


This may appear to be similar, at least ostensibly, with common law methods of purposive interpretation of statutes (the so-called ‘mischief rule’) but is different in In doing so, the Court will look at the overall context within which the legislation is set and use what is known as teleological reasoning. The Court of Justice takes a different approach to legal texts than common law judiciary and is prepared to use interpretive techniques to give a purposive application of a Treaty provision or secondary legislation. In order to achieve this, the Court of Justice has used interpretative techniques in order to guarantee the principle of supremacy. However, in an EU with 27 different legal orders it is important that the principle of supremacy is upheld and that differing interpretations of, for example, a provision of a Directive, does not undermine the effective application of EU law. Before continuing your research, see Practice Note: What does IP completion day mean for public law? EU law, like national law, only requires interpretation if it is ambiguous. This document contains guidance on subjects impacted by these changes. At this time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), transitional arrangements ended and significant changes began to take effect across the UK’s legal regime. Interpretation of EU Legislation IP COMPLETION DAY: The Brexit transition period ended at 11pm on 31 December 2020. View the related practice notes about Mischief rule Interpretation of EU Legislation
