102
Lord Steyn Interpretation (Treaties, Con stitutions, Statutes, and Con tracts), an address delivered at
Victoria University of Wellington, September 2002.
69
Part 6
An answer to the question: access to justice: rhetoric or reality?
145
It would be nice to be able to give an unequivocal “y es” or “no” answer to the
question that is the focus of this session, but in the law that is seldom possible. As
Lord Steyn has commented , “[t]here i s often no right answer; there is just the best
answer”.102 One would have to say that access to justice through both statute law and
delegated legislation, in the sense in which I have defined it, is and can only ever be
a qualified reality.
146
Considerable effort goes into ensuring that legislation conforms to fundamental
legislative principles through a combination of internal scrutiny and a statutory
process in the case of Bill of Rights compliance and internal scrutiny in the case of
compliance with the principles of good legislative design set out in the LAC
Guidelines. Much delegated legislation is subject to parliamentary scrutiny and
possible disallowance under a statutory procedure. As noted, other jurisdictions
employ similar systems. Greater attention to improving the language and format of
legislation is also important in making legislation accessible. New Zealand’s eff orts
in this regard are also mirrored in other jurisdictions. The importance of
communicating legislation clearly and effectively is now acknowledged and aspired
to by the offices entrusted with the drafting of the law worldwide.
147
The qualifications come from the fact that a statute or other legislative instrument
is only ever a part of an overall legal framework. The words of the instrument
seldom stand alone. The law on a particular topic is invariably a combination of
statute, delegated legislation, and case law. Understanding a statute will often
presuppose a knowledge of relevant international law. Interpretation is affected by
