Subjective or Objective Legislative Intention: An Australian/German Perspective.

The article examines the contested concept of "legislative intention" as the aim of statutory interpretation, focusing on debates in Australia and Germany. It contrasts the subjective theory, which treats legislative intention as an empirical reality based on the intentions of individuals involved in lawmaking, with the objective theory, which views legislative intention as a metaphor for the proper application of interpretive rules grounded in the statute's text and context. Despite fundamental differences between common law and civil law legal reasoning, both Australian and German highest courts have shown strikingly similar commitments to objective theory, though recent judicial trends reveal renewed tensions. The article also explores key issues such as the legal authority of statutory text detached from legislators' subjective intentions and the implications of each theory for the evolvability of statutory interpretation over time. It concludes by highlighting the value of cross-jurisdictional dialogue on this enduring and fervent debate within parliamentary democracies.