Читать книгу Criminal Law - Mark Thomas - Страница 24

Although the starting point in any case is to consider the wording of the statute that creates the offence, if there is one, this is merely the first step. In order to properly understand legislation, one needs to appreciate how the courts interpret such legislation. For example, s 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act (OAPA) 1861 prescribes the offence of maliciously causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Without an appreciation of the meaning of such words as ‘maliciously’, ‘causing’ and ‘bodily harm’, one cannot truly understand the circumstances in which the offence applies. In this respect, case law is as important, if not arguably more important, than its legislative counterpart. Indeed, the Law Commission in a 1992 Consultation Paper, ‘Legislating the Criminal Code: Offences against the Person and General Principles’ (Law Com No 122, 1992) noted that some of the most important offences under the OAPA 1861 ‘have become in effect common law crimes, the context of which is determined by case-law and not by statute’.

For a discussion of the principles of statutory interpretation, see Sanson, Statutory Interpretation, 2nd edn (OUP, 2016).