Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback New Zealand Legislation for Cook Islands

Acts Interpretation Act 1924

NEW ZEALAND

ACTS INTERPRETATION ACT 1924

1924, No. 11 (NZ)

[EXTENDED BY SECTION 622 Cook Islands Act 1915]

ANALYSIS

Title.

1. Short Title
2. Act to apply to all Acts of General Assembly
3. Declaration that Act applies unnecessary

Interpretation of Terms

4. General interpretation of terms

Construction of Acts, etc.

5. General rules of construction
6. Application of penal Acts to bodies corporate
7. Interpretation of regulations, etc.
Act to apply to regulations, etc., made under authority of Imperial Acts.

Commencement of Acts

8. Acts assented to, when to come into operation
9. Acts reserved, when to come into operation
10. Clerk of the House of Representatives to insert in Acts day of assent, etc.
11. Time of commencement
12. Exercise of statutory powers between passing and commencement of an Act
13. Gazetting of Acts unnecessary

Citation of Acts

14. Citation of Imperial Acts
15. Acts, etc., may be cited by Short Titles
16. Citation of Acts etc., not having Short Title
17. Reference to be made to copies printed by authority
18. Citation of Act includes citation of amendments
Citation of regulations includes citation of amendments
19. Citation of portion of Act includes first and last words
19A. Citation of sections, subsections, Schedules, etc.

Repeal and Expiration of Acts

20. General provisions as to repeals
20A. Savings
21. Reference to repealed Act in unrepealed Act
22. Pending judicial proceedings not affected by expiration of Act

General Provisions

23. Orders in Council, etc., how advice and consent of Executive Council signified
24. Citation of authority under which Orders in Council, etc., made
25. Provisions as to time, distances, appointments, powers, etc.
Regulations not invalid because of discretionary authority
26. Rules of Court
27. Repealed
28. Forgoing rules to apply to this Act

Repeals

29. [spent]

—————————————

ACTS INTERPRETATION ACT 1924

1924, No. 11 (NZ) [EXTENDED BY SECTION 622 Cook Islands Act 1915]

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the interpretation of legislative enactments

[29 September 1924]

1. Short Title-This Act may be cited as the Acts Interpretation Act 1924.

2. Act to apply to all Acts of General-Assembly-This Act and every provision hereof, shall extend and apply to every Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand heretofore or that may hereafter be passed, except in so far as any provision hereof is inconsistent with the intent and object of any such Act, or the interpretation that any provision hereof would give to any word, expression, or section in any such Act is inconsistent with the contexts, and except in so far as any provision hereof is inconsistent with any particular definition or interpretation contained in any such Act.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 2

3. Declaration that Act applies unnecessary-It shall not be necessary to insert in any Act a declaration that this Act applies thereto in order to make it so apply.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 4

Interpretation of Terms

4. General Interpretation of terms-In every Act of the General Assembly, if not inconsistent with the context thereof respectively, and unless there are words to exclude or to restrict such meaning, the words and phrases following shall severally have the meanings hereinafter stated, that is to say:

"Act" means an Act of the General Assembly, and includes all rules and regulations made thereunder;

"Attorney-General" in respect of any power, duty, authority, or function imposed upon or vested in him in virtue of his office as Attorney-General, includes the Solicitor-General;

["Audit Office" means the Controller and Auditor-General; and includes any person for the time being authorised to exercise or perform any of the powers, duties, or functions of the Controller and Auditor-General;]

"Australasian Colonies" means the Commonwealth of Australia as now or hereafter constituted, together with New Zealand and Fiji;

"Australian Colonies" includes every State now or hereafter forming part of the Commonwealth of Australia;

"Borough" includes city;

"Commencement" when used in reference to an Act means the time at which the Act referred to comes into operation;

"Committed for trial" means committed to prison with the view of being tried before a judge and jury, or admitted to bail upon a recognisance or other security to appear and be so tried;

"Company" or "association" where used in reference to a corporation includes the successors and assigns of such company or association;

"Constable" includes a police officer of any rank;

"Constitution Act" means the Imperial Act passed in the fifteenth and sixteenth years of Victoria, chapter seventy-two, intituled "An Act to grant a Representative Constitution to the colony of New Zealand" and includes the several Imperial Acts amending the same;

"Consular officer" means a Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, Consular Agent, and any person for the time being authorised to discharge the duties of Consul-General, Consul, or Vice-Consul;

