British law, grammar and discrimination
On Brighton & Hove Issues Forum, Ed Bassford wrote this recently :
"It's not down to the drafters of legislation to be creative. They comply
with Section 6 of the Interpretation Act 1978:-
6. Gender and number.
In any Act, unless the contrary intention appears,-
(a)words importing the masculine gender include the feminine;
(b)words importing the feminine gender include the masculine;
(c)words in the singular include the plural and words in the
plural include
the singular.
There are two specific pieces of law that disapply this
provision:-
The Sexual Offences Act 1985 and the Employment Act 1989."