Interpretation Of Statutes IOS2601

Interpretation Of Statutes IOS2601 Name the 5 examples of original legislation 1. New Acts of Parliament 2. New Provincial Acts 3. Provincial ordinances 4. New Municipal legislation 5. Legislation of former homelands Name the sources where you would find the constitutional values 1. Constitution 2. Our common law heritage 3. The African concept of Ubuntu 4. International Human Rights Law 5. Foreign decisions with similar constitutions List and briefly discuss the relevance of 8 internal aids that may be consulted to determine the objective of a piece of legislation 1. The legislative text in another official language  Before the commencement of the interim Constitution, legislation in South Africa was drafted in 2 official languages and the text in the other language was used to clarify obscurities 2. The preamble  The preamble usually contains a programme of action or a declaration of intent with regard to the broad principles contained in the particular statute  A preamble on its own can never provide the final meaning of the legislative text 3. The long title  Provides a short description of the subject matter of the legislation  The role played by the long title in helping to ascertain the purpose of the legislation will in each case depend on the information it contains  The courts are entitled to refer to the long title of a statute to establish the purpose of the legislation (Bhyat v Commissioner for Immigration)  The long title and all other intra and extra- textual aids must be used right from the outset to determine the purpose of legislation  It usually starts with “To provide for”/ “To regulate”/ “To give effect to” Usually ends with “matters concerned therewith” 4. The definition clause  Almost all statutes contain a definition clause  This is an explanatory list of terms in which certain words or phrases used in the legislation are defined  The definition section always starts with the phrase “In this Act…” unless the context indicates otherwise 5. Headings to chapters and sections  May be regarded as introductions to those chapters or sections