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Statutory interpretation is at once the most practical and the most theoretical of subjects. On the one hand it is impossible to do anything in law without interpreting the words of others and anticipating how others will interpret or misinterpret one's own words. On the other hand there is now a vast body of literature that tackles legal interpretation from multiple theoretical perspectives.
While this book touches on a number of these current theoretical issues, it is more concerned with practice. The primary focus is on the techniques and reasoning used by lawyers and judges on a daily basis to resolve interpretation problems. The book deciphers the often confusing and contradictory rules of interpretation, explains the way these rules relate to each other, and focuses on the strategic use of the rules in constructing arguments and justifying outcomes.
The second edition of Statutory Interpretation has been thoroughly updated and expanded. It includes a new chapter on the presumed application of legislation, as well as important additions to the chapters dealing with rules about meaning and the chapters on textual, purposive, consequential, and policy analysis. This is a desk book no legal practitioner should be without.
