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How to Read Legislation

  /  How to Read Legislation

Daniel Greenberg has written a new book ‘How to Read Legislation’.

One of the reasons why reading legislation can be so challenging is that it does not always look as difficult as it really is. For the most part, legislation today is drafted in relatively short and simple propositions and using relatively clear and modern language. Ironically, however, the closer legislation gets to being presented in a “plain language” form, the more risk there is of the reader being lulled into a false sense of security and thinking that they understand more than they actually do.

In order to be sure that one really understands the effect of legislation, one needs to have an understanding of: the different statuses and implications of different kinds of legislation; rules underpinning legislation that determine when, where and how it applies; presumptions and principles that may qualify or gloss the text; and special interpretation provisions that may change the natural meaning of everyday words and phrases.

The purpose of this booklet is to provide the basic tools for reading and understanding legislation to the wide range of law and policy professionals, law students and others who need to deal with legislation as a routine part of their work or study.

This booklet deliberately provides no more than an introduction to the subject, in the hope and expectation that it will be sufficient for most people for most purposes. The study of legislation is, however, a complicated and detailed field, and signposts for further reading are provided for cases where a point on legislative construction is of particular importance and complexity.

This booklet reflects the practice in the United Kingdom as at November 2024.

The following topics are covered in the book:

Introduction
Classifying Legislation
Accessing Legislation
Explaining Legislation
Navigating Legislation
Territorial Application
Interpreting Legislation
Discovering the Legislative Intent
Presumptions of Construction
Canons and Principles of Construction
Expressions Which Change Meaning Over Time
Fundamental and Human Rights
Amending and Repealing Legislation
Challenging Legislation
Mistakes in the Law
Subordinate Legislation
Quasi-legislation
Explanatory Notes
Pepper v Hart
Interpretation Act 1978
Key Terms – Glossary and Index
Further Reading