Legislating Statutory Interpretation: The Parliamentary Regulation of Judicial Discretion

Abstract

This book seeks to provide insight on a number of important questions related to the theme of legislating statutory interpretation: what motivates or prompts legislative direction to the courts? For instance, does it occur in relation to certain subject matters more than in relation to others? How do courts tend to respond to legislative control of their interpretative discretion? What are the implications of retroactive legislation aimed at “correcting” a past judicial interpretation of a statute? What are the broader issues, such as those relating to the roles of the legislature and judiciary, that are implicated by legislating statutory interpretation? A range of approaches, including those that are comparative, historical and critical, have been deliberately included to provide rich and diverse perspectives on this broader theme. We have organized the contributions into three main sub-themes: (i) case studies and lessons learned; (ii) constitutions, human rights and international law; and (iii) broader reflections on institutional dialogues.