What is the purposive approach to statutory interpretation?

Judges look for the purpose Parliament intended the Act to achieve and interpret the words to give effect to that purpose, even if this means going beyond their literal meaning.

How does the purposive approach differ from the mischief rule?

The mischief rule looks back to the gap in the common law an Act was passed to fill, whereas the purposive approach asks more broadly what the Act as a whole was meant to achieve, and it is the dominant modern approach.

How was the purposive approach applied in R (Quintavalle) v Secretary of State for Health (2003)?

Embryos created by cell nuclear replacement did not involve fertilisation, but the House of Lords held they were covered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 because Parliament's purpose was to regulate the creation of all human embryos.

How did UK membership of the European Union affect statutory interpretation?

UK courts had to interpret domestic law, so far as possible, consistently with EU law, which pushed them towards the purposive approach used by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

OCR A-Level Law H418

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Statutory Interpretation

The purposive approach and evaluating statutory interpretation

3 things to know
Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on the purposive approach in Magor and St Mellons and Quintavalle, Pepper v Hart, the effect of EU membership and of leaving the EU, and the advantages and disadvantages of each rule and approach.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Process

What did Lord Denning say about the judge's role in Magor and St Mellons RDC v Newport Corporation (1950), and how did the House of Lords respond?

Key term

What are two advantages of the mischief rule?

Process

How did Pepper v Hart (1993) support the purposive approach?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the purposive approach to statutory interpretation?
Model answer
Judges look for the purpose Parliament intended the Act to achieve and interpret the words to give effect to that purpose, even if this means going beyond their literal meaning.
2
How does the purposive approach differ from the mischief rule?
Model answer
The mischief rule looks back to the gap in the common law an Act was passed to fill, whereas the purposive approach asks more broadly what the Act as a whole was meant to achieve, and it is the dominant modern approach.
3
What did Lord Denning say about the judge's role in Magor and St Mellons RDC v Newport Corporation (1950), and how did the House of Lords respond?
Model answer
Lord Denning said judges should find the intention of Parliament and fill in the gaps; in the House of Lords, Lord Simonds called gap-filling a naked usurpation of the legislative function.
4
How was the purposive approach applied in R (Quintavalle) v Secretary of State for Health (2003)?
Model answer
Embryos created by cell nuclear replacement did not involve fertilisation, but the House of Lords held they were covered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 because Parliament's purpose was to regulate the creation of all human embryos.
5
How did Pepper v Hart (1993) support the purposive approach?
Model answer
It allowed judges to consult Hansard where legislation is ambiguous, so they can see what the minister promoting the Bill said it was for rather than guessing Parliament's purpose.
6
How did UK membership of the European Union affect statutory interpretation?
Model answer
UK courts had to interpret domestic law, so far as possible, consistently with EU law, which pushed them towards the purposive approach used by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

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