[1.1] Statutory interpretation is a many-faceted thing. It is a substantive body of law and a process involving a set of skills. It is distinct from (but overlapping with) the application of the law. It is not wholly different from the interpretation of ordinary speech. But it is dissimilar in major respects from formulating the ratio decidendi or the rule of a case. Functionally, statutory interpretation resolves a question of law between parties to a dispute. It also contributes to law-making in the sense that the text of the statute, read with the interpretation, constitutes a new understanding of the law.
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