Statutory interpretation in private law / edited by Prue Vines and M. Scott Donald

Alexandria, N.S.W. : The Federation Press, 2019

1st edition

89397

Civil law -- Australia.

Law -- Interpretation and construction -- Australia.

Justice, Administration of -- Congresses. -- Australia.

ART I - Introduction

1 Introduction: Is statutory interpretation in private law distinctive?

PART II - Current trends and debates

2 'Icecream is not "meat": literal meaning and purpose in statutory interpretation in private law

3 Statutory interpretation as private law

4 Commentary on 'Statutory interpretation as private law'

5 Statutory interpretation and private law obligations

PART III - Applications of statutory interpretation in private law

6 'Co-production': novelty and path dependence in defamation reform

7 Taking common law concepts law concepts seriously: extending the principle of legality in private law

8 Statutes in a web of law

9 An integrated approach to statutory interpretation: directors duties in the UK

10 Intuitive synthesis and fidelity to purpose? Judicial interpretation of the discretionary power to award civil penalties under the Australian consumer law

11 Contractual fairness: statutory innovation and statutory interpretation

12 Lord Cairns' Act and statutory interpretation: give the court and inch, they'll take a mile

13 Statutes and a fiduciary course of dealing

In the past 50 years private law has undergone a revolution: statutes are now prevalent in every area. This book considers how judges in private law cases should respond to this change. How are statutes to be interpreted in this area with its deep historical roots, and is it reasonable to think that statutory interpretation might have different aspects and emphases in private law compared with public law? Divided into three parts: Introduction; Current Trends and Debates; and, Applications of Statutory Interpretation in Private Law, the book seeks to recognise the institutional reality of the statutory presence in private law. A distinguished group of authors including the Hon Tom Bathurst AC, Justice Mark Leeming and Justice Ashley Black, consider this question from a range of viewpoints. For example, the area of private law is full of transactional analysis - how different is the construction of contracts from statutory interpretation? The book canvasses some general questions about how statutory interpretation operates in private law, such as whether there should be a different concept of the principle of legality in private law, or whether parliamentary intention might include an understanding of private law. Particular applications such as the role of statutory interpretation in contributory negligence, defamation, directors' duties, consumer law and equity are also considered. - Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781760022051

xxv, 255 p. ; 25 cm