Interpretation Act (Gotzborg)

Interpretation Act

Chamber of Deputies
Long title	An Act respecting the interpretation of statutes and regulations.
Number	ST 28/002
Introduced by	Liam Sinclair
Extent	Kingdom of Gotzborg
Dates
Royal Assent	4 July 2017
Commencement	4 July 2017

Be it decreed by His Royal Majesty, King August Charles II, by and with the advice and consent of the Government and Peoples of Gotzborg, in this Chamber of Deputies here assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Preliminary

Short Title

1. This Act may be cited as the Interpretation Act.

Commencement

2. This Act shall commence on a date to be fixed by Royal Decree.

Definitions and Interpretation

3. In this Act and any related regulation, order, or instrument:

1. “Act” means a statute of the Chamber of Deputies;
2. “contrary intention” means an interpretation that is different than that specified in this Act;
3. "Crown Servant” includes any person in the employ of the Royal Government who is authorized by or under an enactment to do or enforce the doing of an act or thing, or to exercise a power, or on whom a duty is imposed by or under an enactment;
4. “enact” includes to issue, make or establish;
5. “enactment” means an Act or regulation or any portion thereof;
6. “regulation” means a statutory instrument made in the exercise of a legislative power conferred by or under a Statute of the Chamber of Deputies;
7. “repeal” includes revoke or cancel;

4. For the purposes of this Act, an enactment that has been replaced or that has expired, lapsed or otherwise ceased to have effect is deemed to have been repealed.

5. The provisions of this Act apply to its interpretation, unless a contrary intention appears herein.

Application

6. Every provision of this Act applies, unless a contrary intention appears, to every enactment, whether enacted before or after the commencement of this Act.

7. This Act does not prohibit the use of a contrary intention in another enactment.

Enacting Clause of Acts

8. The enacting clause of an Act shall be in the following form:

“Be it decreed by His Royal Majesty, King August Charles II, by and with the advice and consent of the Government and Peoples of Gotzborg, in this Chamber of Deputies here assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:”

9. The enacting clause shall follow the preamble, if any, and precede the various provisions of the Act.

10. The enacting clause in an Act shall be proceeded by a preliminary part, which shall include the following specific to the Act:

1. Short title;
2. Commencement;
3. Repealed Enactments; and,
4. Definitions and Interpretation;

Operation

Royal Assent to Acts

11. The Public Records Office shall endorse on every Act, the day, month and year when the Act was assented to in His Royal Majesty’s name.

12. If no date of commencement is provided for in an Act, the date of commencement of that Act is the date of assent to the Act.

13. Where an Act contains a provision that the Act or any portion thereof is to come into force on a day later than the date of assent to the Act, that provision is deemed to have come into force on the date of assent to the Act.

14. Where an Act provides that certain provisions thereof are to come or deemed to have come into force on a day other than the date of assent to the Act, the remaining provisions of the Act are deemed to have come into force on the date of assent to the Act.

Day Fixed for Commencement or Repeal

15. The day fixed for commencement or repeal commences on the expiration of the previous day.

16. Every enactment, other than an Act, that is not expressed to come into force on a particular day shall be construed as coming into force on the expiration of the day immediately before the it was registered pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Instruments Act.

17. Judicial notice shall be taken of a day for the commencement or repeal of an enactment.

Regulation Prior to Commencement

18. Where an enactment commences on a particular date, any further enactments authorized by its provisions shall not commence on a day earlier than that date.

Territorial Operation

19. Every enactment applies to the whole of Gotzborg unless a contrary intention is expressed in the enactment.

20. An enactment that applies to the whole of Gotzborg may be amended to apply only to a part thereof, and vice versa.

Rules of Construction

21. The common law is the authoritative and recognized source of the law of property and civil rights in Gotzborg and the legal traditions thereof shall apply, subject to the provisions of any applicable enactment.

22. The expression “shall” is to be construed as imperative and the expression “may” as permissive.

23. Every enactment is deemed remedial, and shall be given such fair, large and liberal construction and interpretation as best ensures the attainment of its objects.

24. The preamble of an enactment shall be read as a part of the enactment intended to assist in explaining its purport and object.

25. Definitions or rules of interpretation in an enactment apply to all the provisions of the enactment, including the provisions that contain those definitions or rules of interpretation.

26. Where an enactment confers power to make other enactments, expressions under in those enactments have the same respective meanings as in the enactment conferring the power.

27. No enactment is binding on His Royal Majesty or affects His Royal Majesty’s rights or prerogatives in any manner, expect as mentioned or referred to in the enactment.

Appointment, Retirement and Powers of Crown Servants

28. Every Crown Servant appointed by or under the authority of an enactment or otherwise is deemed to have been appointed to hold office during pleasure only, unless it is otherwise expressed in the enactment.

29. Where a Crown Servant is appointed to an office effective on a specified day, or where the appointment is terminated on a specified day, the appointment or termination is deemed to have been effected immediately on the expiration of the previous day.

30. Where a Crown Servant is appointed to an office, the appointing authority may fix, vary, or terminate that person’s remuneration, unless a contrary intention is provided in the enactment conferring the power of appointment.