"Cook Islands" means the islands and territories forming part of His Majesty's dominions and situated within the boundaries set forth in the First Schedule to the Cook Islands Act 1915;

"Financial year" means, as respects any matters relating to the Public Account or to moneys provided by Parliament, or to public taxes or finance, the period of 12 months ending on the expiration of the thirty-first day of March;

"Gazette", "Government Gazette" and "New Zealand Gazette" mean the Gazette published or purporting to be published by or under the authority of the Government of New Zealand, and includes any supplement thereof published as aforesaid in any place;

"Gazetted" means published in the aforesaid Gazette;

"General Assembly" means the General Assembly of New Zealand, consisting of the Governor-General [and the House of Representatives];

"Government Printer" means the printer to the New Zealand Government at Wellington purporting to be the printer authorised to print the statutes of the General Assembly and the Acts of State of New Zealand, and otherwise to be the Government Printer of New Zealand;

"Governor" or "Governor-General" means the Governor-General of New Zealand; and includes the Deputy of the Governor-General, the Lieutenant-Governor, and any person for the time being lawfully administering the Government of New Zealand;

"Governor in Council", or "Governor-General in Council", or any other like expression, means the Governor-General acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of New Zealand;

"Holiday" includes Sundays, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday, and any day declared by any Act to be a public holiday, or proclaimed by the Governor-General as set apart for a public fast or thanksgiving or as a public holiday;

"Imperial Act" means an Act made and passed by the Imperial Parliament;

"Imperial Parliament" means the Parliament of the United Kingdom;

"Information" means an information laid in accordance with [the Summary Proceedings Act 1957] in respect of an offence punishable on summary conviction;

"Justice" means a Justice of the Peace having jurisdiction in New Zealand;

"Kahiti" or "Maori Gazette" means a Gazette published in the Maori language by or under the authority of the Government, containing such notices and matters as are required by any Act to be published in the Maori language, or are directed by the Government to be inserted therein;

"Land" includes messuages, tenements, hereditaments, houses, and buildings, unless there are words to exclude houses and buildings, or to restrict the meaning to tenements of some particular tenure;

"Local authority" means any Council, Board, Trustees, Commissioners, or other persons, by whatever name designated, entrusted under any Act with the administration of the local affairs of any city, town, place, borough, county, or district, and having power to make and levy rates;

"Magistrate" means any Stipendiary Magistrate appointed under [the Magistrates' Courts Act 1947];

"Minor" means any person under the age of twenty-one years;

"Month" means calendar month;

"North Island" means the island commonly known as the North Island, and includes all islands adjacent thereto lying north of Cook Strait; and "South Island" means the island commonly known as the "South Island" or "Middle Island", and includes all islands adjacent thereto lying south of Cook Strait;

"Oath" and "affidavit" include affirmation and statutory declaration; "swear" includes "affirm" and "declare" in the case of persons allowed by law to affirm or declare instead of swearing, or in any case of voluntary and other declarations authorised or required by law;

"Order in Council" means an Order made by the Governor-General in Council;

"Parliament" means [the House of Representatives] of New Zealand in Parliament assembled;

"Person" includes a corporation sole, and also a body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporated;

"Prescribed" means prescribed by the Act in which that term is used, or by regulations made under the authority of that Act;

"Proclamation" means a Proclamation made by the Governor-General under his signed manual and the seal of New Zealand and gazetted;

"Province" or "provincial district" means any of the former Provinces of Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, or Westland;

"Provincial Ordinance" means an Act or Ordinance passed by the Superintendent of any former province, with the advice and consent of the Provincial Council thereof;

"Public notification" or "public notice", in relation to any matter not specifically required by law to be published in extenso, means a notice published in the Gazette, or in one or more newspapers circulating in the place or district to which the act; matter; or thing required to be publicly notified relates or refers, or in which it arises;

"Regulation" means regulations made by the Governor-General in Council;

"Samoa" or "Western Samoa" means the Independent State of Western Samoa;

"Statutory declaration", if made-

(i) In New Zealand, means a declaration made under [the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957];

(ii) In the United Kingdom or any British possession other than New Zealand, means a declaration made before a Justice of the Peace, notary public, or other person having authority therein to take or receive a declaration under any law for the time being in force;

