Legal English Dictionary
purposive approach
nouna theory of statutory interpretation which holds that a court should consider the purpose behind a piece of legislation when interpreting its meaningThe system of relying on an extrinsic source (common law) in determining the true intention of the Parliament is now seen as part of the purposive approach, the approach generally taken in the civil law jurisdictions of mainland Europe.
Synonyms and Other Spellings
- purposive theory
- teleological approach
- teleological theory