Main advantages of The Literal Rule: No scope for the judges own opinions or prejudices to interfere. Respects parliamentary supremacy and upholds separation of power. Encourages drafting precision, promotes certainty and reduces litigation. 

What is the importance of literal interpretation?

In the literal rule of interpretation, there is no contrary meaning within the statute. Where there is no ambiguity in words, the question of intention ought not to be admitted. [8] The words are plain and clear under literal rule. The literal rule helps the judge in administering justice in a neutral manner.

What is the literal rule advantages and disadvantages?

An advantage of the literal rule is that it forces judges to carry out Parliaments intention. This is important as it stops unelected/appointed judges from making law, which would be contrary to the doctrine of the separation of powers. After all, their function is to apply, not make.
 

What is the explanation of the literal rule?

The literal rule is a rule of statutory interpretation and is where the courts simply look at the words of the statute and apply them as they are written giving them their ordinary and natural meaning.

What is the advantage of golden rule of interpretation?

Advantages of the Golden Rule
An apparent advantage of the rule is that it allows the judge to modify the meaning of words to remove absurdity and apply the modified term effectively in the case at hand. When the literal rule of interpretation fails to achieve clarity, the golden rule steps in to help the court.
 

What is literal rule vs golden rule?

The literal rule emphasises on the literal meaning of legal words or words used in the legal context which may often lead to ambiguity and absurdity. The golden rule tries to avoid anomalous and absurd consequences from arising from literal interpretation.

What cases used the literal rule?

An example of how the literal rule is used is in the Fisher v Bell [1960] case which involved the selling of flick-knives. Under the ‘Offensive Weapons Act 1959’, it was an offence to offer the sale of certain offensive weapons including flick-knives.

What is the disadvantage of the literal rule?

The rule clearly produces absurd, unjust and indefensible results which cannot represent Parliament’s true intentions. It ignores the fact that language has its limitations and can change in meaning over time. Thus, words will sometimes have to be given broader context to make sense of them.
 

What are the disadvantages of literal rule in law?

The literal rules assumes that every Act is written perfectly without any mistakes or drafting errors. It is not always possible to write an Act so that it covers every possible situation Parliament intended it to.

What are limitations of literal rule?

Criticism and Limitations of Literal Rule of Interpretation:
1) Ambiguity: When a word or phrase used in a statute has several meanings, it is unclear which particular meaning it represents in which sense or context in such a situation ambiguity arises.