(iii) In any foreign country, means a like declaration made before a British Consul or Vice-Consul, or before any person having authority to take or receive such a declaration under any Act of the Imperial Parliament or the General Assembly for the time being in force authorising the taking or receiving thereof;

"Summary conviction" means a conviction by a Magistrate or one or more Justices of the Peace in accordance with [the Summary Proceedings Act 1957];

"Supreme Court" means the Supreme Court of New Zealand;

"The colony", "this colony", "the Dominion", and "New Zealand", when used as a territorial description, mean the Dominion of New Zealand, comprising all islands and territories within the limits thereof for the time being other than the Cook Islands, [and do not include the Tokelau Islands];

"Writing", "written", or any term of like import, includes words printed, typewritten, painted, engraved, lithographed, or otherwise traced or copied;

Words importing the singular number include the plural number, and words importing the plural number include the singular number, and words importing the masculine gender include females;

Words referring to any country, locality, district, place, body, corporation, society, officer, office, functionary, person, party, or thing shall be construed distributively as referring to each country, locality, district, place, body, corporation, society, officer, office, functionary, person, party, or thing to whom or to which the provision is applicable;

The name commonly applied to any country, locality, district, place, body, corporation, society, officer, office, functionary, person, party, or thing means such country, locality, district, place, body, corporation, society, officer, office, functionary, person, party, or thing, although such name is not the formal and extended designation thereof.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 5; 1908, No. 242, ss. 2, 10, 11
[Amended Act 1961/68 (NZ)]

Construction of Acts, etc.

5. General rules of construction-The following provisions shall have effect in relation to every Act of the General Assembly, except in cases where it is otherwise specially provided:

(a) Every Act shall be deemed to be a public Act unless by express provision it is declared to be a private Act;

(b) Every Act shall be divided into sections if there are more enactments than one, which sections shall be deemed to be substantive enactments, without any introductory words;

(c) Every Act passed in amendment or extension of a former Act shall be read and construed according to the definitions and interpretations contained in such former Act; and the provisions of the said former Act (except so far as the same are altered by or inconsistent with the amending Act or Acts) shall extend and apply to the cases provided for by the amending Act or Acts, in the same way as if the amending Act or Acts had been incorporated with and formed part of the former Act;

(d) The law shall be considered as always speaking, and whenever any matter or thing is expressed in the present tense the same shall be applied to the circumstances as they arise, so that effect may be given to each Act and every part thereof according to its spirit, true intent, and meaning;

(e) The preamble of every Act shall be deemed to be part thereof, intended to assist in explaining the purport and object of the Act;

(f) The division of any Act into parts, titles, divisions, or subdivisions, and the headings of any such parts, titles, divisions, or subdivisions, shall be deemed for the purpose of reference to be part of the Act, but the said headings shall not affect the interpretation of the Act;

(g) Marginal notes to an Act shall not be deemed to be part of such Act;

(h) Every Schedule or Appendix to an Act shall be deemed to be part of such Act;

(i) Wherever forms are prescribed, slight deviations therefrom, but to the same effect and not calculated to mislead, shall not vitiate them;

(j) Every Act, and every provision or enactment thereof, shall be deemed remedial, whether its immediate purport is to direct the doing of anything Parliament deems to be for the public good, or to prevent or punish the doing of anything it deems contrary to the public good, and shall accordingly receive such fair, large, and liberal construction and interpretation as will best ensure the attainment of the object of the Act and of such provision or enactment according to its true intent, meaning, and spirit;

(k) No provision or enactment in any Act shall in any manner affect the rights of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, unless it is expressly stated therein that His Majesty shall be bound thereby; nor, if such Act is of the nature of a private Act, shall it affect the rights of any person or of any body politic or corporate except only as is therein expressly mentioned;

(l) Every Act may be altered, amended, or repealed in the same session of the General Assembly in which it is passed.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s.6; 1908, No. 242,s.4

6. Application of penal Acts to bodies corporate-(1) In the construction of every enactment relating to an offence punishable on indictment, or on summary conviction, the expression "person" shall, unless the contrary intention appears, include a body corporate.

(2) Where under any legislative enactment any fine or forfeiture is payable to a party aggrieved, the same shall be payable to a body corporate where such body is the party aggrieved.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s.7

7. Interpretation of regulations, etc.-Where an Act confers a power to make rules, regulations, or bylaws, expressions used in any such rules, regulations, or bylaws shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the same meanings as in the Act conferring the power.

