NTERPRETATION

INTRODUCTION:
Governmental power has been divided into three wings namely the legislature, the executive and
the judiciary. Interpretation of statues to render justice is the primary function of the judiciary. It
is the duty of the Court to interpret the Act and give meaning to each word of the Statute.
The most common rule of interpretation is that every part of the statute must be understood in a
harmonious manner by reading and construing every part of it together.

MEANING:
The term interpretation means “To give meaning to”.
Interpretation means construction, derived from the word construe which means “to construct”,
“to make clear”, “clearly explains and clarifies”.

DEFINITION AND MEANING:

1. “Interpretation”: According to Webster’s New World Dictionary the word
Interpretation as “the act or result of Interpreting ; Explanation, Meaning, Translation,
Exposition, and word construction is understood as the act or process of construing, the
way in which something is constructed ; manner or method of building.”
Statutory is defined as fixed, authorized or established by statute.

2. According to ‘Salmond’: He defines it as a process by which the courts seek to ascertain

the meaning of legislature through the medium of authoritative forms in which it is
expressed.

AIDS OF CONSTRUCTION

INTRODUCTION:
Law always reflect the intention of legislature; in order to exactly determine and find out the
intention of legislature one must be familiar with sources of interpretation. Statutes have intrinsic
and extrinsic sources which are useful while determining and interpreting statutes.

AIDS MEANING:
An ‘Aid’ is a device that helps or assists. While performing the function of interpreting provision
of a statute, the court can take help from within the statute or even outside the statute.

SOURCE MEANING:
Source means a particular thing which is the cause of some other thing, or a document provides
information and knowledge.
 SOURCES OF INTERPRETATION
There are two types of sources of interpretation:
1. Intrinsic sources
2. Extrinsic sources
INTRINSIC SOURCES
The sources which are found from the statute itself, which is to be interpreted; these are also
called parts of statute and render some help in the interpretation of statute.
The statute is not drafted in the form of composition but it has various components and parts
which provide assistance in interpreting statutes. The component parts of statute are as follows;
 Title
 Preamble
 Chapters
 Headings
 Interpretation clause
 Schedule
 Illustrations
 Punctuations
 Provisos
 Exceptions
 Explanations
 Saving clause
 Repealing clause

EXTRINSIC SOURCES
"It is self-evident that in order to understand a statute a court has to take into account many
matters which are not to be found in the statute itself. Legislation is not made in a vacuum, and a
judge in interpreting it is able to take judicial notice of much information relating to legal, social,
economic and other aspects of the society in which the statute is to operate."
Extrinsic materials are documents which do not form part of an Act but can be used in court to
assist in the interpretation of that Act. The Interpretation Act in each jurisdiction specifically
defines what can be considered as extrinsic material in that jurisdiction.
Categories of extrinsic aids
The categories are summarized as follows:
(1) The historical setting;
(2) Parliamentary history and debates;
(3) Official reports, including Law Reform Commission reports;
(4) Explanatory memoranda issued by Government departments;
(5) Textbooks and dictionaries;
(6) International conventions;
(7) Judicial Decisions
(8) Reference to Other Statutes
(9) Conveyancing and administrative practice;
(10) Contemporaneous construction

(11) Social, Political and Economic Developments and Scientific Inventions

(12) Government Publication

We now examine each of these in turn.

