Interpretation act, 1937

• Enactment Date: 08 December 1937
• Act Number: 38

Number 38 of 1937.
INTERPRETATION ACT, 1937.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title. 2. Commencement. 3. Definitions. 4. Application to certain Acts of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann. 5. Non-application of the Interpretation Act, 1923.
PART II
Form, Citation, and Operation of Acts of the Oireachtas
6. Form of Acts of the Oireachtas. 7. Citation of Acts of the Oireachtas. 8. Date of passing of Acts of the Oireachtas. 9. Commencement of Acts and instruments. 10. Exercise of statutory powers before commencement of the Act.
PART III
Meaning and Construction of Particular Words and Expressions
11. Certain general rules of construction. 12. Interpretation of the expressions and words in the Schedule. 13. Construction of certain statutory instruments. 14. Offences under two or more laws.
PART IV
Statutory Powers and Duties
15. Construction and exercise of statutory powers. 16. Construction and performance of statutory duties. 17. Rules of Court. 18. Service by post.
PART V
Effect of Repeals and Revocations
19. Date of operation of repeals and revocations. 20. Construction of references to repealed statutes and revoked instruments. 21. Operation of repeals, cessers, and terminations of statutes. 22. Operation of revocations, cessers and terminations of statutory instruments.
SCHEDULE
Act Referred to Interpretation Act, 1923 No. 46 of 1923
Number 38 of 1937.
INTERPRETATION ACT, 1937.
AN ACT TO MAKE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF IRELAND LATELY ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE, DIVERS PROVISIONS IN RELATION TO THE FORM, OPERATION, AND INTERPRETATION OF ACTS OF THE OIREACHTAS AND OF INSTRUMENTS MADE UNDER SUCH ACTS. [8th December, 1937.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—
PART I. Preliminary and General.
	Short title.	1.—This Act may be cited as the Interpretation Act, 1937.
	Commencement.	2.—This Act shall come into operation immediately after the coming into operation of the Constitution of Ireland lately enacted by the People.
	Definitions.	3.—In this Act—
	the word “statute” includes (in addition to Acts of the Oireachtas) Acts of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann, Acts of the Parliament of the former United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Acts of a Parliament sitting in Ireland at any time before the coming into force of the Union with Ireland Act, 1800;
	the word “instrument” means an order, regulation, rule, bye-law, warrant, licence, certificate, or other like document;
	the expression “statutory instrument” means an instrument made, issued, or granted under a power or authority conferred by statute;
	references to instruments made wholly or partly under an Act of the Oireachtas shall be construed as referring to instruments made, issued, or granted under a power or authority conferred by an Act of the Oireachtas or conferred by the joint operation of an Act of the Oireachtas and some other statute.
	Application to certain Acts of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann.	4.—Save as is otherwise expressly provided by this Act, every provision of this Act which relates to Acts of the Oireachtas shall apply and have effect in relation to this Act and every other Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann (whether passed before or after this Act) which is expressed to come into operation immediately after the coming into operation of the Constitution, and accordingly this Act and every such other Act shall, for the purpose of such application but no further or otherwise, be deemed to be an Act of the Oireachtas and (save as is otherwise expressly provided by this Act) the expression “Act of the Oireachtas” shall in this Act be construed and have effect as including this Act and every such other Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann.
	Non-application of the Interpretation Act, 1923 .	5.—(1) The Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923), shall not apply to any Act of the Oireachtas or to any instrument made wholly or partly under any such Act.
	(2) The foregoing sub-section of this section shall not preclude or prejudice the application to this Act and to other Acts of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann which are expressed to come into operation immediately after the coming into operation of the Constitution of so much of the Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923), as concerns events happening or things to be done in relation to an Act before it comes into operation.
PART II. Form, Citation, and Operation of Acts of the Oireachtas.
	Form of Acts of the Oireachtas.	6.—(1) Every Act of the Oireachtas shall be a public document and shall be judicially noticed.
	(2) Every Act of the Oireachtas shall be divided into sections numbered consecutively and any such section may be sub-divided in such manner and to such extent as is convenient.
	(3) The sections of an Act of the Oireachtas may, where convenient, be grouped in Parts, Chapters, or other divisions numbered consecutively.
	Citation of Acts of the Oireachtas.	7.—(1) Every Act of the Oireachtas may be cited in any other Act of the Oireachtas or in any instrument or other document either by the short title of the Act so cited or by the calendar year in which the Act so cited was passed and the consecutive number of such Act in such year.
	(2) Any enactment contained in an Act of the Oireachtas may be cited in any other Act of the Oireachtas or in any instrument or other document by reference to the Part, section, sub-section, or other sub-division of the first-mentioned Act which contains the enactment so cited.
	Date of passing of Acts of the Oireachtas.	8.—(1) The date of the passing of every Act of the Oireachtas shall be the date of the day on which the Bill for such Act is signed by the President.
	(2) Immediately after the passing of every Act of the Oireachtas, the Clerk of Dáil Eireann shall endorse on such Act, immediately after the title thereof, the date of the passing of such Act, and such date shall be taken to be part of such Act.
	(3) Every enactment contained in an Act of the Oireachtas shall, unless the contrary intention is expressed in such Act, be deemed to be in operation as from the end of the day before the date of the passing of such Act.
	(4) This section shall not apply to this Act or to any other Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann which is expressed to come into operation immediately after the coming into operation of the Constitution, and accordingly the expression “Act of the Oireachtas” shall not in this section include any such Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann.
	Commencement of Acts and instruments.	9.—(1) Where an Act of the Oireachtas, or a portion of any such Act, or an instrument made wholly or partly under any such Act, or a portion of any such instrument is expressed to come into operation on a particular day (whether such day is before or after the date of the passing of such Act or the making of such instrument and whether such day is named in such Act or instrument or is to be fixed or ascertained in any particular manner), such Act, portion of an Act, instrument, or portion of an instrument shall come into operation at the end of the day before such particular day.
	(2) Every instrument made wholly or partly under an Act of the Oireachtas shall, unless the contrary intention is expressed in such instrument, be deemed to be in operation as from the end of the day before the day on which such instrument is made.
	Exercise of statutory powers before commencement of the Act.	10.—(1) Where an Act of the Oireachtas or any particular enactment contained in any such Act is expressed to come into operation on a day subsequent to the date of the passing of such Act, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—
	(a) if the day on which such Act or such enactment (as the case may be) comes into operation is to be fixed or ascertained in any particular manner, the instrument, act, or thing whereby such day is fixed or ascertained may, subject to any restrictions imposed by such Act, be made or done at any time after the passing of such Act;
	(b) if such Act confers a power to make or do, for the purposes of such Act or such enactment (as the case may be), any instrument, act, or thing the making or doing of which is necessary or expedient to enable such Act or enactment to have full force and effect immediately upon its coming into operation, such power may, subject to any restrictions imposed by such Act, be exercised at any time after the passing of such Act.
	(2) In the application of this section to an Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Eireann which is expressed to come into operation immediately after the coming into operation of the Constitution, nothing in this section shall operate to enable any instrument, act, or thing to be made or done under or in relation to any such Act before the coming into operation of the Constitution.
PART III. Meaning and Construction of Particular Words and Expressions.
	Certain general rules of construction.	11.—The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to the construction of every Act of the Oireachtas and of every instrument made wholly or partly under any such Act, that is to say:—
	(a) Singular and plural. Every word importing the singular shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as if it also imported the plural, and every word importing the plural shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as if it also imported the singular;
	(b) Masculine and feminine. Every word importing the...