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Critically examine the principles used by the courts when interpreting Acts of Parliament Statutes are extremely complex legal documents, drawn up by highly specialised parliamentary draftsmen. Often, they cannot anticipate every future possible situation the law might apply to, nor give a clear definition to the words they use. This is because our language is often full of natural ambiguities, as can be seen if you look up a word in a standard dictionary. As a result, judges are often called upon to interpret a word or phrase that can be crucial to the outcome of a case they are dealing with. Judges have traditionally used three rules as an aid to interpretation. The Literal Rule has been the dominant rule, whereby the ordinary, plain, literal meaning of the word is adopted. Lord Esher stated in 1892: "If the words of an Act are clear, you must follow them, even though...

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