Legal Definitions - liberal construction

Definition: Liberal construction is the act of interpreting a writing, such as a constitution or statute, in a way that applies it to the situation presented and tends to achieve the spirit and purpose of the writing. It is also known as equitable construction, broad interpretation, or loose construction.

Example: If a statute is designed to protect consumers from fraudulent business practices, a court may use liberal construction to apply the statute to a new type of fraudulent practice that was not explicitly mentioned in the statute. This is because the court believes that the spirit and purpose of the statute is to protect consumers from all types of fraudulent practices, not just the ones explicitly mentioned.

This example illustrates how liberal construction expands the meaning of a writing to embrace cases that are within the spirit or reason of the writing, as long as the interpretation is not inconsistent with the language used. It resolves all reasonable doubts in favor of the applicability of the writing to the particular case.