if an ordinary meaning approach to the words of the statutes had been adopted by a majority of the judges.?
speeches of members of the House of Lords in the case of Royal college of nursing of the united kingdom v DHSS
Law & Ethics - 2 Answers
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1 :
What's the question.... ? Law has always had to balance against using the meanings of ancient terms found in the profession, and the definitions handed down by court precedent, or changing all the definitions to match what lay-people think the word should mean. Sometimes, words are badly defined and we're stuck with them. Sometimes, words are well defined, but the common person doesn't understand the actual meaning, or the media gets it wrong and people think the term means something else. It's always a juggling act.
2 :
The case holds that the courts have to consider parliamentary intent if the language is ambiguous or new facts arise that were unanticipated by Parliament at the time the law was enacted. It is that latter portion that some in the House of Lords found troublesome. A quote from the case is below: "In interpreting an Act of Parliament it is proper, and indeed necessary, to have regard to the state of affairs existing, and known by Parliament to be existing, at the time. It is a fair presumption that Parliament's policy or intention is directed to that state of affairs. Leaving aside cases of omission by inadvertence, this being not such a case, when a new state of affairs, or a fresh set of facts bearing on policy, comes into existence, the courts have to consider whether they fall within the Parliamentary intention. They may be held to do so, if they fall within the same genus of facts as those to which the expressed policy has been formulated. They may also be held to do so if there can be detected a clear purpose in the legislation which can only be fulfilled if the extension is made. How liberally these principles may be applied must depend upon the nature of the enactment, and the strictness or otherwise of the words in which it has been expressed."
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