EMJ18 v Secretary DHA [2024] FCAFC 87
What was said in this case (at [52]) about the expressio unius principle calls for comment8. First, always apply the principle with caution9. Second, this is consistent with the general rejection of rigid rules under our ‘modern approach’. Third, even where the principle may be relevant, it may be …
Sharp v Kiama Council [2024] NSWLEC 1360
This case concerned a dispute over residential lot sizes in an environmental plan. Commissioner Espinoza (at [41]) commented on the correct way instruments of this kind are to be interpreted. He quoted Robson J in another case for the following10.
(1) The same principles applied to statutes apply to environmental planning …
Academy Construction [2024] NSWSC 808
DOCAs facilitate voluntary administration by binding the company and others to certain procedures in the administration. This DOCA termination case raises how they are to be read. Black J (at [97]) said they are to be ‘construed as statutes or, more precisely, as subordinate legislation’ rather than as contracts14.
DOCAs derive their ‘operative …
The US Supreme Court has struck down a ban on bump stocks on the basis they do not convert assault rifles into machineguns1. Bump stocks use the recoil energy of these rifles, enabling them to fire up to 800 rounds a minute2. Legislation defines ‘machinegun’ by an ability to shoot more than one shot ‘by a …
Arrotex Pharmaceuticals v Minister [2024] FCA 522
This case is interesting for Rofe J’s description (at [46]) of the central passage in SZTAL as the ‘axiomatic approach’ to interpretation6. There, the High Court said that, if the ordinary meaning ‘is not consistent with the statutory purpose, [it] must be rejected’.
This principle has its roots in s 15AA. …
eSafety Commissioner v X Corp [2024] FCA 499
The eSC gave a notice seeking to force X (Twitter) to block globally a violent video10. If not blocked, Australians might access the video via VPNs. This raised how far domestic law may reach into the global sphere consistent with the ‘comity of nations’.
Kennett J (at [49-51]) explained that …
Whai Rawa Railway v BC 201036 [2024] NZCA 207
Episode 92 noted that the frequent instruction of our High Court to have regard to text, context and purpose12 is hardwired into NZ legislation. Section 10(1) of their Legislation Act 2019 says – ‘The meaning of legislation must be ascertained from its text and in the light of its …
Dayney v The King [2024] HCA 22
A legislative code is to be construed ‘without any presumption that it was intended to do no more that restate the existing law’15. D was a meth addict. He killed V with a baseball bat after V produced a gun during a planned burglary at V’s place. D said that everything …
The legal ‘person’ is the sun around which the planets of the law revolve. Only a thing with legal personality can have rights and obligations or bear criminal sanctions1. To which category of ‘person’ a statute applies poses perennial puzzles for judges, as a recent High Court case illustrates2. The issue was whether the corporatised Director …
Riverina Solar Pty Ltd [2024] NSWSC 480
How much influence do headings have on interpretation? In 2021, the High Court said the modern approach takes account of headings ‘in much the same way as use is made of extrinsic materials’7.
Riverina concerned the impact of the heading to s 600G of the Corporations Act 2001. Williams J …