31. Words directing or empowering a Minister to do an act or thing, regardless of whether the act or thing is administrative, legislative, or judicial, or otherwise applying to that Minister as hold of the office, include:

1. a Minister acting for that Minister or, if the office is vacant, the next highest ministerial authority responsible for that office;
2. the successors of that minister in the office;
3. any deputy of the minister; and,
4. any Crown Servant appointed in the capacity.

Computation of Time

32. Where the time limited for the doing or a thing expires or falls on a holiday, as defined by the Public Holidays Act, the thing may be done on the day next following that is not a holiday.

33. Where there is a reference to a number of clear days or “at least” a number of days between two events, in calculating that number of days the days on which the events happen are excluded.

34. Where there is a reference to a number of days, not expressed to be clear days, between to events, in calculating that number of days the day on which the first event happens is excluded and the day on which the second event happens is included.

35. Where a time is expressed to begin or end at, on or with a specified day, or to continue to or until a specified day, the time includes that day.

36. Where a time is expressed to begin after or to be from a specified day, the time does not include that day.

37. Where anything is to be done within a time after, from of or before a specified day, the time does not include that day.

38. Where there is a reference to a period of time consisting of a number of months after or before a specified day, the period is calculated by:

1. counting forward or backward from the specified day the number of months, without including the month in which that day falls;
2. excluding the specified day; and,
3. including in the last month counted under paragraph (i) the day that has the same calendar number as the specified day or, if that month as no day with that number, the last day of that month.

39. Where there is a reference to time expressed as a specified time of day, the time is taken to mean standard time in the UTC-07:00 time zone.

40. A person is deemed not to have attained a specified number of years of service until the commencement of the anniversary, of the same number, of the day of that person’s appointment.

Miscellaneous Rules

41. Where power is given to a person, officer or functionary to do or enforce the doing of any act or thing, all such powers as are necessary to enable the person, officer or functionary to do or enforce the doing of the act or thing are deemed to also be given.

42. Where a power is conferred to make regulations, the power shall be construed as including a power, exercisable in the same manner and subject to the same consent and conditions, if any, to repeal, amend, or vary the regulations and make others.

43. Where a form is prescribed, deviations from that form, not affecting the substance or calculated to mislead, do not invalidate the form used.

44. Words importing female persons include male persons and corporations, and words importing male persons include female persons and corporations.

45. Words in the singular include the plural and vice versa.

46. Where a word is defined, other parts of speech and grammatical forms of the same word have corresponding meanings.

General Definitions

47. In every enactment,

1. “Act” means a statute of the Chamber of Deputies;
2. “bank” means an entity so defined by the Currency, Exchange and Banking Act;
3. “commencement”, when used with reference to an enactment, means the time at which the enactment comes into force;
4. “corporation” means an entity so-defined by the Business and Corporation Registration Act;
5. “Gotzborg”, for greater certainty, includes Gotzborg Proper, Paulovia, Victoria, Anthelia, its colonies and overseas possessions, any constituent parts of the foregoing, and any internal waters or territorial seas;
6. “duchy” means an Archduchy, Grand Duchy, Duchy, or County;
7. “herein” used in any section shall be understood to relate to the whole enactment, and not to that section only;
8. “His Royal Majesty” means the sovereign of Gotzborg;
9. “holiday” means any day as designated by the Public Holidays Act;
10. “local time”, in relation to any place, means the time observed in that place for the regulation of business hours;
11. “military” shall be construed as relation to all or any part of the Royal Armed Forces;
12. “month” means a calendar month;
13. “person”, or any word or expression descriptive of a person, includes a corporation;

48. The expression “year” means any period of twelve consecutive months, except that a reference to:

1. a “calendar year” means a period of twelve consecutive months commencing on January 1;
2. a “fiscal year” or “financial year” means the period beginning on April 1 in one calendar year and ending on March 31 in the next calendar year;

49. The name commonly applied to any country, place, body, corporation, society, officer, functionary, person, party or thing means that to which the name is commonly applied, although the name is not the formal or extended designation thereof.

References and Citations

50. A citation of, or reference to, an enactment is deemed to be a citation of, or reference to, the enactment as amended.

51. A reference in an enactment to regulations shall be read as a reference to regulations made under the enactment in which the reference occurs.

Repeal and Amendment

52. The power to repeal or amend an enactment is construed as being vested in the authority that made it, unless a contrary intention exists.

53. Where an enactment is repealed or amended, the action does not:

1. revive any enactment or anything not in force or existing at the time;
2. affect the previous operation of the enactment or anything duly done or suffered thereunder;
3. affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued, accruing or incurred under the enactment;
4. affect any offence committed against or in contravention of the provisions of the enactment, or any punishment, penalty or forfeiture incurred;
5. affect any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any right, privilege, obligation, liability or punishment referred to in the enactment; and,
6. prevent an investigation, legal proceeding, or remedy being instituted, continued or enforced, and the punishment, penalty or forfeiture imposed, regarding an act that was deemed to have occurred prior to the repeal or amendment of the enactment.

Demise of Crown

54. Where there is a demise of the Crown, the demise does not affect the holding of any office under the Crown and it is not necessary by reason of the demise that the holder be again appointed to the office.

55. No writ, action, or other process or proceeding, civil or criminal, in or issuing out of any court established by an Act is, by reason of a demise of the Crown, determined, abated, discontinued or affected, but every such writ, action, process or proceeding remains in full force and may be enforced, carried on or otherwise proceeded with or completed as though there had been no such demise.