Ratio decidendi
Ratio
decidendi is essentially party of judgement as it says out the reasoning behind
a judges ruling, After providing a brief summary of facts in the case, a judge
will need to explain what part of the law he used for arraving decision. This
part will give why judge make the decision which eventually sets the precedent
for the later [1]case.
Fore example of case of saloman v saloman & Co LTD (1897),[2]
Stare
decisis, this refers to Latin word which means let the decision stand. such an
interpretation which passes the of-arguments and which fulfills the intention
of the legislature. It is based on It is known by various names like-Doctrine
of liberal interpretation: sententia legis, Men’s, Social and historical
interpretation.
The
function of the logical interpretation of the statute is not as easy as it is
considered. Under it, courts have to find out the intention of the legislature
by a thorough study of statutes, and it has to see what the reasons for framing
this statute are. N. Shaedamani v/s G. Alexander[AIR. 1998 Andhra Pradesh
157)—Andhra Pradesh High Court decided that those situations and circumstances
have to be considered under logical interpretation which are the reasons for
framing the Statute. Social Interest is one of its parts-
Aids
to interpretation of statutes
As
defined in the Black’s Law Dictionary, a Statute is a formal written enactment
of a legislative authority that governs a country, state, city, or county.
Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word
is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from the judicial
decisions of the common law and the regulations issued by Government agencies.
Interpretation
means the process of ascertaining the true meaning of the words used in a
statute. The object of interpretation of statutes is to determine the intention
of the legislature conveyed expressly or impliedly in the language used. As
stated by Salmond, “By interpretation or construction is meant, the process by
which the courts seek to ascertain the meaning of the legislature through the
medium of authoritative forms in which it is expressed.”
Jurists
take the help of both Rules and Aids in the interpretation of Statutes. As
stated by the Supreme Court in K.P. Varghese v. Income Tax Officer,
Ernakulam[1][3]
interpretation of statute being an exercise in the ascertainment of meaning,
everything which is logically relevant should be admissible. A Rule is a
uniform or established course of things. There are three rules of
interpretation of statutes- Literal, Golden and Mischief. An Aid, on the other
hand is a device that helps or assists. For the purpose of construction or
interpretation, the court has to take recourse to various internal and external
aids.
Internal
Aids
Internal
aids mean those aids which are available in the statute itself, though they may
not be part of enactment. Some Internal Aids are-
Title
of the Statute
Long
title – Every Statute is headed by a long title and it gives the description
about the object of an Act. For e.g. the long title of the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908, is – “An Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the
procedure of the Courts of Civil Judicature”.
In
recent times, long title has been used by the courts to interpret certain
provision of the statutes. However, it is useful only to the extent of removing
the ambiguity and confusions and is not a conclusive aid to interpret the
provision of the statute.
Cases
1.
In Re Kerala Education bill[2], the Supreme Court held that the policy and
purpose may be deduced from the long title and the preamble.
2.
In Manohar Lal v. State of Punjab[3], Long title of the Act is relied as a
guide to decide the scope of the Act.
Although
the title is a part of the Act, it is in itself not an enacting provision and
though useful in case of ambiguity of the enacting provisions, is ineffective
to control their clear meaning.
Short
Title – The short title of an Act is for the purpose of reference & for its
identification. It ends with the year of passing of the Act. For e.g. Section 1
of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, says –“This Act may be cited as the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908. It shall come into force on the first day of January,
1909.”
Even
though short title is the part of the statute, it does not have any role in the
interpretation of the provisions of an Act.
Preamble
The
main objective and purpose of the Act are found in the Preamble of the Statute.
It is a preparatory statement and contains the recitals showing the reason for
enactment of the Act. For e.g. the Preamble of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, is
“Whereas it is expedient to provide a general Penal Code for India; it is
enacted as follows”.
The
preamble is an intrinsic aid in the interpretation of an ambiguous act.
Cases
In
Kashi Prasad v. State[4], the court held that even though the preamble cannot
be used to defeat the enacting clauses of a statute, it can be treated as a key
for the interpretation of the statute.
Headings
and Title of a Chapter
Headings
give the key to the interpretation and may be treated as preambles to the
provisions following them.
Cases
1.
In Krishnaiah v. State of A.P. and Ors[5] it was held that headings prefixed to
sections cannot control the plain words of the provisions. Only in the case of
ambiguity or doubt, heading or sub-heading may be referred to as an aid in
construing provision.
2.
In Durga Thathera v. Narain Thathera and Anr[6] the court held that the
headings are like a preamble which helps as a key to the mind of the
legislature but do not control the substantive section of the enactment.
Marginal
Notes
Marginal
notes are inserted at the side of the sections in an Act and express the effect
of the sections stated.
Cases
However,
in Wilkes v. Goodwin[7] Banks, LJ, held that the side notes are not part of the
Act and hence marginal notes cannot be referred.
Definitional
Sections/ Clauses
The
object of a definition is to avoid the necessity of frequent repetitions in
describing the subject matter to which the word or expression defined is
intended to apply.
