{"id":"F2006B00765","name":"Interpretation Ordinance 1955 (CKI)","slug":"interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":40820,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006B00765-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part I","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part I—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Ordinance may be cited as the Interpretation Ordinance 1955.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of Ordinance","content":"#### 4 Application of Ordinance\n\n  (1) Except where the contrary intention appears, this Ordinance applies to all Ordinances including this Ordinance.\n  (2) This Ordinance binds the Crown.\n  (3) Where an Ordinance confers upon a person or authority power to make, grant or issue an instrument (including regulations, rules or rules of court) then, unless the contrary intention appears, this Ordinance applies to and in relation to an instrument so made, granted or issued as if that instrument were an Ordinance.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Western Australian Acts","content":"#### 4A Western Australian Acts\n\n  (1) A reference in an Ordinance to the short title of a Western Australian Act, followed by “(W.A.)” or “(WA)” is a reference to the Act as in force in Western Australia.\n  (2) A reference in an Ordinance to the short title of a Western Australian Act, followed by “(W.A.)(C.K.I.)” or “(WA)(CKI)” is a reference to the Act as in force in the Territory in accordance with section 8A of the Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"Part II","sectionType":"part","heading":"Provisions applicable to Ordinances generally","content":"## Part II—Provisions applicable to Ordinances generally","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 5 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In an Ordinance, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Act means an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth.\n\n> Administrator means the Administrator of the Territory appointed under the Administration Ordinance 1975, and includes an Acting Administrator or the Deputy Administrator acting in the office of the Administrator in pursuance of that Ordinance.\n\n> applied law means a law of Western Australia as in force in the Territory in accordance with section 8A of the Act.\n\n> barrister, solicitor or barrister and solicitor means a person entitled, under section 55D of the Judiciary Act 1903, to practise as a barrister and solicitor in any Territory of the Commonwealth.\n\n> Commissioner for Affidavits means a person appointed under the Supreme Court Ordinance 1955 to take and receive affidavits.\n\n> Commonwealth Ordinance means an Ordinance made under section 12 of the Act.\n\n> Gazette means:\n\n    (a) the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, published before or after the period that commenced on 1 July 1973 and ended on 30 June 1977;\n    (b) the Australian Government Gazette published during that period; or\n    (c) the Government Gazette of the Territory.\n\n> Imperial Act means an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.\n\n> medical practitioner means a person registered or licensed as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners and whose registration or licence is not suspended under such a law.\n\n> movable property means property of every description except immovable property.\n\n> Ordinance includes:\n\n    (a) a Commonwealth Ordinance; or\n    (b) a Singapore Ordinance.\n\n> police officer means:\n\n    (a) a member or a special member of the Australian Federal Police; or\n    (b) a member of a State or Territory police force appointed by the Minister, under subsection 8G(6) of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act, to provide police services for the Territory.\n\n> regulations means regulations made under the Ordinance.\n\n> rules means rules made under the Ordinance.\n\n> Singapore Ordinance means an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore in its application to the Territory, as in force in the Territory in accordance with section 8 of the Act.\n\n> the Act means the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955.\n\n> the Territory means the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.\n\n> Western Australian Act means an Act passed by the Parliament of Western Australia.\n\n  (2) Where an Ordinance confers upon a person or authority power to make, grant or issue an instrument (including regulations, rules or rules of court) then, unless the contrary intention appears, expressions used in an instrument so made, granted or issued shall be deemed to have the same meanings as in the Ordinance conferring the power.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of Acts Interpretation Act to Ordinances","content":"#### 6 Application of Acts Interpretation Act to Ordinances\n\n  Subject to this Ordinance, the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (except sections 5 and 15A, paragraphs 26(e) and 27(d), section 30, sections 37 to 40 (inclusive), paragraph 46(a) and sections 47, 48 and 49), as amended from time to time, apply, so far as they are capable of application, to and in relation to Ordinances, including this Ordinance, as if an Ordinance were an Act.