sententia legis
Meaning. The intention or spirit of the law, as distinct from its bare words.
The sententia legis is the sense or purpose the legislature intended a law to carry. It is contrasted with the litera legis (the letter of the law). Interpretation aims to find the true intention of the legislature, usually from the words used, read in context.
Where the words are clear, they are taken to express the intention, and the court applies them (literal rule). Where they are ambiguous or lead to absurdity, the court looks to the purpose of the law, the mischief it was meant to cure, and other aids to reach the sententia legis.
Example
Where the literal reading produced an absurd result, the court relied on the sententia legis as shown by the Statement of Objects and Reasons.
See also
purposive interpretation · mischief rule · literal rule
Read more in the study notes
- Meaning of statute and purpose of interpretation (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)
- The literal rule and the golden rule (Interpretation of Statutes and Principles of Legislation)
- Interpretation of statutes and the role of the legislature (Judicial and Legislative Process)
- Interpretation of statutes: an introduction to the rules, context and fringe meaning (Legal Methods)