STATUTORY INTERPRETATION: THE CASE FOR A CORE SUBJECT

Abstract

This article is based on a paper given by the author at the 2007 Commonwealth Legal Education Association Conference in Nairobi. Its focus is the way in which universities teach statutory interpretation. Although statutes are now the pre-eminent source of law throughout the Commonwealth, it appears that their interpretation forms, at most, half of a core subject early on in an undergraduate law degree. This must change. Students should, of course, receive a brief introduction to statutory interpretation at the outset of their studies. However, they should also take a core subject late in their degrees to ensure that, as lawyers, they will be able to master any statute they encounter.