Intent & policy background
Explanatory Notes are documents that explain the purpose of a Bill. All Government Bills and some Private Members' Bills have an accompanying Explanatory Note. They can be found among the 'Bill documents' on the relevant Bill page. [Glossary on parliament.gov.uk]
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Bills before Westminster (Current Session)Part of official website. Has Explanatory Notes alongside the bills.
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Bills in previous sessions of WestminsterPart of official website. Collection starts c2001/2
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Commons Public Bill Committee DebatesFree resource. From Session 2006/7. Also has Public Standing Committee Debates Session 1997-98 to Session 2005/6.
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House of Lords Communications Committee (Archive)Free resource Until the Dissolution of Parliament on 12 April 2010.
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House of Lords Select Communications CommitteeOfficial website established in May 2010.
For help with finding & using Hansard (online or in print on the Ground Floor) and other government official papers, please start with the special guide below, created by a Bodleian Official Papers colleague
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Law Commission (E&W)Official website of the statutory independent body created by the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep the law under review and to recommend reform where it is needed. Its reports and consultation papers are made freely available.
Statutory interpretation in UK
Current practice
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Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart (26 November 1992)Free resource. Transcript of House of Lords decision. Note. This case has since been reported: the most authoritative version is [1993] AC 593.
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R (Westminster City Council) v National Asylum Support ServiceThis links to transcript of judgment [2002] UKHL 38 It has subsequently been reported [2002] 1 W.L.R. 2956. Lord Steyn on admissibility & role of Explanatory Notes in statutory interpretation.
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Pepper v Hart - Commons Library Standard Note (2005)Free resource "Following the decision in Pepper v Hart in 1993, if primary legislation is ambiguous or obscure the courts may in certain circumstances take account of statements made in Parliament by Ministers or other promoters of a Bill in construing that legislation. Until that decision, using Hansard in that way would have been regarded as a breach of Parliamentary privilege."
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Styles, 'The Rule of Parliament: Statutory Interpretation after Pepper v Hart 'Remote access requires Oxford SSO. (1994) 14 OJLS 151
Texts on topic
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Craies on legislation : a practitioners' guide to the nature, process, effect and interpretation of legislation by Call Number: KL36.CRA 2016ISBN: 0414057201Publication Date: (7th edn, 2016) -
Bennion on statutory interpretation by Call Number: KL35.1.BEN 2017ISBN: 9781474307192Publication Date: 7th edn 2017 -
The Nature of Legislative Intent by Call Number: Jurisp 510 E36.5aISBN: 0199646996Publication Date: 2012Holders of an Oxford SSO can also read this online via link -
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The House of Lords : its parliamentary and judicial roles by Call Number: KM82.3.CAR 1999ISBN: 1841130206Publication Date: 1998Includes chapter by Mullan on 'The Impact of Pepper v Hart' -
The Law and Parliament by Call Number: KM82.4.OLI 1998ISBN: 0406980926Publication Date: 1998Includes chapter by Geoffrey Marshall ‘Hansard and the interpretation of statutes’
