Interpretation of Statutes
- 1. Expiry and Repeal Of Statute By Krupa Gandhi
- 2. INTRODUCTION โข Meaning โ Statute is a written law passed by a legislative body. It commands, declares or prohibits something. โข It is a will of the legislature which includes all the acts passed by the provincial legislation. โข A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority which governs a state/ country. โข Statutes are classified w.r.t its duration, methodology and object.
- 3. TYPES OF STATUTES Temporary Statute Penal Statute Codifying Statute Remedial Statute Declaratory Statute Fiscal Statute
- 4. EXPIRY OF STATUTE โข Section 6 of the General Clauses act applies to the repeal of statute or a part of statute that is expired. โข Any temporary Statute expires after a specified time unless its duration is extended by a new enactment. โข A Statute can also be enacted expressly saying that the expired Act is herewith revived. โข A statute is temporary when its duration is only for specified time and such Statute expires on expiry of the specified time unless it is repealed earlier. โข After expiry of the temporary Statute it cannot be made effective. The only remedy available is to revive the expired Statute and by enacting a Statute in similar terms.
- 5. CONTDโฆ โข Proceedings under an expired statute โ Any person can not be convicted for an offense against any act after it is expired โข Notifications made under temporary statutes โ If the temporary act is expired, all the provisions, orders, notifications of the act will also discontinue โข Expiry of a statute does not mean that all the purposes of such statute is concluded โข Even if the statute is expired, the character of the act is used to determine whether the said obligation under the act is enduring or not
- 6. REPEAL OF STATUTE โข Meaning โ Repeal of statute means the abolition of law โข It is said that, once a statute is repealed , it is considered as void and it does not possesses any effects from the moment it was repealed. โข According to Blackโs law dictionary, repeal means โa legislative act which abrogates an existing nature.โ โข Power of repealing a statute lies with the legislature โข Both State and Union enjoys the power to repeal any statute. However, this power cannot be delegated.
- 7. CONTDโฆ โข A statute can be repealed by two kinds, 1. Express repeal โ The term express repeal suggests the abolition of a previously enacted statute by a newly enacted provisions of a statute. When any statute/ provision of a statute is repealed through express words mentioned under the newly enacted statute, it is called as express repeal. โข Features of Express Repeal, There must be a repealing statute The earlier statute must be repealed by the new statute Enacted statute must have a clear intention showing the effect of repeal
- 8. CONTDโฆ 2) Implied Repeal โ When a statute becomes obsolete and it is inferred in the statute that it is no longer valid then it shall be repealed with the newly enacted statute. This process is called as implied repeal. โข However, during the absence of provisions relating to express repeal, it is presumed that the statute is to be continued. โข In Implied repeal, the burden of proof lies upon the person who first asserted the implication of repeal. โข It can be said that, the concept of implied repeal is that, the earlier enacted law shall be abolished by the new one.
- 9. CONTDโฆ โข In order for an Implied repeal of the statute, 1. It must be taken into account whether the previously enacted laws are in contradiction to the newly enacted laws 2. Such conflict must be of a nature that, it canโt be resolved 3. If the nature of both laws deals with the same field, then a statute may be repealed 4. Whether there has been some inconsistency with the previously enacted and newly enacted statute
- 10. WHEN IMPLIED REPEAL IS INFERRED? 1. When both the previous and subsequent enactments are inconsistent with each other 2. When the subject of a previous act is covered by the act 3. When both the enactments are not consistent with each other and only one of those two enactments can remain effective 4. When the subject covered by the previous act is intended to substitute (Delhi Municipality V. Shivshankar AIR 1971 SC 815)
- 11. EFFECTS OF REPEAL โข The statute repealed is abolished and obliterated and becomes dead as if the enactment of the statute. โข All the rights created under the repealed act is removed โข A newly enacted law/ provision repudiates the existing one โข All the statutes after getting repealed becomes ineffective โข Statute repealed is abolished by the repealing statute as if it had never been made by the legislature โข Except for a saving clause, each and every part of the statute is considered unconstitutional
- 12. CONCLUSION โข It can be concluded that the repeal of statute is to abolish the law and once it is abolished, it possesses no value/ effect. The main objective of the act is to bring necessary changes in the existing laws. It removes obsolete matters from the body of any law and once it is removed, it is up to the courts discretion to decide whether the new enactment meets with the ultimate goal and intention of the act or not.
- 13. THANK YOU