Cf. 1908, No. 1,s.8

Act to apply to regulations, etc., made under authority of Imperial Acts - Section 3 of the Statutes Amendment Act 1936 provides as follows:

"3. The Acts Interpretation Act 1924 shall apply to all rules, regulations, bylaws, and other acts of authority made or done by the Governor-General or by any other person in New Zealand under any Imperial Act or under any rule or order of His Majesty in Council in the same way as it applies to rules, regulations, bylaws, and other acts of authority made or done under an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand."

Commencement of Acts

8. Acts assented to, when to come into operation - Every Act assented to by the Governor-General in His Majesty's name that does not prescribe the time from which it is to take effect shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Governor-General's assent.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s.9

9. Acts reserved, when to come into operation - Every Act reserved by the Governor-General for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure thereon that does not prescribe the time from which it is intended to take effect shall come into operation on the day whereon the Governor-General signifies, by Speech, Message, Proclamation, that His Majesty has assented to the same.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s.10

10. Clerk of the House of Representatives to insert in Acts day of assent, etc. -(1) The [Clerk of the House of Representatives] shall insert in every Act, immediately after the title thereof, the day, month, and year when the same is assented to by the Governor-General in His Majesty's name, and where any Act is reserved by the Governor-General for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure thereon, then the day, month, and year on which the Governor-General, by such Speech, Message, or Proclamation as aforesaid, signifies that His Majesty has assented to such Act; and every such date shall be taken to be a part of the Act, and to be the date of commencement where no other commencement is therein provided.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 11

11. Time of commencement-(1) Where in an Act, or in any Order in Council, order, warrant, scheme, rules, regulations, or bylaws made or issued under a power conferred by any Act, it is expressly provided that the same shall come into operation on a particular day, then the same shall be deemed to come into operation immediately on the expiration of the previous day.

(2) When any Act or any provision of an Act is expressed to take effect "from" a certain day, it shall, unless a contrary intention appears, take effect immediately on the commencement of the next succeeding day.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 12; 1908, No. 242, s. 9

12. Exercise of statutory powers between passing and commencement of an Act-Where an Act that is not to come into operation immediately on the passing thereof confers power to make any appointment, to make or issue any instrument (that is to say, any Proclamation, Order in Council, order, warrant, scheme, rules, regulations, or bylaws), to give notices, to prescribe forms, or do anything for the purposes of the Act, that power may, unless the contrary intention appears, be exercised at any time after the passing of the Act, so far as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of bringing the Act into operation at the date of the commencement thereof, subject to this restriction: that any instrument made under the power shall not, unless the contrary intention appears in the Act or the contrary is necessary for bringing the Act into operation, itself come into operation until the Act comes into operation.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 13

13. Gazetting of Acts unnecessary-It shall not be necessary to gazette the Acts of the General Assembly, but copies of all such Acts shall be procurable by purchase at the office of the Government Printer.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 14

Citation of Acts

14. Citation of Imperial Acts-(1) In any Act, instrument, or document an Imperial Act may be referred to by its Short Title with or without the term "Imperial" prefixed or added thereto.

(2) This section shall apply to all Imperial Acts which are in force in New Zealand whether they are in force in the United Kingdom or not, and to all Short Titles conferred by an Imperial Act whether that Act is in force in New Zealand or not.

Cf. 1908, No. 242, s.5

15. Acts, etc., may be cited by short Titles-Every Act and every Provincial Ordinance having a Short Title may for all purposes be cited by such Short Title.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 15

16. Citation of Acts, etc., not having Short Title-In citing or making reference to any Act or Provincial Ordinance not having a Short Title it shall not be necessary to recite the title of the Act or Provincial Ordinance, nor the provision of any section referred to, but it shall be sufficient for all purposes of such citation or reference,-

(a) In the case of Imperial Acts,-

(i) If such Act was made before the seventh year of Henry the Seventh, to cite the year of the King's reign in which it was made, and where there are more statutes than one in the same year, the statute, and where there are more chapters than one, the chapter;

(ii) If such Act was made after the fourth year of Henry the Seventh, to cite the year of the reign, and where there are more statutes and sessions than one in the same year, the statute or the session (as the case may require), and where there are more chapters, numbers, or sections than one, the chapter, number, or section, or chapter or number and section (as the case may require):

