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The Modern Principle of Statutory Interpretation, 2nd Edition

The “modern principle” is the official approach to statutory interpretation in Canada, which focuses on the language of a statutory provision in light of its purpose, intent and context. This title is a must-have resource for anyone seeking to gain insight into statutory interpretation in Canada. Formerly published as The Fundamentals of Statutory Interpretation.

Publication Language: English
Book
$115.00
Quantity

Softcover | 140 pages

In Stock
Published: December 07, 2022
ISBN/ISSN: 9780433518143

Product description

The “modern principle” is the official approach to statutory interpretation in Canada, which focuses on the language of a statutory provision in light of its purpose, intent and context. The Modern Principle of Statutory Interpretation, 2nd Edition (formerly published as The Fundamentals of Statutory Interpretation), is a must-have resource for anyone seeking to gain insight into statutory interpretation in Canada.

Written in an accessible, easy-to-understand manner, The Modern Principle of Statutory Interpretation, 2nd Edition is particularly useful because it:

  • Examines the textual, contextual, historical, and purposive components of the modern principle, as well as their interaction with one another
  • Presents some refinements to the modern principle to better understand legislative intent as well as pragmatically resolve ambiguous cases
  • Considers why statutes require interpretation and the institutional legitimacy of the judiciary to interpret statutes
  • Combines the best aspects of a textbook and a casebook as it includes detailed commentary and analysis of the subject matter, and not just case references
  • Highlights key elements from leading cases by presenting the most definitive precedents for each aspect of statutory interpretation

What’s New In This Edition

  • New content addressing legislative drafting conventions and their relationship to interpretative rules
  • New content on the challenges presented by, and potential solutions to, the interpretation of general or broadly worded language on the one hand, and overly specific language on the other
  • Clarity around the precise role of ambiguity and absurdity, as well as when courts may resort to statutory presumptions
  • Updated case law, including discussion of Supreme Court of Canada cases

Who Should Read This Book

  • Litigation lawyers when determining how courts have used principles of interpretation in past cases to help guide their litigation strategy
  • Tribunal members and judges when dealing with interpretation issues
  • Law students who need to learn the fundamentals of statutory interpretation
  • Law libraries serving students, lawyers, policymakers and the judiciary, who may not deal with questions of interpretation on a regular basis
 

Featured Authors

Table of contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Foundations
1.01 Introduction
1.02 What is Legislation?
1.03 What is Statutory Interpretation?
1.04 Why Do Statutes Require Interpretation?
1.05 The Judicial Role in Statutory Interpretation
1.06 Statutory Interpretation and Legal Reasoning
1.07 The Interpretation Act

Chapter 2: The Modern Principle
2.01 Introduction
2.02 Approaches and Aids to Interpretation
2.03 The Modern Principle
2.04 The Modern Principle Refined

Chapter 3: Textual Meaning
3.01 Introduction
3.02 The Nature of Legislative Text
3.03 Defined Meaning
3.04 Ordinary Meaning
3.05 Technical or Special Meanings
3.06 Textual Presumptions
3.07 Maxims of Interpretation
3.08 Punctuation and Components

Chapter 4: Contextual Meaning
4.01 Introduction
4.02 Statutory Context
4.03 Legal Context
4.04 External Context

Chapter 5: Legislative History
5.01 Introduction
5.02 The Uses of Legislative History
5.03 Types of Legislative History

Chapter 6: Purpose
6.01 Introduction
6.02 Statutory versus Specific Purposes
6.03 Where Do You Find Statutory Purpose?
6.04 When Statutory Purpose Supports an Interpretation
6.05 When Statutory Purpose Yields Equivocal Interpretations

Chapter 7: Temporal Application
7.01 Introduction
7.02 When Statutes Come into Force
7.03 When Statutes are Ambiguous about their Application to Past and In-Progress Events or Situations
7.04 A New Approach to Temporal Application

Index