Unit 4 of Legal Language including Legal Writing and General English (syllabus: Module 4). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- Where does a court start, and when may it depart from the words?
- How does the mischief rule work, and what are Heydon's four questions?
- What does a court do when two provisions collide?
- When may the court look outside the Act, and what may it look at?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Leading cases
- Kanai Lal Sur v Paramnidhi Sadhukhan
- Bengal Immunity Co Ltd v State of Bihar
- Commissioner of Income Tax v Hindustan Bulk Carriers (2003)
- K.P. Varghese v Income Tax Officer