“At times a state of war appears to exist between the courts and the parliamentary draftsman. The courts decline to come to the rescue when a casus omissus is revealed, so words appropriate to cover the casus omissus are added to the statute. More frequently the draftsman gets in first and, anticipating a strict construction by the courts coupled with a total lack of sympathy if there should happen to be a casus omissus, he produces a statute which is nothing less than horrific in its detail.” Rupert Cross, Statutory Interpretation 11–12 (1976).
casus omissus
casus omissus (kay-s[schwa]s [schwa]-mis-[schwa]s). [Latin “case omitted”] A situation not provided for by a statute or contract, and therefore governed by caselaw or new judge-made law. Pl. casus omissi. Cf. CASUS(2). [Cases: Statutes 186. C.J.S. Statutes § 320.]
