How statutes are made, ranked and read — from parliamentary sovereignty to the rules and presumptions courts use to give legislative words their meaning.
Almost every legal rule now starts life as an Act or an instrument made under one, so understanding where legislation sits and how courts handle it underpins the rest of the syllabus. This chapter begins with the sources of English law, the supremacy of Acts of Parliament and the hierarchy that flows from sovereignty, before distinguishing the types of legislation — primary and secondary, public and private, consolidation and codification — alongside Henry VIII clauses, repeal and the idea of a constitutional statute. It then follows a Bill through Parliament and into force, and examines how secondary legislation is scrutinised and challenged as ultra vires or unreasonable. The final sections turn to interpretation itself: the literal, golden, mischief and purposive approaches with the Latin canons, the internal and external aids including Hansard, the key presumptions courts apply, and the special demands of the Human Rights Act, unincorporated treaties and devolved legislation.
