Section 9A of the Interpretation Act which falls under PART II: GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING WRITTEN LAW states:
Purposive interpretation of written law and use of extrinsic materials
9A.—(1) In the interpretation of a provision of a written law, an interpretation that would promote the purpose or object underlying the written law (whether that purpose or object is expressly stated in the written law or not) shall be preferred to an interpretation that would not promote that purpose or object.
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(2) Subject to subsection (4), in the interpretation of a provision of a written law, if any material not forming part of the written law is capable of assisting in the ascertainment of the meaning of the provision, consideration may be given to that material —
(a) to confirm that the meaning of the provision is the ordinary meaning conveyed by the text of the provision taking into account its context in the written law and the purpose or object underlying the written law; or
(b) to ascertain the meaning of the provision when —
(i) the provision is ambiguous or obscure; or
(ii) the ordinary meaning conveyed by the text of the provision taking into account its context in the written law and the purpose or object underlying the written law leads to a result that is manifestly absurd or unreasonable.
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(3) Without limiting the generality of subsection (2), the material that may be considered in accordance with that subsection in the interpretation of a provision of a written law shall include —
(a) all matters not forming part of the written law that are set out in the document containing the text of the written law as printed by the Government Printer;
(b) any explanatory statement relating to the Bill containing the provision;
(c) the speech made in Parliament by a Minister on the occasion of the moving by that Minister of a motion that the Bill containing the provision be read a second time in Parliament;
(d) any relevant material in any official record of debates in Parliament;
(e) any treaty or other international agreement that is referred to in the written law; and
(f) any document that is declared by the written law to be a relevant document for the purposes of this section.
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(4) In determining whether consideration should be given to any material in accordance with subsection (2), or in determining the weight to be given to any such material, regard shall be had, in addition to any other relevant matters, to —
(a) the desirability of persons being able to rely on the ordinary meaning conveyed by the text of the provision taking into account its context in the written law and the purpose or object underlying the written law; and
(b) the need to avoid prolonging legal or other proceedings without compensating advantage.
Relation to Section 377A of the Penal Code[]
See also[]
- Section 377A of the Penal Code
- Section 176 of the Penal Code
- Section 119 of the Penal Code
- Section 424 of the Criminal Procedure Code
- Section 17 of the Criminal Procedure Code
References[]
- Interpretation Act, Statutes Online:[1]
- Penal Code, Statutes Online:[2]
- Criminal Procedure Code, Statutes Online:[3]
Acknowledgements[]
This article was written by Roy Tan.