Business Law: Interpretation of Statutes and Exclusion Clauses

Running head: BUSINESS LAW
BUSINESS LAW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Answer 1
Issue
Matter of dispute arising out of the present case study is whether Mary will be prevented
to enter into the park.
Rules:
Interpretation of statue is a crucial part for the judges as they are required to analyze
cases based on the provisions enumerated in the statute (Latimer, 2011). In case, no proper
interpretation is done, miscarriage of justice will take place. The judges can refer to the Acts
Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) for interpreting the statutes. In this respect, section 15AA of the
Act can be referred which states interpretation of an Act is to be done in such a way such that
will meet the aim of the Act. Further section 15AB(2)(c) states that in case the Parliament
Committee or Houses of the Parliament makes any report, speech or publication in respect of the
said Act in issue, then the provision is to be interpreted by referring to external matter.
In addition to these, the courts also follow the below mentioned rules while interpreting the
statutes.
1. Golden rule:
The main essence of this rule is that judges are permitted to deviate from the
regular meaning of the words for avoiding any absurd result. This was seen in
Adler v George [1964] All ER 628.
2. Mischief rule:
This rule allows more discretionary power to the judges. It considers the mischief
or gap intended to be covered by the statute. Here the judges consider the

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intention of the Parliament while making interpretation. This was observed while
deciding Corkery v Carpenter [1951] 1 KB 102 in reference to Licensing Act
1872.
3. Literal rule:
In this rule, the statutes are interpreted in the ordinary and plain meaning as laid in
Fisher v Bell [1960] 3 All ER 731. Here literal meaning of the words is
considered.
Application:
In the present case, it is seen that a new Bill called as Ellenbrook National Park
(Restriction of Entry) Bill was passed which prohibits the vehicles’ entry to the park and on the
basis of the Bill, an Act is also enacted. Here to analyze the issue, section 5 of the Act has to be
interpreted. Moreover, the statement made by the Minister is to be referred too for this analysis.
Firstly, the section can be referred by construing to the above mentioned section of the
Act. Here as per section 15AA, main aim of the Act is to restrict traffic inside the said park. But
traffic is not defined here. Moreover the statement made by the Minister can be referred by
construing to section 15AB(2)(c ). As per his statement, the park which was previously enjoyed
by the visitors is now affected because of the heavy traffic. Hence in order to reduce the traffic
the Act is enacted. Thus the aim of the enactment is to control the traffic and not prohibiting the
cycle entry.
Moreover when golden rule is applied, the aim of the enactment is to be considered
which is preserving the enjoyment of the current users by reducing the heavy traffic. Here Mary