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Citation of Acts and Ordinances","content":"#### 8 Citation of Acts and Ordinances\n\n  (1) In an Ordinance, instrument or document:\n    (a) an Act may be cited by its short title, or by reference to the secular year in which it was passed and its number;\n    (b) an Ordinance may be cited:\n    (i) by its short title or name; or\n    (ii) if it was numbered as mentioned in former section 7 of this Ordinance—by reference to the secular year in which it was made and its number; and\n    (c) an Imperial Act may be cited by its short title (if any), or by reference to the regnal year in which it was passed and its chapter.\n  (2) An enactment may be cited by reference to the part, section, subsection or other division of the Act, Ordinance or Imperial Act in which the enactment is contained.\n  (3) Every such reference shall be made according to a copy of the Act or Ordinance printed or purporting to be printed by the Government Printer of the Commonwealth, or to a copy of the Imperial Act printed or purporting to be printed by the Sovereign’s Printer in London, as the case may be.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"8A","sectionType":"section","heading":"References to Ordinances","content":"#### 8A References to Ordinances\n\n  Where an Ordinance contains:\n    (a) a reference to the short title or name of another Ordinance as originally made; or\n    (b) a reference to a method of citation that is, or at any time has been, provided by law for the citation of another Ordinance as amended;\n  then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:\n    (c) the reference shall be construed as a reference to that other Ordinance as originally made and as amended from time to time; and\n    (d) where that other Ordinance has been repealed and remade, with or without modification, the reference shall be construed as including a reference to the remade Ordinance as originally made and as amended from time to time and, where, in connexion with that reference, particular provisions of the repealed Ordinance are referred to, being provisions to which provisions of the remade Ordinance correspond, the reference to those particular provisions shall be construed as including a reference to those corresponding provisions.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8B","sectionType":"section","heading":"References to Acts","content":"#### 8B References to Acts\n\n  Where an Ordinance contains:\n    (a) a reference to the short title of an Act as originally enacted; or\n    (b) a reference to a method of citation that is, or at any time has been, provided by law for the citation of an Act as amended;\n  then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:\n    (c) the reference shall be construed as a reference to the Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time; and\n    (d) where that Act has been repealed and re‑enacted, with or without modification, the reference shall be construed as including a reference to the re‑enacted Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time and, where, in connexion with that reference, particular provisions of the repealed Act are referred to, being provisions to which provisions of the re‑enacted Act correspond, the reference to those particular provisions shall be construed as including a reference to those corresponding provisions.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Judicial notice to be taken of Ordinances etc","content":"#### 9 Judicial notice to be taken of Ordinances etc\n\n  (1) All courts and persons acting judicially must take judicial notice of:\n    (a) a Commonwealth Ordinance; and\n    (b) an applied law; and\n    (c) a Singapore Ordinance; and\n    (d) an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore as defined in subsection (2); and\n    (e) regulations, rules, rules of court, by‑laws, proclamations or orders or any other instruments made under a law referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).\n  (2) In paragraph 1(d), Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore means:\n    (a) an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore in its application to the Territory under section 8 of the Act as in force before 1 July 1992; or\n    (b) the provisions of an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore applying by virtue of an Ordinance made under section 12 of the Act as a law of the Territory before 1 July 1992; or\n    (c) an Imperial Act or Order in Council in its application to the Territory under section 8 of the Act as in force before 1 July 1992; or\n    (d) an Ordinance of the Colony of the Straits Settlements in force in the Colony of Singapore immediately before the commencement of the Act or the date of its application as a law of the Territory; or\n    (e) a law referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) as amended or affected by a Commonwealth Ordinance.