LANDMARK CASE

Heydon's Case

(1584) 3 Co Rep 7a · Court of Exchequer (UK) · Interpretation

At a glance

  • Citation: (1584) 3 Co Rep 7a
  • Court: Court of Exchequer (UK)
  • Area of law: Interpretation
  • In one line: Look at the law before, the mischief, the remedy Parliament chose and the reason for it.

1 Facts

The court had to interpret a statute on leases of land.

2 Issue

How should a statute be interpreted?

3 What the court decided

Look at the law before, the mischief, the remedy Parliament chose and the reason for it.

4 Why it matters

The origin of the mischief rule, used by Indian courts.

5 Think about it

How would you apply the mischief rule to a new cyber law?

6 Analyse it yourself

Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.

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A short teaching summary for students. Educational content only, not legal advice.