Interpretation Clause, a clause of an Act of Parlia-ment or document which defines the meaning of certain words occurring frequently in other clauses of the Act or document; see, e.g., s. 334 of the Public Health Act, 1936, replacing s. 4 of the (English) Public Health Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 55), and see also (English) Local Government Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 51), s. 305. Almost all modern Acts define the sense in which certain terms are used for the purposes of the Act.
Interpretation clauses have been much complained of by judges: see Mews's Digest, tit. 'Statute,' p. 1886; but they make an Act, by shortening, much easier to read, and indeed in their complicated matters with which modern legislation deals, their use is absolutely indispensable. It should, however, be observed that the definitions in such clauses are generally exclusively referable t the Statute, or Part, or S. to which they are expressed to relate and do not necessarily govern the meaning of the term in any other context.
View Judgments Citing this Phrase View Acts Citing this Phrase