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Gazette to be evidence of certain matters","content":"#### 10 Gazette to be evidence of certain matters\n\n  A printed copy of the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette or the Australian Government Gazette purporting to be published by authority and to be printed by the Government Printer, or a printed copy of the Government Gazette of the Territory purporting to be published by authority:\n    (a) shall be admitted in evidence by all courts and in all legal proceedings without proof that that copy was so published and printed, or so published; and\n    (b) is evidence that it was published on the day on which it bears date and of appointments and notifications printed in it and of the matters and things contained in those appointments and notifications.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Compliance with forms","content":"#### 11 Compliance with forms\n\n  Where forms are prescribed for the purposes of an Ordinance, substantial compliance with those forms is, unless the contrary intention appears, sufficient.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"12A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Offences under 2 or more laws","content":"#### 12A Offences under 2 or more laws\n\n  (1) Where an act or omission constitutes offences under 2 or more Ordinances, or constitutes an offence under an Ordinance and an offence at common law, the offender is, unless the contrary intention appears, liable to be prosecuted and convicted under either or any of those Ordinances or under that Ordinance or at common law, but is not liable to be punished more than once in respect of that act or omission.\n  (2) Where an act or omission constitutes an offence under an Ordinance and an Act and the offender has been punished for the offence under the Act, the offender is not liable to be punished for the offence under the Ordinance.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Attempt to commit offence","content":"#### 13 Attempt to commit offence\n\n  A provision in an Ordinance which constitutes an offence shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be deemed to provide also that an attempt to commit that offence is an offence against that provision punishable as if the attempted offence had been committed.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Civil rights not affected","content":"#### 14 Civil rights not affected\n\n  The imposition of a penalty by an Ordinance in respect of an act or omission does not, in the absence of an express provision to the contrary, affect the right of any person to institute civil proceedings in respect of that act or omission.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"15","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations and rules","content":"#### 15 Regulations and rules\n\n  (1) Where an Ordinance confers power to make regulations, then, unless the contrary intention appears:\n    (a) notice of the making of regulations made accordingly and of the place where copies of those regulations may be purchased shall be published in the Gazette; and\n    (b) subject to this section, regulations made accordingly take effect from the date of publication of the notice referred to in paragraph (a) or, where another date is specified in the regulations, from the date so specified.\n  (2) All regulations made under an Ordinance shall be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the making of the regulations.\n  (3) Regulations shall not be expressed to take effect from a date before the date of publication of the notice referred to in subsection (1) of this section in a case where, if the regulations so took effect:\n    (a) the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) existing at that date would be affected in a manner prejudicial to that person; or\n    (b) liabilities would be imposed on a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before that date;\n  and where, in any regulations, a provision is made in contravention of this subsection, that provision is void and of no effect.\n  (4) If any regulations are not laid before each House in accordance with this section, they are, and shall be deemed to have been, void and of no effect.\n  (5) If either House of the Parliament passes a resolution (of which notice has been given at any time within 15 sitting days after the day on which the regulations have been laid before that House) disallowing any of those regulations, the regulations so disallowed shall thereupon cease to have effect.\n  (6) If, at the expiration of 15 sitting days after the day on which notice of a resolution to disallow any regulations has been given in either House of the Parliament in accordance with subsection (5), the resolution has not been withdrawn or otherwise disposed of, the regulations specified in the resolution shall thereupon be deemed to have been disallowed.\n  (7) Where regulations are disallowed, or are deemed to be disallowed, under this section, the disallowance has the same effect as a repeal of the regulations, except that, if the regulations amended or repealed a law in force immediately before the regulations took effect, the disallowance revives the previous law from and including the date of the disallowance, as if the disallowed regulations had not been made.\n  (8) In this section, regulations includes rules and rules of court.