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Question 1

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`Legislation made by Parliament is superior law to case law.` Which of the following
doctrines/principles most clearly supports this proposition?

The doctrine of constitutionality.

The principle of separate legal personality.

The doctrine of judicial precedent.

The doctrine of stare decisis.

The doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy.

Question 2
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In interpreting a statute:

the court will always look first to `Hansard` to ascertain the meaning of the statutory
provision.

the court must refer to any definitions of particular words or phrases contained in the
Act itself.

All of the above are true.

the court may not use other New Zealand legislation to assist it in interpreting a
particular statutory provision.

Question 3
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In relation to legislation
All of the above are valid

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 is supreme law and in any conflict between
it and another statute, it will override the other

The Governor-General has the power to refuse to assent to statutes being passed by
Parliament, but rarely if ever exercises this power

The courts may declare Acts of Parliament illegal in extreme circumstances

Question 4
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Which of the following rules of statutory interpretation is true?

The inclusion of the words `subject to` in a statutory provision is an example of


`hendiadys`.

In order for the ejusdem generis rule to apply, the specific words used must
constitute a category, class or genus.

Schedules are not part of Acts of Parliament.

Law Commission reports and parliamentary debates are not to be used as an aid to
interpretation.

Question 5
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The highest court in the New Zealand hierarchy is:

the High Court of New Zealand.

the Privy Council.


None of the above.

the House of Lords

the New Zealand Court of Appeal.

Question 6
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In relation to legislation, select the correct statement:

bills go through a prescribed enactment process before they become Acts.

Acts must receive the Royal Assent before they come into effect.

In an Act, Parliament can delegate its authority to another body.

All of the above statements are correct.

IncorrectQuestion 7
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Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1999 states: `An enactment does not have
retrospective effect`. This means that:

a statute can never be back-dated to apply to events and circumstances that


occurred prior to the date it came into force.

if a statute expressed that it would apply to events and circumstances that occurred
prior to its comming into force, the court must recognise that directive; but otherwise
the court would not interpret the statute to apply historically.

the Interpretation Act 1999 does not apply to any statute passed prior to 01/11/1999,
which was the date that the Interpretation Act 1999 itself came into force.
a statute cannot be read backwards

Question 8
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The purposive approach to statutory interpretation:

provides that the courts may not look beyond the Act itself to ascertain its meaning.

All of the above are true.

applies mainly to delegated legislation.

aims to achieve the purpose of the legislation.

is a popular approach to the interpretation of legislation but does not have statutory

Question 9
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In our case law system, earlier cases are:

never binding.

sometimes binding.

always binding.

of little value to later courts.

Question 10
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In relation to the hierarchy of the courts and the doctrine of precedent, which of the
following statements is correct?

All Commonwealth courts are bound by the precedents of the English courts.

Precedents set by higher courts are binding on lower courts.

A court will be bound by a ratio decidendi of a lower court.

All courts are bound by the precedents of all earlier courts.

All of the above are correct.

Question 1
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In accordance with the law set out in section 5 of the Interpretation Act 1999, a court,
when interpreting a statutory provision, must:

use internal aids within the statute (such as the preamble, the analysis, table of
contents and headings), to better determine the meaning of the words of the statute.

examine Hansard and adopt the interpretation of the Minister who introduced the Bill
into Parliament.

give the words of the statute their literal meaning as expressed in legal and lay
dictionaries.

give the words of the statute the literal meaning they had at the time the Act was
passed.

All of the above approaches are mandated by section 5 of the Interpretation Act
1999.

Question 2
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Another term for `Act of Parliament` is:

enactment

All of the above.

Act

statute

Question 3
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In our case law system, earlier cases are known as:

ratios.

legal reform.

priors.

Acts.

precedents.

IncorrectQuestion 4
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The following would be an example of delegated legislation:

The Sydenham Money Club Act 2001.


All of the above are examples of delegated legislation.

The Wildlife (Rainbow Lorikeet) Order 2001.

The Taranaki Regional Council Empowering Act 2001.

Question 5
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An Act of Parliament refers to the phrase `rifle, shotgun, pistol and any other
weapon`. According to the `ejusdem generis` maxim, the words `and any other
weapon` would be most likely interpreted to include:

revolvers and machine guns as these are also firearms.

glass bottles, cans and sticks as they can be used as weapons.

None of the above.

revolvers, machine guns, swords and crossbows as these are all clearly weapons

Question 6
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The delegation of legislative power can be justified on the following grounds:

All of the above are justifications for the use of delegated legislation.

It may be required in times of civil emergency.


It facilitates the use of the knowledge or technical expertise of people who are not
Parliamentarians; in that the `finer details` of the law can be contained in delegated
legislation, after the broad legislative scheme has been enacted by Parliament.

It enables the law to be amended to deal with new situations/developments which


arise, without the need to go through the whole enactment process.

Question 7
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One of the following statements in relation to our case law system is incorrect. Select
the INCORRECT statement:

New Zealand courts are not bound by the decisions of the House of Lords.

The ratio decidendi of any case will be binding on all future courts in the New
Zealand hierarchy when deciding a similar case.

Our case law system depends on cases being reported and accessible to judges,
lawyers and legal researchers.

Our case law system operates upon the doctrine of precedent which is based on the
premise of consistency between cases.

