Oxford LibGuides: Legislation: Statutory interpretation

Statutory Interpretation in England and Wales

Since 1993 a decision of the House of Lords decision has allowed, in certain circumstances, that the statements made in Parliament by Ministers or other promoters of the Bill can be resorted to to help determine the meaning of the subsequent act.

This is often referred to as the rule of Pepper v Hart.

Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart [1993] AC 593
Link to the Open Access transcript, not the report of the case
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."

If you are engaging in Pepper v Hart research there are two subscription databases which will help. (For both remote access requires Oxford SSO.)

Public Information Online (Dandy Booksellers)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO
The database includes Lords papers, Bills, Standing Committee/Public Bill Committee reports and Hansards dating back to
1919.
Alternative name: PIO

A web-based up to date archive of searchable Parliamentary and Official documents.
Collections include: House of Commons papers from 1997 and most notably unique access to House of Lords papers from 1901 to present day. The database also has a growing collection of government publications to include the Civil Service Yearbook from 1974- . It also combines and formats information from a wide variety of sources to produce simple, coherent documents, to produce for example, the ‘Annual Abstract of Statistics’ consolidating information found across government websites. PIO also contains parliamentary and non-parliamentary publications from the UK’s devolved assemblies and parliaments: the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Assembly of Wales. The database has excellent search facilities, to include browsing by parliamentary session and publishing body. Publications are loaded daily so the collection is up to date.
NOTE: If you are presented with a Login page, just select "PublicInformationOnline" in the top left to proceed to the home page.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO. Note this database only includes materials up to the 2003/2004 parliamentary session
Alternative names: HCCP ; House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest) ; UK Parliamentary Papers ; UKPP

With all collections enabled, HCPP now includes over 200,000 House of Commons sessional papers from 1715 to the present, with supplementary material back to 1688. HCPP delivers page images and searchable full text for each paper, along with detailed indexing.
We have access to the following collections:
* 18th century (1688-1834)
* 19th century (1801-1900)
* 20th century (1901-2003/04 session)
* Hansard 1803-2005 the official record of the debates in the House of Lords and Commons.
Both Houses of Parliament, the Commons and the Lords, produce parliamentary papers. Although HCPP is a collection of Commons papers, some from the Lords are also included. This is because the Lords often presented papers to the Commons, such as reports prepared by Lords Select Committees. These reports were then included in the House of Commons Papers, and therefore appear in HCPP.

Alternatively, on the Ground Floor of the Law Library is the Bodleian Official Papers collection where you can find Lords & Commons papers, Committee reports, and volumes of Hansard in print format.

Some subsequent UKSC cases considering statutory interpretation

R (Westminster City Council) v National Asylum Support Service
This links to transcript of judgment [2002] UKHL 38 It has subsequently been reported [2002] 1 WLR 2956. Lord Steyn on admissibility & role of Explanatory Notes in statutory interpretation.
R (on the application of O) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] UKSC 3
Official UKSC website. Court held that the issue on this appeal was one of statutory interpretation: "whether Parliament has authorised in primary legislation the imposition by subordinate legislation of the challenged fee".
Public Speeches made by members of UK Judiciary
Those on this topic include In Defence of 'Legislative Intention'
Lord Sales Denning Society Lecture
18 November 2019 (A version of this lecture is published in (2019) 48 Australian Bar Review 6);
'Statutory Interpretation: A Collaboration between Democratic Legislatures and the Courts?'
Lord Hodge's Address to the Government Legal Service for Scotland 10 November 2021;
'Statutory Interpretation in the Courts Today'
Lord Burrows Sir Christopher Staughton Memorial Lecture 24 March 2022

Chapters in introductory works on learning English law will naturally include a chapter or more on this. They can be useful first steps. Older/traditional works will probably consider three rules: the Literal, the Golden and the Mischief. In a decision of 1992, Pepper v Hart [1993] AC 593 initiated new avenues to attempt to determine the meaning of certain legislation when it is ambiguous or obscure .
But naturally there are books looking at this issue in detail - from academic to practitioners to philosophical analysis. Some examples are below

Bennion on statutory interpretation by Bailey, Norbury, & Feldman editors
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link. on Lexis+ UK

ISBN: 9781474307192

Publication Date: 8th edn 2020

Print copy is at KL35.1.BEN 2020
Craies on legislation : a practitioners' guide to the nature, process, effect and interpretation of legislation by Daniel Greenberg.
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link

ISBN: 9780414080522

Publication Date: Updated by supplements

Most recent edn in print (with supplements) will be shelved at KL36.CRA yyyy
Thinking about Statutes : Interpretation, Interaction, Improvement by Andrew Burrows
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this via title link