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"16","sectionType":"section","heading":"Citation of regulations and rules","content":"#### 16 Citation of regulations and rules\n\n  Regulations and rules (including rules of court) may be cited:\n    (a) by their name; or\n    (b) if they were numbered as mentioned in former subsection 16(1) of this Ordinance—by reference to the secular year in which notice of their making was published and their number.","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"17","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power of Minister to delegate functions etc under Ordinances","content":"#### 17 Power of Minister to delegate functions etc under Ordinances\n\n  (1) Where an Ordinance confers a power or function on the Minister, the Minister may, by writing under his hand, delegate that power or function to any person or authority either generally or in relation to a particular matter or class of matters or a part of the Territory.\n  (2) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of any power or function by the Minister.","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"Part III","sectionType":"part","heading":"Provisions relating to Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore in their application as laws of the Territory","content":"## Part III—Provisions relating to Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore in their application as laws of the Territory","sortOrder":19},{"sectionNumber":"18","sectionType":"section","heading":"Reference to certain expressions in laws of Singapore","content":"#### 18 Reference to certain expressions in laws of Singapore\n\n  (1) In relation to anything done or to be done after the commencement of this Ordinance, an expression specified in Column 1 of the following table in an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore shall be read as a reference to the person, authority or thing specified in Column 2 of that table opposite to that expression:\n\n| Column 1                                                                                      | Column 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |\n| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| advocate or advocate and solicitor                                                            | A barrister or solicitor as defined in section 5                                                                                                                                                                                              |\n| medical practitioner                                                                          | A medical practitioner as defined in section 5                                                                                                                                                                                                |\n| the Colony, Cocos or Keeling Islands, the Colony of Singapore, or the Settlement of Singapore | The Territory                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |\n| the Governor                                                                                  | The Minister                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |\n| the Gazette                                                                                   | The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette published before or after the period that commenced on 1 July 1973 and ended on 30 June 1977, the Australian Government Gazette published during that period or the Government Gazette of the Territory |\n| the Government Gazette                                                                        | The Commonwealth of Australia Gazette published before or after the period that commenced on 1 July 1973 and ended on 30 June 1977, the Australian Government Gazette published during that period or the Government Gazette of the Territory |\n| the Governor in Council, the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly                  | The Governor‑General                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |\n\n  (2) In relation to anything done or to be done after the commencement of this subsection, a reference in an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore to a Minister of the Colony of Singapore shall be read as a reference to the Minister of State for the Commonwealth administering the Act.","sortOrder":20},{"sectionNumber":"18A","sectionType":"section","heading":"18A","content":"#### 18A\n\n  (1) If, under a Singapore Ordinance, a power or function is vested in:\n    (a) the Governor of the Colony of Singapore; or\n    (b) the Governor of that Colony in Council; or\n    (c) any other person or authority;\n  then, unless the contrary intention appears, that power or function may be exercised or performed by:\n    (d) the Minister; or\n    (e) the Governor‑General.\n  (2) The Minister may, by instrument, delegate a power or function vested in the Minister under subsection (1) to a person or authority to whom subsection 8G(7) of the Act applies.