Towards a safer NHS?

In the world of lawyers and legal education statutory interpretation—the words used in statutes and cases and what they mean—is an important skill and practice area. Law students study this in their first year and they will need to hone that skill throughout their professional careers. Law can so often be about the meaning of words. We have seen this with the restrictions of movement around COVID-19—although there may be some ambiguity about what exactly is permitted regarding distance and purpose of travel from home, many say we should just follow the spirit of the rules in the absence of exactitude.

We can look at the literal meaning of the words used in the legislation, but language and words have limitations. There are a myriad number of events that can happen and we must apply those to the words in the legislation. The legislation may have been drafted many years before the events that we are concerned with. Times change, society and practices do not remain static. The written word has limitations and the hunt for meaning can be elusive.