UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
May/June 2020
IOS2601
Interpretation of Statutes
100 Marks
2 Hours
Question 1.1 (2)
In National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs
2000 (2) SA1 (CC) the Constitutional Court laid down a number of principles
to be considered and followed before reading in or severance is applied. One
of the s t a t e m e n t s b e l o w i s N O T a p r i n ciple laid down by the court with
regard to reading in or severance.
(1) the Courts must be able to define with sufficient precision how the legislative
meaning ought to be modified to comply with the Constitution.
(2) the Court should endeavor to be as faithful as possible to the constitutional
scheme within the constraints of the relevant legislation.
(3) the results of reading in/severance/reading up must be inconsistent with the
Constitution and its values.
(4) the remedy of reading in ought not to be granted where this would result in an
unsupportable budgetary intrusion.
Question 1.2 (2)
Section 13 of the Interpretation Act 33 of 1957 states that legislation may
commence…
(1) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on a date specified in the
legislation or on an unspecified date still to be proclaimed by the President or the
Premier of a province.
(2) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on a date specified in the
legislation or when it is published in a national newspaper.
(3) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on an unspecified date still to
be proclaimed by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
(4) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on a date specified in the
legislation or at the time when it becomes known throughout the country through
mass information campaigns/sessions.
,Question 1.3 (2)
When interpreting a piece of legislation, external aids are used. Which of the
aids mentioned below is NOT an external aid of interpretation?
(1) Debates during legislative process
(2) Preceding discussions
(3) Dictionaries and linguistic evidence
(4) The preamble of the act
Question 1.4 (2)
A peremptory statutory provision ...
(1) requires some compliance.
(2) may be complied with.
(3) requires exact compliance.
(4) may be deviated from.
Question 1.5 (2)
What does the term “reading-down” by the courts entail?
(1) The courts follow a restricted interpretation of the legislation in cases when there
are conflicts with the Constitution, but such a restrictive interpretation keeps the
legislation constitutional.
(2) Reading-down takes place when there is more than one possible reading of the
legislative text, and a more extensive reading is adopted in order to keep the
legislation in question constitutional.
(3) A more drastic remedy used by the courts in order to change legislation to keep
it unconstitutional.
(4) The courts follow an expansive interpretation of the legislation in cases when
there are conflicts with the Constitution, but such an expansive interpretation
keeps the legislation constitutional.
Question 1.6 (2)
According to the practical inclusive method of interpretation, teleological
interpretation …
(1) considers the circumstances which gave rise to the adoption of the legislation
and the legislative history (prior legislation and preceding discussions).
(2) is a value-coherent interpretation where the aim and purpose of the legislation
must be ascertained against the fundamental constitutional values.
(3) refers to the process during which the court examines the interpretation of
similar legislation by foreign courts, as well as international law.
(4) is concerned with the clarification of the meaning of a particular legislative
provision in relation to the legislative text as a whole.
,Question 1.7 (2)
Indicate which statement is INCORRECT: According to Botha, the following
principles govern conflicts arising between signed and unsigned legislation:
(1) The unsigned version of the legislative text may never be used to determine the
intention of the legislature.
(2) The signed version is conclusive only when there is an irreconcilable conflict
between the versions.
(3) If the one version of the text is wider than the other, then the common-
denominator rule is followed.
(4) If the versions differ but there is no conflict, the versions complement one
another, and they have to be read together.
Question 1.8 (2)
Repeal of legislation refers to …
(1) the formal process whereby the legislation is deleted/removed from the statute
book.
(2) the process whereby legislation is declared to be legally unacceptable.
(3) legislation being invalidated by the courts on legal grounds.
(4) a mechanical exercise where legislation which is no longer in use is ignored.
Question 1.9 (2)
Fill in the missing case name: In … the Constitutional Court confirmed that the
adoption of the purposive approach in our law has rendered obsolete all the
previous attempts to determine whether a statutory provision is directory or
peremptory on the basis of the wording and subject of the text of the provision.
(1) S v Jordan 2002 (6) SA 642 (CC)
(2) S v Zuma 1995 (2) SA 642 (CC)
(3) African Christian Democratic Party v Electoral Commission 2006 (3) SA 305 (CC)
(4) Prince v Cape Law Society 2002 (2) SA 794 (CC)
, Question 1.10 (2)
The following are some of the semantic and jurisprudential guidelines and the
presumptions about specific circumstances determining that a provision is
directory. Identify the INCORRECT guideline.
(1) If strict compliance with the provisions would lead to injustice and even fraud, it
is presumed that the provision is directory.
(2) If the wording of the provision is in negative terms, and a penal sanction
(punishment) is included for non-compliance with the requirements, it is an
indication that the provision in question should be regarded as directory.
(3) If other provisions in the legislation could become superfluous (meaningless)
when non- compliance with prescribed requirements results in the nullity of the
act, there is a presumption that the requirements are merely directory.
(4) If the provision is formulated in flexible or vague terms, it is an indication that it is
directory.
Question 1.11 (2)
Which of the following is the best description of the “golden rule” in statutory
interpretation?
(1) Words must be given their plain, ordinary meaning unless to do so would
produce an absurd result.
(2) Words must be given their plain, ordinary meaning.
(3) Words must be interpreted to find the mischief intended by the legislatures
(4) Words must be interpreted to find the underlying purpose of the legislation.
Question 1.12 (2)
Fill in the missing words.
Various types of legislation are categorised in terms of both a … timeline and a
…… power structure.
