IS THE GOLDEN RULE OF INTERPRETATION REALLY SO GOLDEN?

 

IS THE GOLDEN RULE OF INTERPRETATION REALLY SO GOLDEN?

 

The Golden Rule of Interpretation is a modification of the Literal or Grammatical Rule of Interpretation. It allows departure from the Strict Literal Rule by recourse to consequences which may result from the application of the natural and ordinary meaning. The Golden Rule of Interpretation allows the Judges to depart from a normal meaning in order to avoid absurdity. Ever since Lord Wensleydale propounded this rule in 1857 in the case Grey v. Pearson[1], this rule has always been known as the Golden Rule due to its various advantages and problem-solving nature.

 

Following are the various advantages which are provided by the Golden Rule of Interpretation:

 

1)   An apparent advantage of Golden Rule is that it allows the Judge to modify the meaning of words used in a statute, to remove the absurdity which has occurred when the original meaning of the words has been used and apply the modified term effectively in the case the Judge is dealing with at that time;

 

2)   When the literal or grammatical rule of interpretation is incapable to help the Court to achieve clarity, the golden rule steps in to help the court;

 

3)   The Golden Rule of Interpretation guides the Judges in deciding which principles can be applied appropriately while interpreting the meaning of the statute;

 

4)   It takes away the need of making frequent amendments of the legislation to make minute changes as the Judges themselves can modify the meaning of the Legislation and make the Legislation applicable for the case before them;

 

However, to understand whether this rule is really golden or not we must also discuss the certain disadvantages this rule has. Followings are the disadvantages of the Golden Rule of Interpretation:

 

1)   There is no guideline as to when it can be applied;

 

2)   This rule has very limited use, Golden Rule of Interpretation is used only in rare occasions;

 

3)   It is impossible to always predict whether the Court will apply the Golden Rule of Interpretation in determining a case or not. This makes it very hard for the lawyers and people in legal business to properly advice their clients;

 

4)   Even if the ordinary meaning or literal meaning of a word used in a statute seems to be absurd in the eyes of one Judge may not seem so absurd to another Judge. Therefore, it can very well be said whether Golden Rule of Interpretation can be applied in a case depend more on the Judge than the law or rules;

 

5)   The Golden Rule of Interpretation will not be helpful if there is no absurdity or ambiguity in the literal meaning of the words used in a statute;

 

6)   One of the main disadvantages of this rule is that this rule empowers the Judges to twist the meaning of the words used in a statute which may even cause changing of law.

 

Justice Holmes has opined that a word is not a crystal, clear, transparent or unchanged concept. It is the product of thought and has the ability to vary greatly in color and content based on the surrounding circumstances and the time in which such word is sued. Whenever the meaning of any word in a statute is uncertain, there may arise a need to apply the Golden Rule of Interpretation. If the words of a statute give rise to absurdity and ambiguity in the context of a case, they should be considered repugnant in order to Apply the Golden Rule of Interpretation.

 

Therefore, there is no doubt that the Golden Rule of Interpretation is indeed somewhat golden while providing solutions in many cases in which Literal Rule of Interpretation fails to help the Court. However, due to its undeniable disadvantages it could be said that the Golden Rule of Interpretation is not really so golden.

 

PS: To get a clear idea about ‘Golden Rule of Interpretation of Statutes’ please visit this Link.

 

References:

 

·      https://swarb.co.uk/

 


[1] 1857(6) H.L. Cas. 61.

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