Practice question · Multiple choice
Deciding that a statutory provision is clear enough to apply is already an act of interpretation. Why does this rule out treating literal meaning as a preliminary step that can bypass the other criteria?
Hints
- Does a text announce its own clarity before it is read?
- What happens when literal wording is separated from the underlying purpose?
Show the answer
A. A plain reading is itself a conclusion drawn from applying the criteria
Why
Clarity is the end result of interpretation, not a pre-interpretative threshold that exempts a judge from contextual criteria. The text remains the outer limit of any reading, preventing judges from setting words aside at will or restricting equity to clear cases.
Practise Interpretation and Application
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More questions on Interpretation and Application
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