Clause 17 - Interpretation of Part 2
Criminal Justice Bill
10:30 am
Mr Hilary Benn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Leeds Central, Labour)
As my hon. Friend will have detected from my comments to the hon. Member for Witney about what is described as the Ronseal approach, I have considerable sympathy for his point. My right hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General looks puzzled. Ronseal does exactly what it says on the tin. In other words, the wording is very clear. I undertake to write to my hon. Friend on that point. Here, we are having a clause stand part discussion, yet if someone wandered in and sat in the Public Gallery, they would wonder what we were up to. The language has developed from the way in which things were done in the past, but that does not mean that we should not constantly ask ourselves whether we are explaining
things and legislating in a way that will allow the courts to make precise interpretations. In some cases, it is necessary for the language to be obscure, but we should always ask whether we are doing things in a way that helps people to understand the job that we are doing on their behalf.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 17 ordered to stand part of the Bill.