Legal Interpretation: The Golden Rule

The importance of words in constitutional interpretation is stressed in the case of University of Cape Town v Cape Bar Council.

The textual approach was adopted in South Africa due to the influence of Roman-Dutch rules.

There is a primary, secondary or tertiary hierarchical order of importance of aids in constitutional interpretation.

The Roman-Dutch rules of statutory interpretation are purpose-orientated.

The court considers only the clear and unambiguous words of the legislation in ascertaining the intention of the legislature.

In the case of Union Government v Mack, the court prioritized the principle of legislative intent.

The Court advocated for the plain-meaning approach to interpretation in the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association v Price Waterhouse case.

The contextual approach to interpretation involves considering only the literal meaning of the words in the legislation.

Farrar's Estate v CIR agrees with the Union Government v Mack case.

The judiciary has unlimited law-making discretion during statutory interpretation according to the contextual approach.

The case of R v Kirk emphasizes the importance of considering the context of the legislation.

The judiciary can modify or adapt the meaning of the legislation even if the purpose and extent are unclear.

Engels v Allied Chemical Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd case states that the rules of construction of Acts of Parliament should be based on the intention of the legislature.

The textual approach is used to ensure legal uncertainty and ambiguity.

Courts have the duty and power to interpret legislation to make sense of it.

If a provision is incapable of a reasonable interpretation, it should be upheld as constitutional.

The issue in the appeal is how section 4(q) of the Income Tax Act is to be construed.

The judgment emphasizes the importance of transformation during the interpretation process.

The Constitution is not the Supreme Law of the Republic.

The 'intention of the legislature' is not considered during the interpretation process.

The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v The Executor of the Estate of the Late Waldo Earl Frith is not related to the Estate Duty Act.

The Golden Rule of Interpretation involves deviating from the literal meaning of words to avoid absurd results.

Tertiary aids to construction include long titles and headings.

The doctrine of legal positivism influenced the literal approach in England.

The common law tradition allowed courts to be highly restrictive in their interpretation of legislation.

The Golden Rule of Interpretation involves using secondary aids to construction first.

Venter v R is a notable case that illustrates the literal approach to interpretation.

The author of these notes claims to have made them perfect.

The provisions of Section 39(2) impose a two-fold proposition that prioritizes the literal meaning of the words in the legislation.

The Preamble of the Constitution provides for democratic values, social justice, and fundamental human rights.

The Chisuse judgement emphasizes the need for transformative interpretation in line with the goal of achieving equality.

According to the Constitution, transformation is a one-time event.

The contextual approach to interpretation involves considering only the plain meaning of the words in the legislation.

Courts have unlimited discretion in interpreting the Constitution.

The judiciary has a mechanical role in interpreting the Constitution.

The Constitution prioritizes the principle of legislative intent during interpretation.

The Preamble of the Constitution is not relevant to the interpretation of statutes.

Transformation is not a goal of the Constitution.