Serving Certainty and flexibility: the
interesting realities of English Law
Joan Upson
Serving Certainty and Flexibility...
• Those of you who have an interest in the law may already have an
inkling of the ability of our courts to serve at one and the same
time, the dual masters of Certainty and Flexibility.
• Those of you who have studied Politics and Governance will also
have an understanding of the constitutional division of powers
within this country and the notion that Parliament is supreme.
• Those of you who have no knowledge of either, however, can relax
in the knowledge that our explorations today may be of some
interest, but be perhaps less shocking than they may prove to be to
some of your colleagues!
English Law
• Common law
• Adversarial environment
• Court cases
• Legislation/statute/Acts of Parliament
English Law
• Role of the Courts
– Precedent (stare decisis)
– Cases of ‘like facts’
• Stilk v Myrick (1812)
• Hartley v Ponsonby (1857)
• Williams v Roffey [1991]
Parliament is supreme!
• But…
• Role of the courts in statutory interpretation
• Conventions
Interpretative Tools
• The literal rule
• The golden rule
• The mischief rule
The Exercise
Parks and Recreation Act 1893 (fictitious)
• Section 1 establishes the criminal offence of “having a
vehicle in the park”
• Collins Concise English Dictionary defines ‘vehicle’ and
‘park’ in the following terms:
o Vehicle – “any conveyance in or by which people or objects
are transported, especially one fitted with wheels”
o Park – “1) a large area of land preserved in a natural state
for recreational use by the public, 2) a piece of open land in
a town with public amenities”