\n  (3) An instrument of direction or delegation in force immediately before 1 July 1992 under section 8 of the Act as in force immediately before that date continues in force as if that section had not been repealed.","sortOrder":21},{"sectionNumber":"19","sectionType":"section","heading":"References in laws of Singapore","content":"#### 19 References in laws of Singapore\n\n  (1) In an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore:\n    (a) a reference to the Colony of the Straits Settlements or to a Settlement of that Colony shall be read as a reference to the Territory;\n    (b) a reference to the Sovereign’s armed forces, or a part of those forces, shall be read as a reference to the Defence Force of the Commonwealth, or the corresponding part of that Force; and\n    (c) a reference to the number of a line of a section or provision of an Ordinance shall be read as a reference to that line in the latest official printed copy of that Ordinance at the time of the passing or making of the law in which the reference appears.\n  (2) In an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore (not being an Imperial Act or Order in Council), unless the contrary intention appears:\n    (a) a reference to a ship shall be read as including every description of vessel used in navigation, not being a vessel exclusively propelled by oars or paddles;\n    (b) a reference to the master, in relation to a ship, shall be read as a reference to any person, except a pilot or harbour master, having for the time being control or charge of the ship;\n    (c) a reference to value, in relation to a suit, shall be read as a reference to the value of the subject‑matter of the suit; and\n    (d) a reference to a year shall be read as a reference to a year according to the British calendar.\n  (3) In an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore (not being an Imperial Act or Order in Council), unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> act, in relation to an offence or civil wrong, includes a series of acts, and words which refer to acts extend to illegal omissions.\n\n> animal includes birds, reptiles, fish and every kind of vertebrate animal and their young.\n\n> Chapter, Part, section and Schedule means respectively a Chapter, Part and section of, and a Schedule to, the law in which the word occurs.\n\n> common law means the common law of England.\n\n> subsection means a subsection of the section in which the word occurs.\n\n  (4) In an order, proclamation, rule, regulation or by‑law continued in force by the Act, the expression ‘the Ordinance’ shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as a reference to the Ordinance under the authority of which that order, proclamation, rule, regulation or by‑law was made.","sortOrder":22},{"sectionNumber":"19A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power to make regulations etc","content":"#### 19A Power to make regulations etc\n\n  Where:\n    (a) an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore confers power to make regulations, rules or rules of court; and\n    (b) that power is expressed to be conferred on the Governor in Council of that Colony;\n  that power shall be deemed to be conferred on, and is exercisable by, the Minister of the State for the Commonwealth administering the Act.","sortOrder":23},{"sectionNumber":"19B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Notification and commencement of regulations etc","content":"#### 19B Notification and commencement of regulations etc\n\n  (1) The provisions of section 15 of this Ordinance apply in relation to regulations made, after the commencement of this section as in force at the commencement of this section, under an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore, notwithstanding any contrary intention in that Ordinance as in force at the commencement of this section, and to the exclusion of any provision in that Ordinance relating to the publication, or the disallowance or disapproval, of regulations made under that Ordinance, or the date on which such regulations take effect or come into force.\n  (2) A reference in an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore to regulations published, or made and published, under the Ordinance or a provision of the Ordinance shall, in relation to regulations made after the commencement of this section, be read as a reference to regulations made under that Ordinance or that provision of that Ordinance, being regulations in respect of which a notice has been published in the Gazette in accordance with paragraph 15(1)(a).\n  (3) A provision in an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore requiring regulations to be laid or tabled before any person or authority shall, upon the commencement of this section, cease to have effect.\n  (4) In this section, regulations includes rules and rules of court.","sortOrder":24},{"sectionNumber":"19C","sectionType":"section","heading":"Other powers and functions under laws of Singapore","content":"#### 19C Other powers and functions under laws of Singapore\n\n  Where an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore confers a power or function on a person or authority (not being a person or authority specified in Column 1 of the table in subsection 18(1)) that power or function may be exercised or performed by such person or authority as the Minister directs.","sortOrder":25},{"sectionNumber":"20","sectionType":"section","heading":"References to Singapore currency","content":"#### 20 References to Singapore currency\n\n  (1) A reference in an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore to an amount in the currency of the Colony of the Straits Settlements or of the Colony of Singapore shall be read as a reference to the equivalent amount in Australian currency.