Ejusdem generis
Ejusdem generis (or eiusdem generis, Latin for "of the same kind") rule or canon of construction applies to resolve the problem of giving meaning to groups of words where one or some of them are ambiguous or inherently unclear. According to it, where "general words follow enumerations of particular classes or persons or things, the general words shall be construed as applicable only to persons or things of the same general nature or kind as those enumerated."[1] What is of the same generic nature could be decided here upon analogy between the entities which are specific and the indeterminate one or ones.[2][3] Thus, in a statute forbidding the concealment on one's "pistols, revolvers, derringers, or other dangerous weapons," the term "other dangerous weapons" may be construed to comprehend only dangerous weapons that are of the same kind (are analogous) to those enumerated; i.e., firearms, or perhaps more narrowly still, handguns. A hypothetical court may have to determine whether a sword, a taser, or a Japanese throwing star would be properly included in the "other" category of the statute. Here, the term "other dangerous weapons" is to be given a meaning which denotes items being of the "same kind (genus)" as the items covered by the words of established meaning.
Ejusdem generis in a composition of a statute assumes especially one of the following forms:
- “x, y, z or other”
- “x, y, z or the like”
- “…, particularly x, y and z”
The terms: x, y and z are precise here, while the word “other” or that which precedes these terms is by definition indeterminate.[4][5]
References[edit]
- ↑ Walling v. Peavy-Wilson Lumber Co., 49 F. Supp. 846, 859 (W.D. La. 1943).
- ↑ Maciej Koszowski, The Scope of Application of Analogical Reasoning in Statutory Law. American International Journal of Contemporary Research no. 1/2017 (v. 7): 27.
- ↑ Maciej Koszowski, Analogical Reasoning in Law, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne 2019, pp. 174-175.
- ↑ Maciej Koszowski, The Scope of Application of Analogical Reasoning in Statutory Law. American International Journal of Contemporary Research no. 1/2017 (v. 7): 27.
- ↑ Maciej Koszowski, Analogical Reasoning in Law, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne 2019, pp. 174-175.
See also[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Maciej Koszowski, The Scope of Application of Analogical Reasoning in Statutory Law. American International Journal of Contemporary Research no. 1/2017 (v. 7): 16-34.
- Maciej Koszowski (2019). Analogical Reasoning in Law, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne 2019, ISBN-13: 978-1-5275-2232-9, ISBN-10: 1-5275-2232-6.
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