This said, there are two matters of terminology that need to be explained. (i)
Reference to a statute, a common law rule or a meaning of an ambiguous
provision “causing” an effect is shorthand to refer to the effect that it is
predicted to cause. (ii) To speak of “an effect” as we do is also shorthand. It
refers to the total effect that a statute, common law rule or meaning causes,
which typically consists of a large number of individual effects. Often these are
part of a chain reaction or a raft or matrix of effects. Effects can spread out
and continue for as long as the statute is in force and even into a time long
after the statute has been repealed.
For making law, these options can be illustrated by reference to statutes
(because making common law has a similar form). The options for enacting a
statute on a topic -
such as environmental protection, health care or labour
regulation - can be set out in the following diagram:
Statutes
Effects
Statute 0
Effect 0
Statute 1
Effect 1
Statute 2
Effect 2
Statute n
Effect n
Figure 5.1 Statutes and Effects
The range of statutes consists of Statute 0-n. Statute 0 is the option not to
enact a statute, while Statutes 1-n are the different statutes on the particular
topic that a legislature might enact. Effects 0-n are the effects that each statute
will cause, so that Statute 0 causes Effect 0, Statute 1 causes Effect 1, Statute
2 causes Effect 2 and so on. Causation, which here consists of predicting
what effect each statute (or common law rule or interpretation) will cause is
one of the two major tasks in forming law (the other being evaluation of
effects).
Options for a court that has to interpret a law (a rule in statute or common law)
are similar, consisting of Meanings 1-n, which cause Effects 1-n. (There is no
Meaning 0, and thus no Effect 0, because a court generally does not have the
option to refuse to interpret a law). These options
can also be set out in a
table:
Meanings
Effects
Meaning 1
Effect 1
Meaning 2
Effect 2
Meaning n
Effect n
Figure 5.2 Meanings and Effects
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