Interpretation of Legislation: Trends in Statutory Interpretation and the Judicial Process

Abstract

This article is presented in two sections. The first section analyses the changing approaches to statutory interpretation taken by the New Zealand Judiciary, their advantages and disadvantages, and how the methods are influenced by legislation, parliamentary intent and judicial personalities. The author argues in the second section that well-reasoned dissenting judgments are a valuable part of the legal process. The recent decrease in dissents is of concern if it is the result of a strong commitment by the Court to consensus and unanimity.

Keywords: legislation, statute, interpretation, judiciary, judicial, dissent, disagreement, opinion, purposive, approach, consensus, unanimity, uncertainty, uncertain, ambiguity, golden, rule, literal, purposive, natural, ordinary, context, value, based, consistent, bias, personality, subjective

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K20, K41, K23