When interpreting a statute about workplace safety, a judge looks at what the law said before the Act was passed. She asks what defect Parliament meant to cure and reads the words to suppress that defect. Which approach is the judge using?

Correct answer: A) The mischief rule

Explanation

The mischief rule, derived from Heydon's Case, asks what mischief the earlier law failed to deal with and interprets the Act to remedy it. The literal rule gives words their plain meaning whatever the result. The golden rule departs from the literal meaning only to avoid an absurdity. Ejusdem generis is a linguistic aid used where general words follow a list of specific ones.