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Example
Case laws
Exceptions / limits
Opposite / Related
Exam tip
Memory trick
Key takeaway
Casus omissus
| Literal meaning | A case omitted |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | KAY-sus oh-MIS-us |
A situation that the legislature left out of a law. A court will not add words to cover it, because that is for the legislature.
Example
A statute lists three kinds of property in a tax law and leaves out a fourth. A court will not add the fourth property to the list.
Case laws
- Crawford v. Spooner (1846), Privy Council: courts cannot supply the omission of the legislature. They cannot aid the legislature's defective phrasing of an Act.
Exceptions / limits
A court may fill an omission where without it the law would make no sense or would be absurd.
Exam tip
Asked as limits on the judge's power to add words.
Memory trick
The law forgot: the judge does not write it in.
Key takeaway
Courts do not fill gaps that the legislature left.
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