Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954

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Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 [1]
Royal Arms of the United Kingdom (Privy Council).svg
Long title An Act to make provision with respect to the operation, interpretation and citation of Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland and of instruments made thereunder.
Citation 1954 c. 33 (N.I.)
Dates
Royal assent 21 December 1954
Other legislation
Relates to Interpretation Act 1978
Status: Amended
Revised text of statute as amended

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33 (N.I.)) is an act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. [2] The Act is known as a "Interpretation Act". [3]

Contents

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 binds the Crown. [2]

Originally the Act did not apply to delegated legislation, but this was changed by the Statutory Rules Act (Northern Ireland) 1958, which amended the Act to apply to all secondary legislation. [2]

Even during Direct Rule in Northern Ireland, the Interpretation Act continued to bind Orders in Council for Northern Ireland [4]

Provisions

The Act requires any binding of the royal prerogative can only occur if it is explicitly named. The act clarifies that references to the Crown refer to the Sovereign. Amendments to the act describe how to interpret legislation relating to the EU, legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and legislation passed in Stormont. The Act describes how to interpret enactments. [2] [5]

The Act describes how to interpret an offence involving two or more statutory provisions, and regulates how courts interpret legislation. The Act explains how to interpret legislation relating to the servicing of documents. [2]

The Act requires that interpretation of "oath" and "affidavit" to include affirmations and declarations, and that "swear" includes "affirm" and "declare". [2]

The Act describes how legislation is to be published by the Queen's Printer and the duties of the Presiding Officer in this process. [2]

The Act describes how usage of genderedness of pronouns must be ignored and that the status of a word as plural or singular must be ignored. [2]

The Act sets out the statutory period for consideration of statutory rules. [6]

Other uses of the Act

Definitions of the Act are used to define Areas of Special Scientific Interest [7]

See also

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References

  1. The citation of this act by this short title is authorised by section 51 of this act.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Northern Ireland Assembly. Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 as amended (see also enacted form ), from legislation.gov.uk .
  3. Carter, Ross (28 April 2021). "Interpretation Acts—Are They, and (How) Do They Make for, Great Law?". Statute Law Review. 43 (1): 1–67. doi:10.1093/slr/hmab007. ISSN   0144-3593.
  4. Maguire, Paul R. (1975). "Parliament and the Direct Rule of Northern Ireland". Irish Jurist (1966-). 10 (1): 81–92. ISSN   0021-1273. JSTOR   44026215.
  5. "Part 2: Specific Consequential Provision" . Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  6. "FAQ". Northern Ireland Assembly. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  7. Chaniotis, Pete; Cornthwaite, Alice; Ridgeway, Amy (n.d.). "DEFINING ASSI/SSSIs WITH 'MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMPONENTS' AND SETTING OUT A PROCESS FOR DETERMINING THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE UK MPA NETWORK" (PDF). JNCC. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2024.