Question 8
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Which of the following rules of statutory interpretation is true?

The inclusion of the words `subject to` in a statutory provision is an example of


`hendiadys`.

Law Commission reports and parliamentary debates are not to be used as an aid to
interpretation.

Schedules are not part of Acts of Parliament.

In order for the ejusdem generis rule to apply, the specific words used must
constitute a category, class or genus.
Question 9
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Judges fear `opening the floodgates`. This means that they:

are reluctant to decide cases which involve legislation as interpretation of legislation


is the function of Parliament.

None of the above is correct.

are reluctant to find liability in any case where another plaintiff in the future might be
able to bring the same type of case.

are reluctant to find liability in any case where hordes of plaintiffs in the future might
be able to bring the same type of case.

are reluctant to decide cases under the Resource Management Act as such cases
are very complex because they concern the very resources of the country.

Question 10
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`Legislation made by Parliament is superior law to case law.` Which of the following
doctrines/principles most clearly supports this proposition?

The doctrine of constitutionality.

The doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy.

The doctrine of stare decisis.

The principle of separate legal personality.

The doctrine of judicial precedent.


Question 1
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In relation to the hierarchy of the courts and the doctrine of precedent, which of the
following statements is correct?

All Commonwealth courts are bound by the precedents of the English courts.

All of the above are correct.

Precedents set by higher courts are binding on lower courts.

A court will be bound by a ratio decidendi of a lower court.

All courts are bound by the precedents of all earlier courts.

Question 2
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One of the following statements in relation to statutory interpretation is incorrect.
Select the INCORRECT statement:

A court is permitted to use a dictionary for assistance in the interpretation of a


particular word in a statute.

A court might interpret the word `and` in a statute to mean `or` if it considered that
this was appropriate in the circumstances.

All statutes come into force as soon as the Governor-General gives the Royal
Assent.

In interpreting a statute, the court is required to give effect to what it considers was
Parliament\'s intention in passing the statute.

Question 3
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A court may refuse to extend the purposive approach too far (to give effect to the
purpose of legislation) because:

The court must always apply exactly the literal words of the legislation.

any attempt to discover the purpose of any Act is always a futile exercise.

The court cannot go so far as to change the words of a statute as this would mean
that it was effectively rewriting the section concerned, and it is not able to do this

The Interpretation Act 1999 expressly prohibits the use of the purposive approach to
statutory interpretation in any form.

Question 4
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Select the most correct statement relating to case law in New Zealand today

Case law is not really an important source of law today, though it was historically.

In every area of the law, case law has now been completely taken over by
legislation.

Case law is still important today as a source of law as whole areas of the law still
derive from the cases

Case law is still read, but the Courts rarely decide cases today due to the supremacy
of Parliament.

Question 5
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The (imaginary) Native Species Preservation Act 2006 provides that `it is an offence
to capture, maim or kill any tui, kiwi, kea, kakapo, kereru, takahe, kokako, weka or
any other bird`. Under the ejusdem generis maxim (`the class rule`) the words `any
other bird` would be most likely interpreted to include:

any bird at all, as the words would be interpreted literally and as widely as possible.
any other native bird of New Zealand as that is the class of birds that those
specifically listed belong to.

only domesticated birds used for meat or eggs, as economic interests are always
paramount in the law.

any native animal at all as the Act is called the `Native Species Preservation Act`
and the name of a statute is always the main aid to interpretation of all its sections.

Question 6
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The overriding approach to statutory interpretation in modern times is:

the dictionary approach.

None of the above.

the purposive approach.

the literal approach.

Question 7
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Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1999 states: `An enactment does not have
retrospective effect`. This means that:

a statute can never be back-dated to apply to events and circumstances that


occurred prior to the date it came into force.

a statute cannot be read backwards

if a statute expressed that it would apply to events and circumstances that occurred
prior to its comming into force, the court must recognise that directive; but otherwise
the court would not interpret the statute to apply historically.
the Interpretation Act 1999 does not apply to any statute passed prior to 01/11/1999,
which was the date that the Interpretation Act 1999 itself came into force.

Question 8
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The doctrine of precedent is BEST described by which of the following statements?

A later court faced with similar facts to those in an earlier court would be reluctant to
depart from the earlier court\'s decision without good cause.

Judges must always give the opportunity to the most senior judge on the panel to
give his or her judgment first.

If there is any conflict between the decision in an earlier case and a later case with
similar facts, only the decision in the later case will be good law.

Everyone is equal under the law; whether they are law makers, enforcers or ordinary
citizens

IncorrectQuestion 9
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Which of the following propositions best sums up the Privy Council case of Grant v
Australian Knitting Mills [1936] AC 85 in its treatment of Donoghue v Stevenson
[1932] AC 562 ?

The Privy Council is bound by the decision in Donoghue v Stevenson as it was


decided in the House of Lords in England.

Donoghue v Stevenson is restricted to its facts (of contaminated food, medicine or


the like) and should be distinguished.

Donoghue v Stevenson is good law and should be extended to a similar fact


situation.

Donoghue v Stevenson is bad law and should be overruled.

Question 10
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The Taranaki Regional Council Empowering Act 2001, which widens the powers of
the Taranaki Regional Council, is an Act of Parliament that applies to a particular
locality. It would therefore be a:

`private Act`.

`public Act`.

`local Act`.

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