page 907-909 Relevant Index entry: updating construction:words, change of meaning of, and
For a reference to „the modern meaning of “rent”‟ see Mason v Boscawen [2008] EWHC 3100
(Ch) at [52].
Page 908 Relevant Index entry: box principle
The Court of Appeal departed from the principle of the decision described in Example 288.37
in R v Cockburn [2008] EWCA Crim 316; [2008] 2 All ER 1153.
The Family Court of Australia upheld the box principle in Attorney-General for the
Commonwealth & ‘Kevin and Jennifer’ & Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
[2003] FamCA 94 at [137][138].
Pages 910-911 Section 288(3) Relevant Index entry: private Act:interpretation of
This passage was relied on in Re Scottish Water [2004] ScotsCS 41 at [19]. There is an
interesting discussion of it by the High Court of Australia in Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd
[1995] HCA 24; (1995) 131 ALR 422; (1995) 69 ALJR 797; (1995) 185 CLR 410 (see passage
at footnote 148).
Pages 912-914 Relevant Index entry: contemporanea expositio
For a useful discussion see Isle of Anglesey Council and another v Welsh Ministers and others
[2009] EWCA Civ 94, [2009] 3 All ER 1110, at [39]-[50].
Part XIX. The Mischief and its Remedy
Section 294. Party-political mischiefs
Page 928 Relevant Index entry: law-churning
This topic is further dealt with in FB‟s 2008 article „Law-Churning and the Sociologists‟.
Part XX. Purposive Construction
Section 304. Nature of purposive construction
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