AIDS TO INTERPRETATION
A statute consists of different parts and these are of varying significance to the interpretation of
statutes.
Headings, marginal notes, tables and indexes
Tables and indexes are merely guides as to the contents of a statute. They are there just for the
convenience of the reader, for quick reference of the contents of a statute. They also make it easy
for the reader to quickly locate a provision where he does not know the number. Headings and
marginal notes appear at the head of or besides each section in a statute. They summarize the
contents of that particular section.
Section 7 of the Interpretation Act states that headings, marginal notes, tables and indexes “Shall
form no part of the enactment and shall be deemed to have been inserted for convenience of
reference only.” However, courts have sometimes referred to marginal notes and headings in
interpreting an ambiguous or obscure statutory provision.
The Short Title
This is simply the name or title of the statute, used for reference purposes e.g. ‘Interpretation
Act’ or ‘Marriage Act’.
In Zimbabwe the short title appears at the head of each statute and is also mentioned in the first
section of the statute. Section 1 of most statutes is specifically there to tell us the name (i.e. short
title) of the statute. For example, section 1 of the Interpretation Act provides, ‘this act may be
cited as the Interpretation Act (Chapter 1:01)’. The chapter number, which accompanies the
name of the statute, is just a reference number. Each statute has a unique reference number,
which distinguishes it from the rest of the statutes.
The Long Title
The long title appears at the head of each statute (i.e. after the index). While the short title only
gives a clue as to what the statute is al about, the long title describes in a bit more detail what the
statute is all about. It briefly explains the purpose of the act. The long title to the Interpretation
Act is worded thus,
An act to define certain terms when used in legislative enactments, to make provision with
respect to the operation, commencement and interpretation of legislative enactments to
shorten the language of legislative enactments, and for other purposes.
It seems a ling title has the same significance as a preamble in the interpretation of statutes. In S
v. Davidson 1988 (1) ZLR 117 the courts referred to the long title of the Law and Order
(Maintenance) Act and used it to interpret section 36 of the act. However, the court erroneously
referred to it as a preamble. The court held that a preamble (actually meaning the long title) may
be used in the interpretation of a statutory provision in the act in question, but only when the
provision in question is vague or ambiguous. Where the provision to be interpreted is clear, then
the preamble (or long title) plays no part. In fact preambles have fallen into disuse in Zimbabwe
and their place seems to have been taken over by long titles. So long title will probably be used
in the interpretation of statutes in the same way preambles were used, i.e. when interpreting
provisions that are vague or ambiguous.
Preamble
The preamble sets out the main objective of the act. It is usually in the form of a declaration of
intent by the law maker. The majority of statutes do not in fact have a preamble. Preambles have
fallen into disuse in the drafting of statutes in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
As noted above, it is sometimes permissible for the court to refer to a preamble in an attempt to
understand the meaning of a statute or provision of the statute where the meaning is ambiguous
or vague. However, where the statutory provision under interpretation is clear, it is not
permissible to refer to the preamble (S v. Davidson, supra). Section 6 of the Interpretation Act
provides in clear terms that the preamble forms part of a statute and may be used as an aid to the
construction of such a statute.
Definition/Interpretation section
This defines certain words found in a statute. This where the legislature tells us how it wants us
to interpret certain words found within the statute. This is usually when the legislature has used
the words in a sense other than the ordinary meaning attached to the words in everyday usage.
Sometimes this mini-dictionary helps shorten language used in the rest of the statute. For
example almost every statute refers to a government minister who is required to administer that
particular statute e.g. the Minister of Justice e is the one tasked with administering the
Magistrates Court Act, among many other statutes. Throughout its various sections the
Magistrates Court Act mentions the word Minister in reference to the various things that the
Minister is required or empowered to do. Instead of referring to ‘Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs’ many times in the act, the act in its various sections simply refers to
‘Minister’. The definition of section then defines the word ‘Minister’ reminding us that whenever
the word Minister appears in the body of the statute, it means ‘Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs’.