(b) In the case of Ordinances of the Governor, Governor-in-Chief, or Lieutenant-Governor, and Legislative Council of New Zealand, to cite the session in which such Ordinance was made, together with the number of the Ordinance;

(c) In the case of Acts of the General Assembly, to cite the year in which the Act was made and the number of the Act;

(d) In the case of Provincial Ordinances, to cite the name of the province wherein the Ordinance was made, together with the session in which the same was made, and the number of the Ordinance.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 16

17. Reference to be made to copies printed by authority-The reference to any Act or Ordinance shall in all cases be made,-

(a) in the case of Imperial Acts, according to the copies of such statutes printed by the King's printer;

(b) In the case of Acts and Ordinances of New Zealand, according to the copies of such Acts and Ordinances published or purporting to be published by the Government Printer or under the authority of the Government of New Zealand for the time being;

(c) In the case of Provincial Ordinances, according to the copies of such Ordinances printed or purporting to be printed under the authority of the Government of the particular province wherein such Ordinance was made.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 17

18. Citation of Act includes citation of amendments-A reference to or citation of any Act includes therein the citation of all subsequent enactments passed in amendment or substitution of the Act so referred to or cited, unless it is otherwise manifested by the context.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 18

Citation of regulations includes citation of amendments- Section 2 of the Statutes Amendment Act 1942 provides as follows:

2. (1) This section shall be read together with and deemed part of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924.

(2) It is hereby declared that in any Act or regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, references to any regulation cited by their title include references to all subsequent regulations made in amendment thereof or in substitution therefor and for the time being in force.

19. Citation of portion of Act includes first and last words-A description or citation of a portion of an Act is inclusive of the first and last words, section, or other portion of the Act so described or cited.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 19

19A. Citation of sections, subsections, Schedules, etc.-(1) In any Act-

(a) A reference to a section that does not specify the Act to which the section belongs is a reference to a section of the Act in which the reference occurs;

(b) A reference to a subsection that does not specify the section to which the subsection belongs is a reference to a subsection of the section in which the reference occurs;

(c) A reference to a schedule that does not specify the Act to which that Schedule belongs is a reference to a Schedule of the Act in which the reference occurs.

(2) In any regulations -

(a) A reference to a regulation that does not specify the regulations to which that regulation belongs is a reference to a regulation of the regulations in which the reference occurs;

(b) A reference to a subclause that does not specify the regulation to which that subclause belongs is a reference to a sub-clause of the regulation in which the reference occurs;

(c) A reference to a Schedule that does not specify the regulations to which that Schedule belongs is a reference to a Schedule to the regulations in which the reference occurs.

(3) In any Order in Executive Council -

(a) A reference to a clause that does not specify the Order to which that clause belongs is a reference to a clause of the Order in which the reference occurs;

(b) A reference to a subclause that does not specify the clause to which that subclause belongs is a reference to a subclause of the clause in which the reference occurs;

(c) A reference to a Schedule that does not specify the Order to which that Schedule belongs is a reference to a Schedule to the Order in which the reference occurs.

[Added Act 1984/18]

Repeal and Expiration of Acts

20. General provisions as to repeals-The provisions following shall have general application in respect to the repeals of Acts, except where the context manifests that a different construction is intended, that is to say:

(a) The repeal of an Act wholly or in part shall not prevent the effect of any saving clause therein, and shall not revive any enactment previously repealed, unless words be added reviving such last-mentioned enactment;

(b) The repeal of any enactment shall not affect any Act in which such enactment has been applied, incorporated, or referred to;

(c) Whenever any provisions of an Act are repealed, and other provisions are substituted in their place, the provisions so repealed remain in force until the substituted provisions come into operation;

(d) Where an Act consolidating the law on any subject repeals any Act relating to that subject, and contains provisions substantially corresponding to those of the repealed Act for the constitution of districts or offices, the appointment of officers, the making or issuing of Proclamations, orders, warrants, certificates, rules, regulations, bylaws, or for other similar exercise of statutory powers, all such powers duly exercised under the repealed Acts and in force at the time of the repeal shall, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the repealing Act, continue with the like operation and effect as if they had been exercised under the corresponding provisions of the repealing Act;

(e) The repeal of an Act or the revocation of a bylaw, rule, or regulation at any time shall not affect-