(1) Historical setting

Lord Lindley M.R. said:
"In construing any enactment, regard must be had not only to the words used but to the history of
the Act and the reasons which led to it being passed. You must look at the mischief which had to
be cured as well as to the cure provided".
Historical facts of the statute are the external circumstances in which it was enacted. The object
is to understand whether the statute in question was intended to alter the law or leave it where it
stood. Historical perspective behind enactment of an Act provides useful guide for interpretation.
(2) Parliamentary history and debates
Parliamentary history means the includes conception of an idea, drafting of the bill, the debates
made, the amendments proposed, speech made by mover of the bill, etc. Papers placed before the
cabinet which took the decision for the introduction of the bill are not relevant since these papers
are not placed before the parliament.
Case
The Supreme Court in S.R. Chaudhuri v. State of Punjab and others  has stated that it is a settled
position that debates in the Constituent Assembly may be relied upon as an aid to interpret a
Constitutional provision because it is the function of the Court to find out the intention of the
framers of the Constitution.
 (3) Official Reports and Law Reform Commission Reports
The courts may be assisted, by looking at Law Reform Commission reports, in considering the
mischief aimed at by subsequent legislation. A Law Reform Commission is an organization with
a focus on the systematic development, review and reform of the law in a particular jurisdiction.
As a result of Commission inquiries and projects, publications are produced including
background papers, issues papers, consultation papers and final reports.
(4) Explanatory memoranda
An explanatory memorandum is an executive document issued at the same time as a bill. It's
purpose is to explain the aims and operation of the statute. In statutory interpretation, if the
meaning of a provision in an Act is ambiguous or obscure, reference may be made to explanatory
memoranda in order to ascertain the meaning of the provision. It is prepared primarily for the
information of members of Parliament, though it is available to the public for sale, with the Bill.
However, it does not accompany an Act or Ordinance. There can also be explanatory material
prepared by a Government Department, after a Bill is enacted, such as a circular, or pamphlet.
(5) Textbooks and dictionaries
Textbooks may be used as an aid to construction of a statute. However the court "would never hesitate
to disagree with a statement in the textbook, however authoritative, or however long it had stood, if it
thought it right to do so". The court have sometimes used textbooks as a way of getting around the
restriction or looking at Law Reform Commission reports. However, dictionaries are for consultation "in
the absence of any judicial guidance or authority".

When a word is not defined in the statute itself, it is permissible to refer to dictionaries to find
out the general sense in which that word is understood in common parlance. For e.g. Black’s
Law Dictionary.
(6) International conventions or treaties
Reference can only be made to the convention to resolve ambiguities, or obscurities of language, where
the terms of the legislation are not clear. If the terms are not clear, but are reasonably capable of more
than one meaning, then the construction which is consonant with the treaty obligations is to be
preferred.

(7) Judicial Decisions

Decisions by courts on the same manner act as precedents for the interpretation of statutes.
Indian judicial pronouncements may have binding value when issued by a higher court, and have
persuasive value when issued by a court having same or lower authority. These foreign decisions
from countries following the same system of jurisprudence have persuasive value only and
cannot be used to contradict binding Indian judgements.
(8) Reference to Other Statutes

For the purpose of interpretation or construction of a statutory provision, courts can refer to or
can take help of other statutes. It is also known as statutory aids. For e.g. the General Clauses
Act, 1897.

The application of this rule helped to avoid any contradiction between a series of statutes dealing
with the same subject as it allows the use of an earlier statute to throw light on the meaning of a
phrase used in a later statute in the same context.

(9) Conveyancing and administrative practice

The uniform opinion and practice of eminent conveyancers has always had great regard paid to it
by all courts of justice. Where a statutory power is couched in the same terms as express, terms
in the settlement, the opinion of the courts on those express powers must clearly become
relevant. Administrative practice does not, however, have the same weight.

(10) Contemporaneous construction

Contemporaneous construction or usage can be resorted to as an aid to construction of a statute,

when the meanings of the Act are ambiguous, obscure and true meaning can not be ascertained
by the intrinsic matters. In such situation court may seek help from the construction placed upon
the statute by its contemporaries at the time of its enactment.

(11) Social, Political and Economic Developments and Scientific Inventions

A Statute must be interpreted to include circumstances or situations which were unknown or did
not exist at the time of enactment of the statute. Any relevant changes in the social conditions
and technology should be given due weightage.

(12) Government Publication

Government Publications are the authentic piece of paper and can be considered as an intrinsic
source of interpretation. Government Publications are of two types:

 The reports of commissions or committees

 Other relevant document
 Purpose of extrinsic aids

(1) a judge might wish to inform himself about the general and factual situation forming the
background to the legislation;

(2) a judge might wish to know about the 'mischief' underlying the enactment-the state of
affairs within the legal or factual situation which it is the purpose of the legislature to
remedy or change; and

(3) he might look for information which might bear on the nature and scope of the remedy
or change provided by the legislation.

Conclusion

It can be seen that there is a wide range of extrinsic aids. The extent and use of these aids has
been variously considered by the courts. Extrinsic aids are matters which may help put an
Act into context. External aid is also needed in construction and understanding the true
meaning of statute.

References

www.blog.ipleaders.in/internal-aids-construction/

www.hkreform.gov.hk/en/docs/rstatutory-e.pdf

www.slideshare.net/aids-of-interpretation

www.lawtimesjournel.in/aids-to-interpretation-of-statutes/

www.guides.library.uwa.edu.au/extrinsic-material