What does canons of construction mean?
Primary tabs. Canons of construction is defined as a system of rules or maxims that is used to interpret the legal instruments such as statues. There are several canons of construction such as contra proferentem and ejusdem generis, that are used by attorneys or judges to interpret specific law.
What are the canons of statutory construction?
Canons of statutory construction are general rules for construing text. The canons include linguistic canons that are based on grammatical rules and presumptions about usage. The canons also include substantive canons that incorporate policy-based assumptions about legislative intent.
What is the rule against surplusage?
Rule against surplusage: Where one reading of a statute would make one or more parts of the statute redundant and another reading would avoid the redundancy, the other reading is preferred.
What are the three main rules of statutory interpretation?
In the construction (interpretation) of statutes, the principle aim of the court must be to carry out the “Intention of Parliament”, and the English courts developed three main rules (plus some minor ones) to assist them in the task. These were: the mischief rule, the literal rule, and the golden rule.
What are examples of canons?
Below are just some examples of books that are generally considered part of the literary canon:
- The Odyssey by Homer (750 BC)
- The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1320)
- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1400)
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1606)
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
What are the types of canons?
The types were guns, howitzers, mortars, and columbiads. The classifications were seacoast, siege and garrison, field, and mountain.
What are the Indian canons of construction?
The Indian canons are “enlarged rules of construction,” The Kansas Indians, 72 U.S. (5 Wall.) 737, 760 (1866), which ensure that “the language used in treaties with the Indians should never be construed to their prejudice.” Worcester, 31 U.S. at 582.
What is the meaning of construction of a statute?
Construction meaning
In simple words, construction is the process of drawing conclusions of the subjects which are beyond the direct expression of the text. The courts draw findings after analysing the meaning of the words used in the text or the statutes. This process is known as legal exposition.
What is an example of Noscitur a Sociis?
Here the defendant used a cloth bag. The courts had to consider whether a cloth bag was within the definition. Under noscitur a sociis, it was held that the bag could not have been within the statutory definition, because parliament’s intention was referring to a case or container of the same strength as a canister.
Is Expressio Unius EST Exclusio Alterius?
A Latin term literally meaning “the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other”. This is a common law principle for construing legislation which holds that a syntactical presumption may be made that an express reference to one matter excludes other matters.
What are the four things to be considered when interpreting statutes?
There are four Rules of Statutory Interpretation, these are the literal rule, the golden rule, the mischief rule and the purposive approach.
What is Noscitur a Sociis?
Legal Definition of noscitur a sociis
: a doctrine or rule of construction: the meaning of an unclear or ambiguous word (as in a statute or contract) should be determined by considering the words with which it is associated in the context.
How do you use the word canon in a sentence?
He had to read a canon of accepted literary texts.
What does it mean when someone says something is canon?
In fiction, canon is the material accepted as officially part of the story in an individual universe of that story by its fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction.
What are the 5 canons?
In De Inventione, he Roman philosopher Cicero explains that there are five canons, or tenets, of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.
What is the definition of canons?
1a : a regulation or doctrine decreed by a church council. b : a provision of canon law. 2a : an accepted principle or rule canons of descent. b : a body of principles, rules, standards, or norms.
What is rule of harmonious construction?
Harmonious construction is a principle of statutory interpretation used in the Indian legal system. It holds that when two provisions of a legal text seem to conflict, they should be interpreted so that each has a separate effect and neither is redundant or nullified.
What is rule of exceptional construction?
(5) Rule of Exceptional Construction: The rule of exceptional construction stands for the elimination of statutes and words in a statute which defeat the real objective of the statute or make no sense. It also stands for construction of words ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘may’, ‘shall’ & ‘must’.
What is the meaning of ambiguous construction?
The process by which the meaning of an ambiguous provision of a statute, written document, or oral agreement is determined. A judge usually makes a construction of an unclear term in a document at issue in a case that involves a dispute as to its legal significance.
What is rule of reasonable construction?
The “ut res magis valeat quam pereat” (Rule of Reasonable Construction) implies that a statute must be construed reasonably. A statute or any enacting provision therein must be so construed as to make it effective and operative.
What is Ejusdem generis rule example?
For example, if a law refers to automobiles, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, and other motor-powered vehicles, a court might use ejusdem generis to hold that such vehicles would not include airplanes, because the list included only land-based transportation.
Is Ejusdem generis a maxim?
Ejusdem generis: a facet of noscitur a sociis
“Noscitur a sociis” is a Latin maxim which means that “the term in a statute is to be recognized by the associated words”.
What is Inclusio Unius EST Exclusio Alterius?
Latin legal maxim that makes the point that where a statute, contract or other legal document includes a list of items falling into a category, the inclusion of certain items on that list should be presumed to mean that any excluded items are intentionally outside the definition.
What is the golden rule of statutory interpretation?
This rule is a modification of the literal rule. It states that if the literal rule produces an absurdity, then the court should look for another meaning of the words to avoid that absurd result.
How do you use cannon and canon in a sentence?
canon is to use cannon when you really mean canon. For example, His remarks in the courtroom last week violated the cannon of ethics for lawyers.