PART 2

Miscellaneous Rules

5. —(1) In construing a provision of any Act (other than a provision that relates to the imposition of a penal or other sanction)—

(a) that is obscure or ambiguous, or

(b) that on a literal interpretation would be absurd or would fail to reflect the plain intention of—

(i) in the case of an Act to which paragraph (a) of the definition of “Act” in section 2 (1) relates, the Oireachtas, or

(ii) in the case of an Act to which paragraph (b) of that definition relates, the parliament concerned,

the provision shall be given a construction that reflects the plain intention of the Oireachtas or parliament concerned, as the case may be, where that intention can be ascertained from the Act as a whole.

(2) In construing a provision of a statutory instrument (other than a provision that relates to the imposition of a penal or other sanction)—

(a) that is obscure or ambiguous, or

(b) that on a literal interpretation would be absurd or would fail to reflect the plain intention of the instrument as a whole in the context of the enactment (including the Act) under which it was made,

the provision shall be given a construction that reflects the plain intention of the maker of the instrument where that intention can be ascertained from the instrument as a whole in the context of that enactment.

6. —In construing a provision of any Act or statutory instrument, a court may make allowances for any changes in the law, social conditions, technology, the meaning of words used in that Act or statutory instrument and other relevant matters, which have occurred since the date of the passing of that Act or the making of that statutory instrument, but only in so far as its text, purpose and context permit.

7. —(1) In construing a provision of an Act for the purposes of section 5 or 6, a court may, notwithstanding section 18 (g), make use of all matters that accompany and are set out in—

(a) in the case of an Act of the Oireachtas, the signed text of such law as enrolled for record in the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court pursuant to Article 25.4.5° of the Constitution.

(b) in the case of an Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann, the signed text of such law as enrolled for record in the office of such officer of the Supreme Court of Saorstát Éireann as Dáil Éireann determined pursuant to Article 42 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann),

(c) in the case of any other Act, such text of that Act as corresponds to the text of the Act enrolled in the manner referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that a copy of the text of an Act that is required to be judicially noticed is a copy of the text to which subsection (1) relates.

8. —Where—

(a) an Act or portion of an Act (whenever passed)—

(i) provides that summary proceedings for offences under it may be prosecuted by a specified person, and

(ii) is subsequently read together as one with any provision of another Act,

and

(b) an offence is created under that provision which can be prosecuted in a summary manner but no express power is given to the specified person to so prosecute,

then, the specified person may bring summary proceedings for an offence under that other provision unless some other person is authorised by that other Act to bring such proceedings.

9. —(1) A reference in an enactment to a Part, Chapter, section, Schedule or other division, by whatever name called, shall be read as a reference to a Part, Chapter, section, Schedule or other division of the enactment in which the reference occurs.

(2) A reference in an enactment to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, clause, subclause, article, subarticle or other division, by whatever name called, shall be read as a reference to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, clause, subclause, article, subarticle or other division of the provision in which the reference occurs.

10. —An enactment continues to have effect and may be applied from time to time as occasion requires.

11. —If under the heading—

(a) in the Irish language “Sampla” or “Samplaí”, or

(b) in the English language “Example” or “Examples”,

an enactment includes at the end of a provision or in a schedule relating to such provision an example of the operation of the provision, then the example—

(i) is not to be read as exhaustive of the provision, and

(ii) may extend, but does not limit, the meaning of the provision.

12. —Where a form is prescribed in or under an enactment, a deviation from the form which does not materially affect the substance of the form or is not misleading in content or effect does not invalidate the form used.