ISBN: 9781108465786

Publication Date: 2018

Print copy is at KL36.BUR 2018
The Nature of Legislative Intent by Richard Ekins
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link

ISBN: 0199646996

Publication Date: 2012

Print copy is at Jurisp 510 E36.5a

The interpretation of statutes (1969)
Open Access Free download of 1969 Policy Paper by the Law Commission of England & Wales (Law Com 21) and the Scottish Law Commission (Scot Law Com 11) HC 256 1968-69 ISBN 0102256691

Some views on statutory interpretaion from the USA

Dynamic Statutory Interpretation by William N. Eskridge
Call Number: KL35.U4.ESK 1994

ISBN: 0674218787

Publication Date: 1994
Purposive interpretation in law by Aharon Barak ; translated from the Hebrew by Sari Bashi.
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO have current edition via Westlaw Books.

ISBN: 9786613291004

Publication Date: 2005

Print copies at Jurisp 510 B224b

Hansard (House of Parliament Debate) archives
An Internet version of Hansard, the official record of debates in the UK Houses of Parliament. Includes records of Parliamentary proceedings in both the Commons and the Lords. A full-text search engine is available, in addition to an arrangement by date.
Hansard (Houses of Parliament Debates) 1803-2005
Hansard, the official record of debates in the UK Houses of Parliament. From 1803-2005 via the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers database: Hansard provides an edited record of parliamentary debates and questions, including written ministerial statements and answers to parliamentary questions as well as the transcripts of debates. The publicly available XML files created by the Hansard Digitisation Project (led by the Directorate of Information Services of the House of Commons and the Library of the House of Lords) are the source for this material.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO. Includes full-text access Hansard from 1803-2005
Alternative names: HCCP ; House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (ProQuest) ; UK Parliamentary Papers ; UKPP

With all collections enabled, HCPP now includes over 200,000 House of Commons sessional papers from 1715 to the present, with supplementary material back to 1688. HCPP delivers page images and searchable full text for each paper, along with detailed indexing.
We have access to the following collections:
* 18th century (1688-1834)
* 19th century (1801-1900)
* 20th century (1901-2003/04 session)
* Hansard 1803-2005 the official record of the debates in the House of Lords and Commons.
Both Houses of Parliament, the Commons and the Lords, produce parliamentary papers. Although HCPP is a collection of Commons papers, some from the Lords are also included. This is because the Lords often presented papers to the Commons, such as reports prepared by Lords Select Committees. These reports were then included in the House of Commons Papers, and therefore appear in HCPP.
Public Information Online (Dandy Booksellers)
Alternative name: PIO

A web-based up to date archive of searchable Parliamentary and Official documents.
Collections include: House of Commons papers from 1997 and most notably unique access to House of Lords papers from 1901 to present day. The database also has a growing collection of government publications to include the Civil Service Yearbook from 1974- . It also combines and formats information from a wide variety of sources to produce simple, coherent documents, to produce for example, the ‘Annual Abstract of Statistics’ consolidating information found across government websites. PIO also contains parliamentary and non-parliamentary publications from the UK’s devolved assemblies and parliaments: the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Assembly of Wales. The database has excellent search facilities, to include browsing by parliamentary session and publishing body. Publications are loaded daily so the collection is up to date.
NOTE: If you are presented with a Login page, just select "PublicInformationOnline" in the top left to proceed to the home page.

Passage of Bills
Quick links to stages for example Second Readings "the first opportunity for MPs to debate the general principles and themes of the Bill."

Bills before Westminster
These pages show all Bills from 2006/07 onwards
Bills in previous sessions of Westminster
Part of official website. Collection starts c2001/2

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

Parliamentary Papers, Proceedings and Departmental Papers : UK
by Hannah Chandler Last Updated Mar 24, 2025 2321 views this year

The Law and Parliament by Gavin Drewry (Editor)
Call Number: KM82.4.OLI 1998

ISBN: 0406980926

Publication Date: 1998

Includes chapter by Geoffrey Marshall ‘Hansard and the interpretation of statutes’

Explanatory Notes to Westminster acts were introduced in 1999. Note: "certain financial Acts do not usually have Explanatory Notes, including Appropriation Acts and Consolidated Fund Acts. Acts that have been introduced to Parliament by the House of Lords often do not have accompanying Explanatory Notes" https://www.legislation.gov.uk/help#

Lexis+ UK
This resource requires you to log in with your Oxford SSO again at the homepage. Explanatory Notes are provided via link in Supporting Materials right hand column of legislation search result.
Alternative names:Lexis ; LexisLibrary ; Lexis Library ; Lexis International

