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Advanced Legislation: Theories of Statutory Interpretation
First published Jan 2015

Harvard Law School, Spring 2015

Most modern law is contained in statutes and administrative regulations, which lawyers tend to confront alongside case law in almost every area of practice. Building on basic concepts of Legislation and Regulation, this course aims to further explore the theories of the legislative process, judicial interpretation of statutes, and agency implementation of legislation. We will explore ongoing controversies about legislation, regulation, and interpretation, including deep debates about textualist, purposive and dynamic interpretation; about the use of legislative history and canons of construction; and about the constitutional foundations of statutory interpretation. Although there is no single subject matter focus of the course, a significant portion of the substantive areas of law will cover discrimination law, criminal law, and environmental law.