The Interpretation of Legislation in Canada

Although we are most familiar with interpretation by the courts, who devote a considerable portion of judicial energy to interpretation, all jurists regularly interpret enactments. This treatise deals with the nature of the interpretive process itself and the principles governing the interpretation of legislation in Canada, in both statute law and civil law.

Divided into two parts, the book begins with an analysis of the roles played by the structure and operation of statutes in their interpretation. The second part delves into the methods of interpretation such as grammatical, systematic and logical, purposive, historical, pragmatic, and interpretation by authorities.

Since it was first published in 1982, The Interpretation of Legislation in Canada has been cited numerous times by the Supreme Court of Canada.

This fifth edition benefits from the participation of professor Mathieu Devinat, who contributues his views on the methodology of interpretation and brought a perspective from his scholarship in jurilinguistics, lexicography, and civil law.

The remarkable operation of translating and harmonizing this work has been done with dedication and rigour by Steven Sacks.