\n  (2) Where it is necessary for the purposes of subsection (1) or for the purposes of any Ordinance or law made under an Ordinance to convert an amount expressed in currency of the Colony of the Straits Settlements or of the Colony of Singapore to the equivalent amount in Australian currency, the conversion shall be made on the basis that:\n    (a) 40 cents in Australian currency is the equivalent of one dollar in the currency of the Colony of the Straits Settlements or of the Colony of Singapore; and\n    (b) 0.4 cents in Australian currency is the equivalent of one cent in the currency of the Colony of the Straits Settlements or of the Colony of Singapore.\n  (3) Where a calculation in accordance with subsection (2) results in the ascertainment of an amount in Australian currency that includes a percentage of a cent, then:\n    (a) if the percentage is not greater than 0.45, the percentage shall be disregarded; or\n    (b) if the percentage exceeds 0.45, the amount in cents shall be deemed to be increased by adding one to the number of cents (without the percentage).\n  (4) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (3), the equivalent of an amount of 3 cents or less in the currency of the Colony of the Straits Settlements or the Colony of Singapore shall be deemed to be one cent in Australian currency.","sortOrder":26},{"sectionNumber":"21","sectionType":"section","heading":"References to persons, places, matters and things in existing laws","content":"#### 21 References to persons, places, matters and things in existing laws\n\n  Subject to section 8 of the Act and to this Ordinance, an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore shall be read with such formal alterations as to persons, places, matters and things as are necessary to make the same applicable to the circumstances of the Territory.","sortOrder":27},{"sectionNumber":"22","sectionType":"section","heading":"References to Ordinances of the Straits Settlements","content":"#### 22 References to Ordinances of the Straits Settlements\n\n  An Ordinance of the Colony of the Straits Settlements in force in the Colony of Singapore immediately before the commencement of the Act may be referred to as an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore.","sortOrder":28},{"sectionNumber":"23","sectionType":"section","heading":"Citation of Ordinances of Colony of Singapore","content":"#### 23 Citation of Ordinances of Colony of Singapore\n\n  An Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore included in a revised edition of Ordinances issued before the application of the Ordinances as a law of the Territory under a law providing for the issue of a revised edition may, without prejudice to any other manner of citation, be cited by its chapter number and any such citation shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as a reference to the Ordinance as amended from time to time by any other Ordinance.","sortOrder":29},{"sectionNumber":"25","sectionType":"section","heading":"Discontinuance of adopted laws deemed to be a repeal","content":"#### 25 Discontinuance of adopted laws deemed to be a repeal\n\n  (1) A provision in an Ordinance that an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore, or an Act adopted by an Ordinance as a law of the Territory is, in its application to the Territory, repealed or that such an Ordinance or Act shall cease to apply, or be in force, in the Territory shall be deemed to be the repeal of an Ordinance.\n  (2) Where an Ordinance provides that an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore is, in its application to the Territory, repealed or that such an Ordinance shall cease to apply, or be in force, in the Territory, then, unless the contrary is expressly provided, all subsidiary legislation in force under that Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore shall, by force of that provision, cease to be in force in the Territory.","sortOrder":30},{"sectionNumber":"26","sectionType":"section","heading":"References to Magistrates","content":"#### 26 References to Magistrates\n\n  In an Ordinance, in regulations made under an Ordinance and in any other law of the Territory, a reference to a magistrate shall, on and after the commencement of this section and notwithstanding any definition of the word magistrate in the Ordinance, regulations or other law of the Territory, be a reference to a Special Magistrate or Magistrate appointed under section 92 of the Courts Ordinance.","sortOrder":31}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The current text shows scope expansion and adaptation beyond a narrow 1955 drafting role. The Ordinance now expressly deals with: (a) the application and citation of Western Australian Acts as \"applied law\" in the Territory (s4A, defined in s5); (b) detailed adaptation and substitution rules for Singapore and Straits Settlements laws and currency, including conversion and rounding rules (Part III, ss18–23, s20); (c) the application (with specific exclusions) of the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act to Territory Ordinances (s6); and (d) explicit delegation and substitution of powers from colonial offices to the Minister or Governor‑General, with further delegation routes (ss18A, 19A–19C, s17). These insertions and elaborations broaden the Ordinance from a basic interpretation code to a cross‑jurisdictional adaptation instrument that governs how external statutes and historical laws operate in the Territory and how administrative powers are reallocated and delegated."