Unit 2 - Learning Aim A
and B
In this report, I have selected a statute, and I’ll explain the influences that
have impacted on its progress into law. The act I’d like to focus on would
be the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018. This act (more commonly
referred to as the Brexit act) saw the UK leave the European Union.
Media
Media refers to the way information is reported to the public. Traditionally,
this would be through newspapers, radio, magazines and Tv. Despite that,
in this day and age, due to the rise of the internet, social media is the
proliferate way information is spread. Thus, reaching a large audience and
shaping public opinions.
A key example of how the media influenced the Brexit Act would be from
the newspaper The Sun’s ‘BeLeave in Britain’ Campaign. This message
was plastered on the front of the most read newspaper in the country. This
would therefore catch the attention of a lot of people who agree with the
message and support it.
Pressure Groups
Pressure Groups are a group of like-minded individuals with the aim of
trying to influence the government to pass new legislation on the topics that
interest them. This group can consist of just a few individuals or a vast
number of participants, potentially in the millions. They may utilise various
tactics to effectively gain influence, including organising marches, protests,
strikes, petition campaigns, and media initiatives that involve advertising.
One type of pressure group is sectional; this group aims to promote the
interests and perspectives of its members. There are also advocacy
organisations, which focus on disseminating a broad idea or concept that
has been collectively developed. Additionally, there are pressure groups
that work to spread a broad viewpoint or concept that they developed
collectively. Insider groups are pressure groups which use their ties with
,the government to try to influence laws being made. Lastly, there are
external groups that resort to direct actions or sometimes legally
questionable methods to promote their views, as they lack access to
lawmakers.
Leave.EU was a pro Brexit group founded by Arron Banks. Nigel Farage ,
the leader of the UKIP party at the time, was the prominent face of the
pressure group reinforcing their strong stance for an exit of the EU.
Law Commission
The Law Commissions Act of 1965 established the Law Commission as a
permanent, independent organisation. Its duties include monitoring
England's and Wales' laws and proposing changes as necessary and the
repeal of obsolete law is the process by which the Law Commission gets
rid of obsolete and outdated legislation.
The Law Commission does not have any influence on the Brexit Bill.
Statutory Interpretation
The literal rule is when the judge interprets the law exactly as it is written.
The words are applied without the judge seeking to make sense of the
whole statute.
The Literal rule is meant to maintain parliamentary sovereignty.
This can be seen with the case of Fisher V Bell where Bell (shop owner)
had a weapon displayed in his shop window. The law stated that he
couldn't sell the weapon. Bell won the case due to the literal rule as he
claimed that the weapon was just there for decoration and not for the
purpose of selling.
Golden rule is an extension of the literal rule whereby the judge can choose
to interpret the meaning of a word if it makes more sense leading to a fair
decision. The golden rule’s purpose is to reduce absurd decisions.
Examples of this come from the cases.
The narrow form seen in the case R V Allen (1872). In R v. Allen (1872),
the defendant was accused of bigamy in line with Section 57 of the
Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which established that it is illegal to
, wed someone else while a previous spouse is still alive. He argued that he
couldn't be guilty because his second marriage was legally void. The court
changed from a literal construction that would make bigamy unenforceable
by applying the Golden Rule of statutory interpretation. Rather, they
understood "marry" to mean "go through a ceremony of marriage,"
guaranteeing that the statute's intent was achieved.
The broad approach can be seen with the case between Adler V George
(1964). This is seen as the Official Secretus Act 1920 made it an offence to
obstruct an offence to obstruct a member of the armed forces when in the
vicinity of a prohibited place. The defendant was actually inside the airbase
instead of in the vicinity. The defendant would have been not guilty under
the literal rule, so the judge used the golden to stop that absurd result.
The mischief rule of statutory interpretation looks for the initial wrong which
the statute was intended to prevent. The judge looks at the former law to
find out what was in need of correction.
This is seen in Smith V Hughes (1960). A prostitute offered her services
from a home's balcony. According to the Street Offences Act of 1959,
which made it illegal to solicit business in a public area, she was guilty of
soliciting on a street. The fact that she was on her balcony, which is not a
public location, and the lack of clarity around the meaning of the words, the
mischief rule had to be applied in this case. The illegal activity that the Act
aimed to stop was prostitutes soliciting people in public areas, which she
was still doing. If the literal rule were to be applied, the defendant would
have been found not breaking the law as she didn't literally break the law
by literal definition of the law. This being said, the decision made would
have been absurd.
The purposive approach is when the judge looks at the statute as an
entirety; looks why and how parliament made the statute. Seen with the
case of Jones V Tower Boot (1997). The Race Relations Act 1976 stated
no racism in the workplace. Tower Boot company attempted to claim that
the claimant was only racially abused and at breaks. Court used the
purposive approach to dismiss this as the entire act was made to eliminate
racism at the workplace.
and B
In this report, I have selected a statute, and I’ll explain the influences that
have impacted on its progress into law. The act I’d like to focus on would
be the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018. This act (more commonly
referred to as the Brexit act) saw the UK leave the European Union.
