ABSTRACT

There is a rule that, if there is ambiguity in an Act of Parliament, the plain meaning rule cannot apply and the Act should be read in such a way as to avoid a result of manifest absurdity or injustice.1 The courts will conclude that the Parliament does not intend injustice or to authorise it.2 As Lord Diplock said of an Act which the House of Lords had to interpret, ‘The ordinary grammatical meaning of one or other of these provisions had to give way if justice and commonsense were not to be flouted’.3 An absurd result is only to be accepted if there is no acceptable alternative available.4