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Hanged by a comma, groping in the dark and holy cows – fingerprinting the judicial aids used in the interpretation of fiscal statutes
Southern African Business Review
View Archive Info| Field | Value | |
| Title |
Hanged by a comma, groping in the dark and holy cows – fingerprinting the judicial aids used in the interpretation of fiscal statutes
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| Creator |
Goldswain, GK
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| Subject |
Constitution, interpretation of statutes, interpretational aids and presumptions, purposive approach, strict and literal approach, taxpayers’ rights
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| Description |
This article describes and analyses, from a practical point of view, theprocess followed when interpreting a statute under the ‘purposive’approach, an approach that has been given constitutional recognitionin South Africa. The research fingerprinted and identified the variousaids, both internal and external, that the judiciary may use to seek the‘purpose’ underlying the statute, taking into account the constraintsof the Constitution. The discussion and conclusion indicate thatmany of these aids, even aids that were previously prohibited underthe ‘strict and literal’ approach to the interpretation of statutes, maynow be used by the judiciary to avoid any ‘groping in the dark’ whenattempting to find the ‘purpose’ underlying a statute.Many of the interpretational presumptions analysed in this articleoriginate from centuries ago and are based on equity and fairness.They have all been given an elevated status by either beingincorporated directly into the provisions of the Constitution of theRepublic of South Africa Act (Act No. 108 of 1996) (as a fundamentalright in the Bill of Rights) or indirectly as part of the constitutionalrecognition of the common law.Key words: Constitution, interpretation of statutes, interpretational aids and presumptions, purposive approach, strict and literal approach, taxpayers’rights
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| Publisher |
College of Economic and Management Sciences (UNISA)
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| Contributor |
—
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| Date |
2013-02-15
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| Type |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article |
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| Format |
application/pdf
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| Identifier |
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sabr/article/view/85466
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| Source |
Southern African Business Review; Vol 16, No 3 (2012); 30-56
1998-8125 1561-896X |
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| Language |
eng
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| Relation |
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sabr/article/view/85466/75397
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| Rights |
Copyright on articles is retained by the author(s). The editor and reviewers of SABR cannot accept any responsibility for the infringement of authors' rights or copyright.
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