— Also termed Baron Parke’s rule. Cf. ABSURDITY; MISCHIEF RULE ; PLAIN-MEANING RULE; EQUITY-OF-THE-STATUTE RULE. [Cases: Statutes 181(2), 189. C.J.S. Statutes §§ 318, 324.]
golden rule
The principle that, in construing written instruments, a court should adhere to the grammatical and ordinary sense of the words unless that adherence would lead to some manifest absurdity; esp., in statutory construction, the principle that if a statute’s literal meaning would lead to an absurd or unjust result, or even to an inconsistency within the statute itself, the statute should be interpreted in a way that avoids such a result or in-consistency.