A
definition contained in the definition clause of a particular statute, not from
any other statute, should be used for the purpose of that Act.
Illustrations
Illustrations
are examples provided by the legislature for better understanding of the
statute.
Cases
In
Mahesh Chandra Sharma v. Raj Kumari Sharma[8], it was held that illustrations
are parts of the Section and help to elucidate the principles of the section.
Proviso
A
proviso is to provide examples of a specific case which would otherwise fall
within the general language of the main enactment. It excludes, excepts and
restricts the application of a section and its effect is confined to that case.
Cases
In
CIT vs. Ajax Products Ltd.[9], it was held that whether a proviso is construed
as restricting the main provision or as a substantive clause, it cannot be
divorced from the provision to which it stands as a proviso. It must be
construed harmoniously with the main enactment.
Explanations
An
Explanation is added to a section to elaborate upon and explain the meaning of
the words appearing in the section. The purpose is not to limit the scope of
the main section but to explain, clarify, subtract or include something by
elaboration.
Schedules
Schedules
at the end contain minute details for working out the provisions of the express
enactment. The expression in the schedule however cannot override the
provisions of the express enactment.
Punctuation
Punctuation
is a minor element and weight be given to it only when a statute is carefully
punctuated and there is no doubt about its meaning.
External
Aids
When
internal aids are not adequate, courts have to take recourse to external aids.
They are very useful tools for the interpretation or construction of statutory
provisions. In B. Prabhakar Rao and others v. State of A.P. and others[10], O.
Chennappa Reddy J. has observed: “Where internal aids are not forthcoming, we
can always have recourse to external aids to discover the object of the
legislation. External aids are not ruled out. This is now a well settled
principle of modern statutory construction.”[11]
Further,
in the case of District Mining Officer and others v. Tata Iron & Steel Co.
and another[12], the Supreme Court has observed: “It is also a cardinal
principle of construction that external aids are brought in by widening the
concept of context as including not only other enacting provisions of the same
statute, but its preamble, the existing state of law, other statutes in pari
materia and the mischief which the statute was intended to remedy.”[13]
Some
of the External Aids are –
Parliamentary
History, Historical Facts and Surrounding Circumstances
If
the wordings are ambiguous, the historical setting may be considered in order
to arrive at the proper construction, which covers parliamentary history,
historical facts, statement of objects and reasons, report of expert
committees.
a)
Parliamentary history means the includes conception of an idea, drafting of the
bill, the debates made, the amendments proposed, speech made by mover of the
bill, etc. Papers placed before the cabinet which took the decision for the
introduction of the bill are not relevant since these papers are not placed
before the parliament.
Cases
1.
The Supreme Court in S.R. Chaudhuri v. State of Punjab and others[14] has
stated that it is a settled position that debates in the Constituent Assembly
may be relied upon as an aid to interpret a Constitutional provision because it
is the function of the Court to find out the intention of the framers of the
Constitution.[15]
But
as far as speeches in Parliament are concerned, a distinction is made between
speeches of the mover of the Bill and speeches of other Members.
2.
Regarding speeches made by the Members of the Parliament at the time of
consideration of a Bill, it has been held in K.S. Paripoornan v. State of
Kerala and others[16] that they are not admissible as extrinsic aids to the
interpretation of the statutory provision. However, speeches made by the mover
of the Bill or Minister may be referred to for the purpose of finding out the
object intended to be achieved by the Bill.
b)
Historical facts of the statute are the external circumstances in which it was
enacted. The object is to understand whether the statute in question was
intended to alter the law or leave it where it stood.
c)
Statement of objective and reasons provides why the statute is being brought to
enactment. It is permissible to refer to it for understanding the background,
the antecedent state of affairs, the surrounding circumstances in relation to
the statute and the evil which the statute sought to remedy
Cases
But,
as held in Devadoss (dead) by L. Rs, v. Veera Makali Amman Koil Athalur[17], it
cannot be used to ascertain the true meaning and effect of the substantive
provision of the statute.
d)
Reports of Commissions including Law Commission or Committees including
Parliamentary Committees preceding the introduction of a Bill can also be
referred to in the Court as evidence of historical facts or of surrounding
circumstances or of mischief or evil intended to be remedied.
Cases
The
Supreme Court in Rosy and another v. State of Kerala and others[18] considered
Law Commission of India, 41st Report for interpretation of section 200 (2) of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.[19]
Social,
Political and Economic Developments and Scientific Inventions
A
Statute must be interpreted to include circumstances or situations which were
unknown or did not exist at the time of enactment of the statute. Any relevant
changes in the social conditions and technology should be given due weightage.
