interpretation
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The Cake Bill
The flaws in the UK government’s two-faced Bill of Rights Bill Continue reading
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On Law and Music
What is the relationship, if any, between law and music? As a musician myself, I notice many commonalities between law and music. As a jazz musician, improvisation is what I spend a lot of time thinking about. To improvise over a tune, it helps to know the notes in the tune, the chords underneath it, Continue reading
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Interpretation and the Value of Law II
This post is written by Leonid Sirota and Mark Mancini. We read with interest Stéphane Sérafin, Kerry Sun, and Xavier Foccroulle Ménard’s reply to our earlier post on legal interpretation. In a nutshell, we argued that those who interpret legal texts such as constitutions or statutes should apply established legal techniques without regard for the Continue reading
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Interpretation and the Value of Law
Why the interpretation of law must strive for objectivity, not pre-determined outcomes Continue reading
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Constitutional Law Ruins Everything. A (sort of) response to Mancini’s “Neutrality in Legal Interpretation.”
This post is by Andrew Bernstein. No! I am not an academic nor was meant to be.Am a mere practitioner, one that will doTo settle a dispute, argue an appeal or twoWhen advising clients, the law’s my tool.Deferential, if it helps me sway the courtArgumentative, and (aspirationally) meticulous.Case-building is my professional sportTrying my hand at Continue reading
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Guest Post: Andrew Bernstein
We continue our week of guest posts. This time, we will be posting a contribution from Andrew Bernstein (Tory’s), in response to my post last week on the ideal of neutrality in legal interpretation. Continue reading
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Textualism for Hedgehogs
Why substantive canons belong in textualist interpretation, and what this tells us about neutral interpretive principles Continue reading
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“Purposive” Does Not Equal “Generous”: The Interpretation Act
It is often said in Canada that statutes must be interpreted “purposively” and “generously.” Many cite the federal Interpretation Act’s s.12, which apparently mandates this marriage between purposive and generous interpretation: 12 Every enactment is deemed remedial, and shall be given such fair, large and liberal construction and interpretation as best ensures the attainment of its Continue reading
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Results-Oriented Conservatism: A Defence of Bostock
Should textualism lead to more “conservative” outcomes as a matter of course? No. Those who wish to transform textualism—a methodology of interpretation—into a vessel for conservative policy outcomes are in the wrong business. Instead of being in the business of law, they are in the business of politics. For years, a small group of Canadian Continue reading
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Lost Virtue
Joseph Raz revisits the subject of the virtue of the Rule of Law Continue reading
Double Aspect 