Episodes

Sir Gerard Brennan, a titan of the law, died this month.  His stellar career, traced elsewhere¹, was founded on deep dedication to principle.  Brennan succeeded Barwick on the High Court in 1981 just before Cooper Brookes and s 15AA.  After Mabo, and in line with a credo of general restraint, a major legacy is his reorientation of …

This political yard sign case shows how big principles resolve little cases – here, the nitty-gritty of town planning laws¹.  Before the election was called, supporters of Zoe Daniel put up yard signs (aka ‘corflutes’) in advance of her candidacy for Goldstein.  The council threatened fines, saying (A) the signs were each a ‘development’ requiring a permit²…

In a recent election case, a plurality of the High Court made the following comments¹ – ‘The identification of legislative purpose involves ‘ordinary processes of interpretation, including considering the meanings of statutory words in the provision, meanings of other provisions in the statute, the historical background to the provision, and any apparent social objective’. A number of …

In a recent patents case, Edelman J made observations about the importance of context and purpose in interpretation¹.  The general point (at [97]) is that fixing the meaning of express words, drawing inferences within a provision or implying new content into one are all best considered as a kind of ‘continuum’.  The judge made 2 points.  First, implications …

In Stanley v DPP, Basten JA draws attention to one of the most basic basics of our system¹.  The judge channelled Project Blue Sky in turn quoting Bennion² – ‘The distinction between literal and legal meaning lies at the heart of the problem of statutory interpretation.  An enactment consists of a verbal formula.  Unless defectively worded, …

Episode 78 dealt with how best to use iNOW! under an easy ‘1-2-3 system’.  Ultimately, it is about getting the reader to the latest intel relevant to their issue as fast as possible.  Selection of cases each month for this purpose is a much slower process.  While the High Court often frames interpretation themes briefly and in systemic terms¹…

The High Court in Port of Newcastle said the principles of interpretation are ‘familiar’ and ‘can seem banal’¹.  This case, about ‘access’ to port facilities², is a refresher on four of those principles.  1 – The term is read as ‘always speaking’³.  2 – It is construed within its ‘broader context’.  3 – The …

Statutory interpretation was once seen as a ‘non-subject’¹ and judges told people not to read books on it².  We now live in ‘the age of statutes’, however, and things could not be more different.  Working out what statutes mean is the singular most important legal skill to have in the 21^st century.  Textbooks are crucial to …

Every statute is a ‘diktat by the state to the citizen’¹.  Interpretation of these diktats really matters.  A recent case where a mining company sued the State on constitutional grounds illustrates this².  The main issue was whether amendments validly took away the benefit of earlier arbitral awards³.  Part of the argument was whether State …

Rarely comes a case that is truly iconoclastic, but Thaler v Commissioner of Patents is one of them¹.  It smashes the cherished norm that an ‘inventor’ must be a natural person.  In a world first, Beach J held that an AI system (known as DABUS) can be an ‘inventor’ for patent law purposes² – here, of a …