(1) chronological; judicial
(2) historical; judicial
(3) mathematical; hierarchal
May/June 2020
IOS2601
Interpretation of Statutes
100 Marks
2 Hours
Question 1.1 (2)
In National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs
2000 (2) SA1 (CC) the Constitutional Court laid down a number of principles
to be considered and followed before reading in or severance is applied. One
of the s t a t e m e n t s b e l o w i s N O T a p r i n ciple laid down by the court with
regard to reading in or severance.
(1) the Courts must be able to define with sufficient precision how the legislative
meaning ought to be modified to comply with the Constitution.
(2) the Court should endeavor to be as faithful as possible to the constitutional
scheme within the constraints of the relevant legislation.
(3) the results of reading in/severance/reading up must be inconsistent with the
Constitution and its values.
(4) the remedy of reading in ought not to be granted where this would result in an
unsupportable budgetary intrusion.
Question 1.2 (2)
Section 13 of the Interpretation Act 33 of 1957 states that legislation may
commence…
(1) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on a date specified in the
legislation or on an unspecified date still to be proclaimed by the President or the
Premier of a province.
(2) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on a date specified in the
legislation or when it is published in a national newspaper.
(3) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on an unspecified date still to
be proclaimed by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
(4) when it is published in the Government Gazette or on a date specified in the
legislation or at the time when it becomes known throughout the country through
mass information campaigns/sessions.
,Question 1.3 (2)
When interpreting a piece of legislation, external aids are used. Which of the
aids mentioned below is NOT an external aid of interpretation?
(1) Debates during legislative process
(2) Preceding discussions
(3) Dictionaries and linguistic evidence
(4) The preamble of the act
Question 1.4 (2)
A peremptory statutory provision ...
(1) requires some compliance.
(2) may be complied with.
(3) requires exact compliance.
(4) may be deviated from.
Question 1.5 (2)
What does the term “reading-down” by the courts entail?
(1) The courts follow a restricted interpretation of the legislation in cases when there
are conflicts with the Constitution, but such a restrictive interpretation keeps the
legislation constitutional.
(2) Reading-down takes place when there is more than one possible reading of the
legislative text, and a more extensive reading is adopted in order to keep the
legislation in question constitutional.
(3) A more drastic remedy used by the courts in order to change legislation to keep
it unconstitutional.
(4) The courts follow an expansive interpretation of the legislation in cases when
there are conflicts with the Constitution, but such an expansive interpretation
keeps the legislation constitutional.
Question 1.6 (2)
According to the practical inclusive method of interpretation, teleological
interpretation …
(1) considers the circumstances which gave rise to the adoption of the legislation
and the legislative history (prior legislation and preceding discussions).
(2) is a value-coherent interpretation where the aim and purpose of the legislation
must be ascertained against the fundamental constitutional values.
(3) refers to the process during which the court examines the interpretation of
similar legislation by foreign courts, as well as international law.
(4) is concerned with the clarification of the meaning of a particular legislative
provision in relation to the legislative text as a whole.
,Question 1.7 (2)
Indicate which statement is INCORRECT: According to Botha, the following
principles govern conflicts arising between signed and unsigned legislation:
(1) The unsigned version of the legislative text may never be used to determine the
intention of the legislature.
(2) The signed version is conclusive only when there is an irreconcilable conflict
between the versions.
(3) If the one version of the text is wider than the other, then the common-
denominator rule is followed.
(4) If the versions differ but there is no conflict, the versions complement one
another, and they have to be read together.
Question 1.8 (2)
Repeal of legislation refers to …
(1) the formal process whereby the legislation is deleted/removed from the statute
book.
(2) the process whereby legislation is declared to be legally unacceptable.
(3) legislation being invalidated by the courts on legal grounds.
(4) a mechanical exercise where legislation which is no longer in use is ignored.
Question 1.9 (2)
Fill in the missing case name: In … the Constitutional Court confirmed that the
adoption of the purposive approach in our law has rendered obsolete all the
previous attempts to determine whether a statutory provision is directory or
peremptory on the basis of the wording and subject of the text of the provision.
(1) S v Jordan 2002 (6) SA 642 (CC)
(2) S v Zuma 1995 (2) SA 642 (CC)
(3) African Christian Democratic Party v Electoral Commission 2006 (3) SA 305 (CC)
(4) Prince v Cape Law Society 2002 (2) SA 794 (CC)
, Question 1.10 (2)
The following are some of the semantic and jurisprudential guidelines and the
presumptions about specific circumstances determining that a provision is
directory. Identify the INCORRECT guideline.
(1) If strict compliance with the provisions would lead to injustice and even fraud, it
is presumed that the provision is directory.
(2) If the wording of the provision is in negative terms, and a penal sanction
(punishment) is included for non-compliance with the requirements, it is an
indication that the provision in question should be regarded as directory.
(3) If other provisions in the legislation could become superfluous (meaningless)
when non- compliance with prescribed requirements results in the nullity of the
act, there is a presumption that the requirements are merely directory.
(4) If the provision is formulated in flexible or vague terms, it is an indication that it is
directory.
Question 1.11 (2)
Which of the following is the best description of the “golden rule” in statutory
interpretation?
(1) Words must be given their plain, ordinary meaning unless to do so would
produce an absurd result.
(2) Words must be given their plain, ordinary meaning.
(3) Words must be interpreted to find the mischief intended by the legislatures
(4) Words must be interpreted to find the underlying purpose of the legislation.
Question 1.12 (2)
Fill in the missing words.
Various types of legislation are categorised in terms of both a … timeline and a
…… power structure.
(1) chronological; judicial
(2) historical; judicial
(3) mathematical; hierarchal
