Statutory Interpretation The Technique of Statutory ... - Francis Bennion

162 Part II — Statutory Interpretation
Property Co, Bartlett v May fair Property Co [1898] 2 Ch 28, 35; Ealing LBC v Race Relations
Board [1972] AC 342, 368).
Dangers in relying on the mischief
It does not necessarily follow that legislation enacted to deal with a mischief (a) was intended to deal
with the whole of it (eg Hussain v Hussain [1982] 3 WLR 679), or (b) was not intended to deal with
other things also (see Central Asbestos Co Ltd v Dodd [1973] AC 518; Maunsell v Olins [1974] 3 WLR
835,842). As Viscount Simonds LC said: 'Parliament may well intend the remedy to extend beyond the
immediate mischief {A-G v Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover [1957] AC 436, 462).
Furthermore common sense may indicate that the ambit of the mischief is narrower than the literal
meaning of the remedial enactment, as occurred in the Australian case of Ingham v Hie Lie (1912) 15
CLR 267. A Chinese laundryman was charged under an Act whose purpose was to limit the hours of
work of Chinese in factories, laundries etc so as to protect other industries. The defendant, who had
been found ironing his own shirt, was held not guilty of an offence that on a literal interpretation of
the Act it had created.
Unknown mischief
Particularly with older Acts, it may not be possible for the court to find out what the mischief was.
It must then do the best it can with the Act as it stands (eg Nugent-Head v Jacob (Inspector of Taxes)
[1948] AC 321, 327).
Remedy provided for the mischief
The remedy provided by an Act for a mischief takes the form of an amendment of the existing
law. It is to be presumed that Parliament, having identified the mischief with which it proposes to
deal, intends the remedy to operate in a way which may reasonably be expected to cure the mischief.
At its simplest, the remedy for the mischief may consist of removing the obnoxious legal provision
and not replacing it by anything. This often happens with a party- political Act when the opposition
gets into power. For example the Conservative Government of 1971 disliked the Land Commission
set up by an Act of its Labour predecessors. The very existence of the Commission was conceived
to be a mischief, so it was abolished by the Land Commission (Dissolution) Act 1971. That simple
procedure, accompanied by a few transitional provisions, constituted the 'remedy'. Another example
from the same year is the Licensing (Abolition of State Management) Act 1971.