Lexis+ includes extensive primary and secondary legal materials from the UK, EU, USA and many other jurisdictions. It is the only online source for the full text of the All England Law Reports and Halsbury’s Laws. International content can be accessed by following the “International” link on the home page. UK legal news and newspapers are also included.
Westlaw Edge UK
A link to explanatory note will be found at the foot of the result screen for a search for an act
Alternative name: West Law UK ; Westlaw UK

Westlaw is a large database of UK, US and international legal materials including cases, legislation and journal articles.
Coverage:
•UK statutes, statutory instruments and law reports
•England and Wales law reports
•US federal and state legislation and law reports
•Australian federal and state legislation and law reports
•Canadian federal and state legislation and law reports
•Hong Kong SAR law reports and laws
•European Union legislation and law reports
•UK and US law journals and texts
•Common Law Library and over 200 books published by Sweet & Maxwell (Thomson Reuters)
Because of licencing restrictions this database is not available to "Walk-in" users of the library.

Explanatory Notes will be a clickable link on the result page between the title of the act and the text of the act on Legislation.gov.uk

Legislation.gov.uk
Open access. Official site Use the drop down menu TYPE to limit search to public general acts or statutory instruments or browse by year etc. Excellent for original, historic version (text of act as originally promulgated) and Explanatory Notes for more recent legislation. Pay attention to the current status which is given for each act. More has further details of coverage

more... less...

All primary legislation from 1988
All secondary legislation from 1987, including UK Statutory Instruments, Scottish Statutory Instruments and Northern Ireland Statutory Rules. In addition we hold a selection of secondary legislation from 1948-1986, and selected pre-1948 Statutory Rules and Orders
Legislation originating from the EU as set out in Schedule 5 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16) along with corrigenda (correction slips for EU legislation) and EU Directives published up to the end of the EU Exit Implementation Period at 11:00 p.m. on 31 December 2020 ("IP completion day").
Most types of primary legislation (e.g. Acts, Measures, N.I. Orders in Council) are held in 'revised' form, as well as selected secondary legislation, and legislation originating from the EU:

Public General Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament (1801 to date)
Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain (1707 – 1800)
Acts of the English Parliament (1267 – 1706)
Acts of the Old Scottish Parliament (1424 – 1707)
Acts of the Scottish Parliament (1999 to date)
Acts of Senedd Cyrmu (2020 to date)
Acts of the National Assembly for Wales (2012 to 2020)
Measures of the National Assembly for Wales (2008 – 2011)
Acts of the Irish Parliament (1495 – 1800)
Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland (1921 – 1972)
Measures of the Northern Ireland Assembly (1974)
Orders in Council made under the Northern Ireland Acts (1972 to date) (effectively the primary legislation for Northern Ireland under direct rule, though in the form of Statutory Instruments)
Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly (2000 – 2002 and 2007 to date)
Church of England Measures (1920 to date)
UK Statutory Instruments (2018 to date)
Scottish Statutory Instruments (2018 to date)
Welsh Statutory Instruments (2018 to date)
Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland (2018 to date)
European Regulations (1958 to 31 December 2020)
European Decisions (1953 to 31 December 2020)
European Directives (1959 to 31 December 2020)

Explanatory Notes to bills can be found among the 'Bill documents' on the relevant Bill page

Parliamentary Bills (Westminster, UK)
Part of official website. These pages show all Bills from 2006/07 onwards. Publications tabs will provide Readings etc
Older Bills are available at Bills in previous sessions.
Bills in previous sessions of Westminster
Part of official website. Collection starts c2001/2

Westlaw Edge UK
On the results page for a legislative provision search, look for Judicial Interpretation link in the left hand Table of Contents column. The Westlaw Editors "have curated a list of cases which have judicially interpreted this provision and have provided a summary of the interpretation from the case. ... over 4,000 summaries for cases from the last 3 years."

Alternative name: West Law UK ; Westlaw UK

Westlaw is a large database of UK, US and international legal materials including cases, legislation and journal articles.
Coverage:
•UK statutes, statutory instruments and law reports
•England and Wales law reports
•US federal and state legislation and law reports
•Australian federal and state legislation and law reports
•Canadian federal and state legislation and law reports
•Hong Kong SAR law reports and laws
•European Union legislation and law reports
•UK and US law journals and texts
•Common Law Library and over 200 books published by Sweet & Maxwell (Thomson Reuters)
Because of licencing restrictions this database is not available to "Walk-in" users of the library.