Sometimes the definition section contains specific rules to be used in the interpretation of that
particular statute.
The definition section is part of the statute itself and the court should always resort to it when
dealing with a word which is defined in it.
Schedules
Schedules are normally found attached to the end of a statute. Not all statutes have schedules.
Where they exist they may contain specimen forms or a list of earlier acts that have been
amended or repealed by the present act. A schedule forms part of the statute itself so its contents
are as binding as the rest of the statute. However, in the event of conflict between a provision in
the main part of the act and the schedule, the provision in the main part of the statute prevails.
Punctuation
Sometimes where one puts a comma, a colon or a full stop or an omission to put such
punctuation may have a bearing on the meaning of a sentence in a statutory provision. For a long
time the courts had debated whether punctuation should be regarded as part of a statute and
therefore used as an aid to the interpretation of the provision. The matter has been settled by
section 6 of the Interpretation Act which provides that “the preamble to an enactment and any
punctuation in an enactment and shall form part of the enactment and may be used as aids to the
construction of statutes.”
INTERPRETATION ACT
Most of the rules of interpretation are common law based. Most of what has been covered is
common laws rules of interpretation of statues. The main sources of such common law rules are
legal textbooks and law reports. However the legislature has added a few rules of its own to
supplement the common law rules of interpretation. The legislature has done this through
(i) The Interpretation Act [Chapter 1:01] which contains rules for the interpretation of
statutes
(ii) Definition/interpretation provisions in individual statutes
The Interpretation Act contains a number of provisions designed to assist in the interpretation
process and to shorten language used in the rest of the enactments. However, some of the
provisions have, strictly speaking, little to do with interpretation. The long title to the act
enlightens us on the object and purpose of the act, namely, “An Act to define certain terms when
used in legislative enactments to make provision with respect to the operation, commencement
and interpretation of legislative enactments; to shorten language of legislative enactments;
and for other purposes.”
The following are some of the more significant provisions of the Act relating to interpretation of
statutes.
Section 3: definitions
Defines a few dozen words frequently used in statutes. The purpose of the definitions is to ensure
that whenever such words appear in other statutes, it will not be necessary to define or explain
them again unless they have a differ meaning. This helps shorten other statutes with no need to
define the same words or phrases over and over again in different statutes. A few examples of the
words or phrases defined in this section are: Act, Minister, African, laws, police officer among
many others.
Section 4
Provides that every enactment shall apply to the whole of Zimbabwe unless a contrary intention
appears from such statute. This is self-explanatory.
Section 6
Tells us that the preamble to an enactment and the punctuation of an enactment form part of a
statute and may be used as aids in the interpretation of the statute in question. However,
preambles are now very rare in Zimbabwean statutes and the long title seems to have taken their
place. Although section 6 makes no reference to a long title, it appears the long title plays the
same role as a preamble in the interpretation process.
R Magana & Anor 1924 TPD @ 129
“It is a well established principle that the court in this connection only considers the title and
preamble where the specific provisions of the statute are ambiguous or obscure. Where,
however the provision of the Act itself are clear then the objects and scope have to be gathered
for them as they are the operative sections of the law.”
Section 7
On the other hand headings, marginal notes, tables and indexes do not form part of a statute and
are inserted for convenience only.
Section 9 (1)
Provides that the words importing the masculine gender include females. However, this rule
should not be followed slavishly. It may be clear in some statute that reference therein to the
masculine gender was not meant to extend to the feminine gender. If for example a statute
provides that “no person shall sell grain unless he is the holder of a permit issued by the GMB”,
it is fairly obvious that the “he” should be construed as covering both sexes. But if a statute
provides that “no man shall have sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of sixteen without
her consent”, it is clear that “man” as used in that context does not include a woman. So common
sense should be used when applying this rule. Note that the provision does not go on to say that
words importing the feminine gender also cover the masculine. It is the other way round only.
