... Literal approach often talk of using the 'dictionary meaning' of the words in question; however, there could be several alternative meanings to the words, and so the wrong meaning of the word could be used. The case of Whitely v Chappel shows how the Literal rule could be exploited. Here, the D was accused of impersonating someone who was entitled to vote at an election, however, the person he mimicked was deceased and therefore, not entitled to vote. With this in mind, the case was quashed and the statute had to be changed so that it was an offence to impersonate anyone on the electoral register. Other high-profile cases decided by the Literal rule are the cases of Cresswell v BOC Ltd., Black-Clawson v Paperworke & Liversedge v Anderson. The second rule, the Golden Rule, builds on the Literal rule and it suggests that if there is an absurdity with the ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now