In the Wake of 'Good Governance': Impact Assessments and the Politicisation of Statutory Interpretation

For some time 'regulatory reform' has been a government watchword, and the streamlining and improved quality of regulation its professed ambition. Impact assessments (formerly known as regulatory impact assessments) are a significant ingredient in these governmental initiatives, now promoted by the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Just as they have come to refer rather freely to the Explanatory Notes that now accompany all public Acts of Parliament, judges have also begun to invoke impact assessments when construing legislation. This paper investigates the extent of this practice and the manner in which judges employ impact assessments. It warns of the potential consequences if the judiciary avails itself too readily of these highly politicised, and sometimes deceptive, documents.
'The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say.'
G. K. Chesterton, Daily News 22 April 1905