New to English law? Need to know how rules are made, interpreted and applied? This popular and well-established textbook will show you how. It simplifies legal method by combining examples with an account of rules in general: the who, what, why and how of interpretation. Starting with standpoint and context, it identifies factors that give rise to doubts about the interpretation of a rule and recommends a systematic approach to analysing those factors. Questions and exercises integrated in the text and on the accompanying website will help you to develop skills in reading, interpreting and arguing about legal and other rules. The text is fully updated on developments in the legislative process and the judicial interpretation of statutes and precedent. It includes a new chapter on 'The European Dimension' reflecting the changes brought about by the Human Rights Act 1998.

'… one of the most influential legal academic books of the last 30 years. It has substantially and beneficially affected the thinking of law students and lawyers worldwide. It is a wonderfully vivid and stimulating introduction to legal methods and to the general arts of interpreting and applying rules. Using a cornucopia of examples from all sorts of real cases, legislation, human rights law, and European law, the authors demystify the processes by which rules are interpreted and applied. In a masterfully clear exegesis, the arcane world of rules and how they work is made easily accessible. This is an inspiring and indispensable book for all those whose scholarship involves argument about the making and breaking of rules. In fact, anyone whose work involves doing things with rules will gain great advantage, skill, and insight by reading this enjoyable book.'

G. J. Slapper - Director of the Centre for Law, The Open University