Cases
In
S.P. Gupta v. Union of India[20], it was stated – “The interpretation of every
statutory provision must keep pace with changing concepts and values and it
must, to the extent to which its language permits or rather does not prohibit,
suffer adjustments through judicial interpretation so as to accord with the
requirement of the fast changing society which is undergoing rapid social and
economic transformation … It is elementary that law does not operate in a
vacuum. It is, therefore, intended to serve a social purpose and it cannot be
interpreted without taking into account the social, economic and political
setting in which it is intended to operate. It is here that the Judge is called
upon to perform a creative function. He has to inject flesh and blood in the
dry skeleton provided by the legislature and by a process of dynamic
interpretation, invest it with a meaning which will harmonise the law with the
prevailing concepts and values and make it an effective instrument for delivery
of justice.”[21]
Therefore,
court has to take into account social, political and economic developments and
scientific inventions which take place after enactment of a statute for proper
construction of its provision.
Reference
to Other Statutes
For
the purpose of interpretation or construction of a statutory provision, courts
can refer to or can take help of other statutes. It is also known as statutory
aids. For e.g. the General Clauses Act, 1897.
The
application of this rule helped to avoid any contradiction between a series of
statutes dealing with the same subject as it allows the use of an earlier
statute to throw light on the meaning of a phrase used in a later statute in
the same context.
Dictionaries
When
a word is not defined in the statute itself, it is permissible to refer to
dictionaries to find out the general sense in which that word is understood in
common parlance. For e.g. Black’s Law Dictionary.
Judicial
Decisions
Decisions
by courts on the same manner act as precedents for the interpretation of
statutes. Indian judicial pronouncements may have binding value when issued by
a higher court, and have persuasive value when issued by a court having same or
lower authority. These foreign decisions from countries following the same
system of jurisprudence have persuasive value only and cannot be used to
contradict binding Indian judgements.
Other
materials
Courts
also refer passages and materials from eminent text books, articles and papers
published in journals.
Cases
The
Supreme Court used information available on internet for the purpose of inte
Hence
to conclude, there are various Aids of Interpretation of statutes.
Ratio decidendi is a legal phrase that
translates from Latin to mean “the reason,” or the motivation behind a legal
decision. Ratio includes all of the principles a court relies on – be they
moral, political, or social – to justify their reasoning for coming to a
decision in a case. A ratio is comprised of the legal points made by all the
parties to a case. All of the other statements in the case make up the obiter dicta,
which are not legal arguments on which a case can stand.
What
this means is that some decisions are binding, and that the lower courts must
follow those decisions made by a higher court when deciding a case that has
similar elements.
Ratio
Decidendi Example Involving a Case from Scotland
An
example of ratio decidendi is the case of Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932),
otherwise known as the “snail in the bottle case.” This case is a good ratio
decidendi example because it explores the idea that a person can owe a duty of
care to another person whom he can reasonably foresee will suffer effects as
the result of his actions.
While
the matter did not occur in the U.S., this case is a fundamental Western case
because it essentially created the civil tort of negligence. It also
implemented the idea that businesses owe a duty of care to their customers and
should fulfill that duty or risk a lawsuit.
Background
and Lawsuit
Here,
May Donoghue was out with a friend at a café in Glasgow, and her friend ordered
her a drink and paid for it. Unfortunately, because the glass was not clear, it
was not until Donoghue had already drunk some of the contents that she
discovered a decomposing snail inside of it.
Later,
she became ill, and a doctor diagnosed her with gastroenteritis. Donoghue sued
David Stevenson, the manufacturer of the beer, asking for £500 (about $650) in
damages.
Donoghue
could not sue Stevenson on the ground of breach of contract because she was not
the one to buy the drink. However, even though Donoghue herself was not the
customer, her lawyers argued that Stevenson breached the duty of care that he
owed to his customers (in this case, Donoghue’s friend). They accused Stevenson
of negligence that lead to Donoghue’s injury.
Decision
and Appeal
At
the time Donoghue filed her lawsuit, civil law was still fairly new. As such,
the trial court dismissed Donoghue’s action, and so she appealed her case to
the House of Lords. At that time, the House of Lords possessed the authority to
hear appellate cases – something that has changed in recent years. Lord Atkin
delivered the leading judgment, which found Stevenson responsible for the
health of those who consumed his products, whether they were the ones to
purchase them or not.
The
House of Lords remanded the case to the original court, however Stevenson died
before they could finalize the case. Donoghue received a damage award from
Stevenson’s estate that was less than what she had originally demanded.
Donoghue
v. Stevenson[4]
may seem like a small case, but it went on to establish many important legal
precedents and principles that courts still follow to this day – including
negligence as a tort, and the concept of a duty of care.
It
also established the “neighbor principle,” which extends negligence past the
parties to a contract, including the contract’s “neighbors,” or others who may
become affected by it. In this case, while Donoghue was not a party to the
contract, because she did not buy the drink, she became a “neighbor” to it by
consuming the product of the contract.
Generally,
those decisions are made by superior courts are binding to lower courts despite
of other cases some decisions are not bind to lower courts and these precedent
are so called obiter dictum[5]
REFERENCES
BOOKS
legal
method II training manual, Pg
CASE
Donoghue
vs Stevenson (1932) uk 100
Online source
www.lawteacher
.net.com
www.blacklaw.net.dictorty
.com
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