(i) The validity, invalidity, effect, or consequences of anything already done or suffered; or

(ii) Any existing status or capacity; or

(iii) Any right, interest, or title already acquired, accrued, or established, or any remedy or proceeding in respect thereof; or

(iv) Any release or discharge of or from any debt, penalty, claim, or demand; or

(v) Any indemnity; or

(vi) The proof of any past act or thing; or

(vii) Any right to any of His Majesty's revenues of the Crown; or affect any charges thereupon, or any duties, taxes, fees, fines, penalties, or forfeitures, or prevent any such Act, bylaw, or regulation from being put in force for the collection or recovery of any such revenues, charges, duties, taxes, fees, fines, penalties, or forfeitures, or otherwise in relation thereto;

(f) The repeal of an Act shall not revive anything not in force or existing at the time when the repeal takes effect;

(g) Any enactment, notwithstanding the repeal thereof, shall continue and be in force for the purpose of continuing and perfecting under such repealed enactment any act, matter, or thing, or any proceedings commenced or in progress thereunder, if there be no substituted enactments adapted to the completion thereof;

(h) Notwithstanding the repeal or expiry of any enactment, every power and act which may be necessary to complete, carry out, or compel the performance of any subsisting contract or agreement lawfully made, entered into, or commenced under such enactment may be exercised and performed in all respects as if the said enactment continued in force; and all offences committed, or penalties or forfeitures incurred, before such repeal or expiry may be prosecuted, punished, and enforced as if such enactment had not been repealed or had not expired.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 20

20A. Savings-(1) Without limiting any other provision of this Act, it is hereby declared that the repeal or revocation of any provision by any Act, Order in Council, notice, regulations, or rules shall not affect any document made or any thing whatsoever done under the provision so repealed or revoked or under any corresponding former provision, and every such document or thing, so far as it is subsisting or in force at the time of the repeal or revocation and could have been made or done under that Act, Order in Council, or notice, or under those regulations or rules, shall continue and have effect as if it had been made or done under the corresponding provision of that Act, Order in Council, or notice, or of those regulations or rules, and as if that provision had been in force when the document was made or the thing was done.

(2) Where before the commencement of this section any provision has been repealed or revoked by any Act, Order in Council, notice, regulations, or rules, any document made or any thing whatsoever done under the provision so repealed or revoked or under any corresponding former provision that would have continued and had effect if this section had been in force at the time of the repeal or revocation shall be deemed to have so continued and had effect:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the rights of the parties under any judgment given in any Court before the commencement of this subsection, or under any judgment given on appeal from any such judgment, whether the appeal is commenced before or after the commencement of this subsection.

[Added Act 1960/50 (NZ); Amended Act 1962/9 (NZ)]

21. Reference to repealed Act in unrepealed Act-(1) In every unrepealed Act in which reference is made to any repealed Act such reference shall be construed as referring to any subsequent enactment passed in substitution for such repealed Act, unless it is otherwise manifested by the context.

(2) All the provisions of such subsequent enactment, and of any enactment amending the same, shall, as regards any subsequent transaction, matter, or thing, be deemed to have been applied, incorporated, or referred to in the unrepealed Act.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 121

22. Pending judicial proceedings not affected by expiration of an Act-The expiration of an Act shall not affect any judicial proceedings previously commenced under that Act, but all such proceedings may be continued and everything in relation thereto be done in all respects as if the Act continued in force.

Cf. 1908, No. 242, s. 6

General Provisions

23. Orders in Council, etc., how advice and consent of Executive Council signified-Where in any Act any act, power, function, or duty is required to be done, exercised, or performed by the Governor-General in Council (in this section called an exercise of authority) or where in any such Act any other like expression is used, it shall be sufficient if the advice and consent of the Executive Council to such exercise of authority is signified at a meeting of the Council, although the Governor-General is prevented from attending or presiding thereat by some necessary or reasonable cause, if such meeting is duly convened and held in accordance with any Royal Instructions relating thereto for the time being in force.

(2) On the advice and consent of the Executive Council being signified in manner aforesaid, the Governor-General may exercise the authority in like manner as if he had himself been present at the meeting at which such advice and consent were signified.

(3) Every authority exercised in the above manner shall take effect from the date of the aforesaid meeting, unless some other time is named or fixed or is expressly provided by law for the taking effect thereof.

