Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

rule of rank

A doctrine of statutory construction holding that a statute dealing with things or persons of an inferior rank cannot by any general words be extended to things or persons of a superior rank. ( Blackstone gives the ex- ample of a statute dealing with deans, prebendaries, parsons, vicars, rind others having spiritual promotion. According to Blackstone, this statute is held not to extend to bishops, even though they have spiritual promotion, because deans are the highest persons named, and bishops are of a higher order. Cf. EJUSDEM GENERIS; EXPRESSIO UNIUS EST EXCLUSIO ALTERIUS; NOSCITUR A SOCIIS.