Bilingual Statutory Interpretation and the United Kingdom: Domestic Law and International Experiences

This article explores the emerging need for bilingual statutory interpretation within the United Kingdom and explains the significance of the High Court and Court of Appeal judgments in R (on behalf of Driver) v Rhondda Cynon Tâf County Borough Council both in terms of the process of statutory interpretation and with regard to its potential impact on the future of England and Wales as a unified jurisdiction. It draws upon the UK’s approaches to multilingual obligations under international law, and on comparative experiences of multilingualism within a domestic legal system.