Scribd
Upload
72 views

Statutory Construction Notes

The document defines statutory construction, interpretation, and construction. Statutory construction is discovering the meaning and intention of a law to apply it to a given case. Interpretation uses aids within the statute to ascertain legislative intent when ambiguity exists. Construction uses external aids when intent cannot be determined from intrinsic aids alone. Ambiguity refers to uncertainty in meaning. The key difference is that interpretation addresses ambiguity within a law while construction is needed when intent is unclear even with intrinsic analysis.

Uploaded by

Jennifer Pulido
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
72 views

Statutory Construction Notes

The document defines statutory construction, interpretation, and construction. Statutory construction is discovering the meaning and intention of a law to apply it to a given case. Interpretation uses aids within the statute to ascertain legislative intent when ambiguity exists. Construction uses external aids when intent cannot be determined from intrinsic aids alone. Ambiguity refers to uncertainty in meaning. The key difference is that interpretation addresses ambiguity within a law while construction is needed when intent is unclear even with intrinsic analysis.

Uploaded by

Jennifer Pulido
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Definition of Essential Terms

Statutory Construction
 It is the art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and intention of the
authors of the law with respect to its application to a given case, where that intention is
rendered doubtful, by the fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law.1

Interpretation
 Interpretation uses intrinsic aids or those found in the statute itself
 When there is ambiguity in the language, interpretation is employed to ascertain the
legislative intent
 Defined as the art of finding the true meaning and sense of any form of word

Construction
 Uses extrinsic aid or those found outside the written language of the law
 The process of drawing warranted conclusions not always included in direct expression or
determining the application of words to faces in litigation

Ambiguity
 Ambiguity is doubtfulness, doubleness of meaning, indistinctness or uncertainty or
meaning of an expression used in a written instrument2

Apply the Law Interpret the Law Construct the Law


 When the law speaks  When there is  When the intent of the
in clear and ambiguity in the legislature cannot be
categorical language language of the ascertained by merely
statute, ascertain making use of
legislative intent by intrinsic aids, the
making use of court should resort to
intrinsic aids, or those extrinsic aids, or
found in the law itself those found outside
the language of the
law

1 Statutory Construction, Rolando Suarez, p.1


2 Black’s Law Dictionary, 4th Edition, p. 105

You might also like