Macro Analysis
Macro organisation entails ascertaining the overall structure of a statute.
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In
ascertaining the structure of the statute one of the dominant principles is that
provisions of an Act can be classified and put into a number of different
categories. Essentially the technique for ascertaining the structure is to do two
things:
(1)
Classify the provisions if possible.
(2)
Identify the relationship between the provisions. If provisions are all part
of an overall statutory plan there will be some discernible relationship between
them.
To give a major illustration, remedial law is based on four types of provision.
There are action provisions (which establish the cause of action), institutional
provisions (which establish and provide for the management of a court, a
tribunal or an office), jurisdictional provisions (which confer power on the
court, tribunal or office to hear cases), and procedural provisions (which lay
down procedures for exercise of this power).
This means that a statute dealing with remedial law will have one or more of
these four types of provision. Where the statute is creating a new cause of
action it may contain all four. Knowing this indicates the sort of things to look
for.
Moreover, these provisions are functionally related. Together they make it
possible for a person to bring an action. They create the action by defining the
wrong and the remedy, they establish a court or tribunal to hear the case, they
vest it with jurisdiction and they create procedures by which the case is heard.
Micro Analysis
There are two aspects to micro analysis. One is the obvious task of dividing
legal rules into their elements and consequences. The other is the specialised
task of analysing and understanding definitions.
Micro Analysis: Elements and Consequences
Micro organisation is a powerful tool for many tasks with law including
reading and understanding the text of a statute. Here it involves analysing
individual rules by breaking them into their elements and consequences. This
enables the reader to see the specific function of each rule. It also sets up the
rule for use in applying to facts. Micro analysis is explained in the earlier
discussion of organising law.
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Macro analysis is more fully explained in Chapter 3 Organising Law.
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Chapter 3 Organising Law
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