"[This book] will be of great value to practitioners, students,
academics and judges - whatever their level of experience. [...] The
trouble for many legal practitioners, and indeed for many legal book
writers, can be a failure to see the wood for the trees, and that is a
particular risk when it comes to a subject as fissiparous as statutory
interpretation. David Lowe and Charlie Potter are to be congratulated
for having avoided that risk: they have written a crisp and engaging
book, which covers this important topic in an informative and accessible
way..." From the foreword by David Neuberger
Understanding Legislation provides a practical, accessible guide to
interpreting both English and European legislation of all kinds. This
book can be used as a first port of call for practitioners and students
on all matters of statutory construction. It is designed to serve as a
succinct and authoritative point of reference for questions concerning
sources of legislation, the anatomy and structure of differing
instruments and matters of interpretation. As well as considering how to
read statutory language, and the key principles and presumptions that
the courts will apply, the book addresses how other legislation and
materials can influence the interpretive exercise and in what way. To
this end, it discusses the interpretive significance of the different
components of legislation, the various external aids to construction
that may exist, and the role of international law, the European
Convention on Human Rights (through the Human Rights Act 1998) and EU
law in interpreting domestic law. While the primary focus is on English
law, the treatment of EU and international law will also serve as
concise freestanding guidance as to the sources of EU law, the
construction of EU legislation and the construction of treaties.
