... an unreasonable result. When this happens the court may be asked not so much to choose a meaning but to rewrite the words to produce a sensible result. This raises the question of whether and to what extent it is part of the proper function of a court to rewrite statutes passed by parliament. In 1994 the report of a Hansard Society Commission set out five principles for democratic law making. One of these was: 'Statute law should be as certain and intelligible as possible.' Legislation definitely does not satisfy this criteria. The problems of language are illustrated by the abortion case, Royal College of Nursing v Department of Health and Social Security (1981). The Abortion Act 1967 stated that an abortion was lawful if the pregnancy 'is terminated by a registered medical practitioner' i.e. a doctor. In 1967 the only method of an abortion was surgical therefore hospital abortions under ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now