What is the purpose in the purposive interpretation of statutes? – Supreme Court
‘It is a commonplace statement in the recent case-law of the House of Lords and the Supreme Court that the courts adopt a purposive approach to the interpretation of statutes. My lecture this evening will explore what this means. In particular, if courts are going to refer to the purpose of a statute to inform the meaning to be given to its provisions, exactly what role does purpose play in the analysis? How should the courts go about identifying what it is? And what weight should the courts give to it when balancing it against other indications of the meaning of a statutory provision, such as the ordinary grammatical meaning of the words used in the provision? I will suggest that the answers to these questions require consideration of how language works – of the philosophy of language, if you like – and also of the constitutional
position of Parliament and of the role that law plays in society. These three elements have to be brought into relationship with each other.’
Supreme Court, 22nd October 2026
Source: supremecourt.uk
