HBSY Pty Ltd v Lewis [2024] HCA 35
In this cross-vesting case, 3 key principles of our interpretation system are touched on – always speaking, statutory harmony and objective enquiry.
On the first 2, Gageler CJ (at [53]) said that legislation is always speaking in the present. Statutes must be construed as currently in force given parliament ‘intends its legislation that speaks in the present to speak harmoniously9. Jagot J (at [157]) noted the ‘mandatory objective approach’ to interpretation in terms of text, context, and purpose. The focus is on the meaning of the words of the statute, not any divination of the actual intentions of the legislature or drafter of the legislation’, the judge added.
This principle is from Episode 114 of interpretation NOW!
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