(4) No authority exercised in manner aforesaid by the Governor-General shall be called in question in any Court on the ground that the Governor-General was not prevented by any necessary or reasonable cause from attending any such meeting of the Executive Council as aforesaid.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 22

24. Citation of authority under which Orders in Council, etc., made-Where by any Act the Governor-General in Council, or the Governor-General, or any officer or person named therein, is empowered to make or issue any Proclamation, Order in Council, warrant, or other instrument, it shall be sufficient to cite therein the particular Act authorising the making or issuing of the same; and it shall not be necessary to recite or set forth therein any facts or circumstances or the performance of any conditions precedent upon which such power depends or may be exercised.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 23

25. Provisions as to time, distances, appointments, powers, etc.-In every Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) If the time limited by any Act for any proceeding, or the doing of any thing under its provisions, expires or falls upon a holiday, the time so limited shall be extended to and such thing may be done on the day next following which is not a holiday; and all further changes of time rendered necessary by any such alteration may also lawfully be made;

(b) If in any Act any period of time dating from a given day, act, or event is prescribed or allowed for any purpose, the time shall, unless a contrary intention appears, be reckoned as exclusive of that day or of the day of that act or event;

(c) In the measurement of any distance for the purposes of any Act that distance shall, unless a different intention appears, be measured in a straight line on a horizontal plane;

(d) If anything is directed to be done by or before a Magistrate or a Justice of the Peace, or other public functionary or officer, it shall be done by or before one whose jurisdiction or powers extend to the place where such thing is to be done;

(e) Words directing or empowering a responsible Minister of the Crown to do any act or thing, or otherwise applying to him by his title of office, include any member of the Executive Council of New Zealand acting for, or, if the office is vacant, in the place of such Minister, and also his successors in such office; and

Words directing or empowering any other public officer or functionary to do any act or thing, or otherwise applying to him by his name of office, include his successors in such office, and his or their lawful deputy;

(f) Words authorising the appointment of any public officer or functionary, or any deputy, include the power to remove or suspend him, or reappoint or reinstate him, or appoint another in his stead, in the discretion of the authority in whom the power of appointment is vested; and in like manner to appoint another in the place of any deceased, absent, or otherwise incapacitated holder of such appointment;

(g) Power given to do any act or thing, or submit to any matter or thing, or to make any appointment, is capable of being exercised from time to time, as occasion may require, unless the nature of the words used or the thing itself indicates a contrary intention;

(h) Power given to make bylaws, rules, orders, or regulations includes the power from time to time to revoke the same absolutely, in whole or in part, or revoke and vary the same in part or in whole and substitute others, unless the terms or the nature and object of the power indicate that it is intended to be exercised either finally in the first instance, or only under certain restrictions, and also includes the power to prescribe a fine or penalty not exceeding five pounds for the breach of any such bylaws, rules, orders, or regulations;

(i) [Repealed]

[(j) Power given to do any act or thing, or to make any appointment, is capable of being exercised as often as is necessary to correct any error or omission in any previous exercise of the power, notwithstanding that the power is not in general capable of being exercised from time to time.]

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 24; 1908, No. 242, ss. 7 and 8;

1920, No. 9, s. 2; 1922, No. 51, s. 45

[Amended Act 1961/43 (NZ)]

25. Regulations not invalid because of discretionary authority-Section 2 of the Statutes Amendment Act 1945 provides as follows:

2. (1) This section shall be read together with and deemed part of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924.

(2) No regulation shall be deemed to be invalid on the ground that it delegates to or confers on the Governor-General or on any minister of the Crown or on any other person or body any discretionary authority.

26. Rules of Court-(1) In any Act the expression "rules of Court", when used in relation to any Court, means, unless a contrary intention appears, rules made by the authority having for the time being power to make rules or orders regulating the practice and procedure of that Court.

(2) The power of the said authority to make rules of Court shall, unless the contrary intention appears, include a power to make rules of Court for the purpose of any Act which directs or authorises anything to be done by rules of Court.

Cf. 1908. No. 242, s.3

27. Repealed by s. 56 of the Criminal Justice Act 1954; see s.44 of that Act.

28. Foregoing rules to apply to this Act-The provisions of this Act shall apply to the construction hereof, and to the words and expressions used herein.

Cf. 1908, No. 1, s. 25

Repeals

29. Repeals and saving-[Spent]

-----------------------------------------------------------------