Serving Certainty and flexibility: the interesting realities of English Law

Joan Upson

Serving Certainty and Flexibility...• Those of you who have an interest in the law may already have

an inkling of the ability of our courts to serve at one and the same time, the dual masters of Certainty and Flexibility.

• Those of you who have studied Politics and Governance will also have an understanding of the constitutional division of powers within this country and the notion that Parliament is supreme.

• Those of you who have no knowledge of either, however, can relax in the knowledge that our explorations today may be of some interest, but be perhaps less shocking than they may prove to be to some of your colleagues!

English Law

• Common law

• Adversarial environment

• Court cases

• Legislation/statute/Acts of Parliament

English Law

• Role of the Courts– Precedent (stare decisis)– Cases of ‘like facts’

• Stilk v Myrick (1812)

• Hartley v Ponsonby (1857)

• Williams v Roffey [1991]

Parliament is supreme!

• But…

• Role of the courts in statutory interpretation

• Conventions

Interpretative Tools

• The literal rule

• The golden rule

• The mischief rule

The Exercise

Parks and Recreation Act 1893 (fictitious) • Section 1 establishes the criminal offence of “having a vehicle

in the park”

• Collins Concise English Dictionary defines ‘vehicle’ and ‘park’ in the following terms:o Vehicle – “any conveyance in or by which people or objects are

transported, especially one fitted with wheels”o Park – “1) a large area of land preserved in a natural state for

recreational use by the public, 2) a piece of open land in a town with public amenities”