Media
Media refers to the way information is reported to the public. Traditionally,
this would be through newspapers, radio, magazines and Tv. Despite that,
in this day and age, due to the rise of the internet, social media is the
proliferate way information is spread. Thus, reaching a large audience and
shaping public opinions.
A key example of how the media influenced the Brexit Act would be from
the newspaper The Sun’s ‘BeLeave in Britain’ Campaign. This message
was plastered on the front of the most read newspaper in the country. This
would therefore catch the attention of a lot of people who agree with the
message and support it.
Pressure Groups
Pressure Groups are a group of like-minded individuals with the aim of
trying to influence the government to pass new legislation on the topics that
interest them. This group can consist of just a few individuals or a vast
number of participants, potentially in the millions. They may utilise various
tactics to effectively gain influence, including organising marches, protests,
strikes, petition campaigns, and media initiatives that involve advertising.
One type of pressure group is sectional; this group aims to promote the
interests and perspectives of its members. There are also advocacy
organisations, which focus on disseminating a broad idea or concept that
has been collectively developed. Additionally, there are pressure groups
that work to spread a broad viewpoint or concept that they developed
collectively. Insider groups are pressure groups which use their ties with
,the government to try to influence laws being made. Lastly, there are
external groups that resort to direct actions or sometimes legally
questionable methods to promote their views, as they lack access to
lawmakers.
Leave.EU was a pro Brexit group founded by Arron Banks. Nigel Farage ,
the leader of the UKIP party at the time, was the prominent face of the
pressure group reinforcing their strong stance for an exit of the EU.
Law Commission
The Law Commissions Act of 1965 established the Law Commission as a
permanent, independent organisation. Its duties include monitoring
England's and Wales' laws and proposing changes as necessary and the
repeal of obsolete law is the process by which the Law Commission gets
rid of obsolete and outdated legislation.
The Law Commission does not have any influence on the Brexit Bill.
Statutory Interpretation
The literal rule is when the judge interprets the law exactly as it is written.
The words are applied without the judge seeking to make sense of the
whole statute.
The Literal rule is meant to maintain parliamentary sovereignty.
This can be seen with the case of Fisher V Bell where Bell (shop owner)
had a weapon displayed in his shop window. The law stated that he
couldn't sell the weapon. Bell won the case due to the literal rule as he
claimed that the weapon was just there for decoration and not for the
purpose of selling.
Golden rule is an extension of the literal rule whereby the judge can choose
to interpret the meaning of a word if it makes more sense leading to a fair
decision. The golden rule’s purpose is to reduce absurd decisions.
Examples of this come from the cases.
The narrow form seen in the case R V Allen (1872). In R v. Allen (1872),
the defendant was accused of bigamy in line with Section 57 of the
Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which established that it is illegal to
, wed someone else while a previous spouse is still alive. He argued that he
couldn't be guilty because his second marriage was legally void. The court
changed from a literal construction that would make bigamy unenforceable
by applying the Golden Rule of statutory interpretation. Rather, they
understood "marry" to mean "go through a ceremony of marriage,"
guaranteeing that the statute's intent was achieved.
The broad approach can be seen with the case between Adler V George
(1964). This is seen as the Official Secretus Act 1920 made it an offence to
obstruct an offence to obstruct a member of the armed forces when in the
vicinity of a prohibited place. The defendant was actually inside the airbase
instead of in the vicinity. The defendant would have been not guilty under
the literal rule, so the judge used the golden to stop that absurd result.
The mischief rule of statutory interpretation looks for the initial wrong which
the statute was intended to prevent. The judge looks at the former law to
find out what was in need of correction.
This is seen in Smith V Hughes (1960). A prostitute offered her services
from a home's balcony. According to the Street Offences Act of 1959,
which made it illegal to solicit business in a public area, she was guilty of
soliciting on a street. The fact that she was on her balcony, which is not a
public location, and the lack of clarity around the meaning of the words, the
mischief rule had to be applied in this case. The illegal activity that the Act
aimed to stop was prostitutes soliciting people in public areas, which she
was still doing. If the literal rule were to be applied, the defendant would
have been found not breaking the law as she didn't literally break the law
by literal definition of the law. This being said, the decision made would
have been absurd.
The purposive approach is when the judge looks at the statute as an
entirety; looks why and how parliament made the statute. Seen with the
case of Jones V Tower Boot (1997). The Race Relations Act 1976 stated
no racism in the workplace. Tower Boot company attempted to claim that
the claimant was only racially abused and at breaks. Court used the
purposive approach to dismiss this as the entire act was made to eliminate
racism at the workplace.