},"complexity_factors":["Section 5 contains around 20–25 defined terms used across the Ordinance (e.g. Act, Administrator, applied law, Gazette, Ordinance, Western Australian Act).","Frequent cross‑references to other statutes and instruments: the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act (the Act), the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (with specified exceptions) (s6), the Judiciary Act 1903, and various Singapore and Straits Settlements laws (Parts II–III).","Multiple conditional rules of construction: \"unless the contrary intention appears\" recurs and creates repeated exceptions to the defaults (s4(1), s5(1) examples throughout).","Nested transitional/adaptive provisions for external laws: ss8A and 8B require reading references to other laws as amended or remade, including corresponsive provisions — creates layered mapping between old and new texts.","Historic and jurisdictional complexity: specific date ranges and historical references (e.g. Gazettes published before/after 1 July 1973 to 30 June 1977, and instruments in force before 1 July 1992) increase interpretive detail (s5 Gazette definition; ss18, 18A, 19B).","Detailed numeric conversion and rounding rules for old Singapore/Straits Settlements currency with special exceptions for small amounts (s20(2)–(4)).","Multiple procedural and parliamentary oversight conditions for regulations: publication in Gazette, laying before both Houses within 15 sitting days, voiding and disallowance mechanics and revival rules (s15(1)–(7)).","Several delegation and substitution provisions that transfer or permit transfer of powers from colonial offices to local Ministers or Governor‑General, and permit further delegation (ss17, 18A, 19A–19C).","Interaction of criminal/civil rules: single act/offence treated across multiple laws with non‑duplication of punishment (s12A), attempts treated as offences (s13), and preservation of civil rights despite penal sanctions (s14).","Specific judicial/evidentiary rules: mandatory judicial notice of a wide class of instruments (s9) and Gazette evidence rules (s10) reduce proof burdens but require courts to accept particular printed sources."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this Ordinance does (mechanically)**\n\n- Establishes rules for how laws (called \"Ordinances\") for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are to be read, cited and applied. It is itself an Ordinance and applies to other Ordinances unless a contrary intention appears (s4(1), s1).\n- Declares that the Ordinance binds the Crown (s4(2)).\n- Treats subsidiary instruments (regulations, rules, rules of court and similar instruments) made under an Ordinance as if they were Ordinances for interpretation purposes, unless a contrary intention appears (s4(3); s5(2)).\n- Supplies a number of defined terms used across Territory law (s5), for example: who the \"Administrator\" is, what counts as the \"Gazette\", what \"applied law\" means (a Western Australian law applied in the Territory), and that \"Ordinance\" can include Singapore or Commonwealth Ordinances (s5).\n- Applies most of the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to Ordinances (with listed exceptions), so many general rules about how statutes are read will also apply to Territory Ordinances (s6).\n- Sets rules about citation and references so that references to other Acts or Ordinances are read as referring to those laws as amended over time and, where relevant, to remade laws (ss8, 8A, 8B).\n- Requires courts and judicial officers to take judicial notice (i.e. accept without formal proof) of Commonwealth Ordinances, applied laws (Western Australian laws applied in the Territory), Singapore Ordinances and various instruments made under those laws (s9).\n- Enables publication and commencement procedures for regulations and rules: notice in the Gazette, laying before Parliament within a specified period, and disallowance rules (s15). Regulations not laid as required are void (s15(4)).\n- Provides interpretation adjustments for older Singapore and Straits Settlements laws adopted for the Territory, including how to read terms like \"Governor\" or local currencies and how powers previously vested in colonial offices may now be exercised by the Minister or Governor‑General (Parts III, ss18–23, 18A, 19A–19C, 20).\n- Treats attempts to commit an offence as offences (s13), preserves civil rights to pursue private civil proceedings despite the imposition of penalties (s14), prevents double punishment where a single act is an offence under multiple laws (s12A), and establishes modest rules about form compliance (s11) and who may exercise delegated Ministerial powers (s17).\n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- The Crown and all persons and bodies acting under Territory Ordinances (s4(2)); courts and magistrates who must apply these interpretative rules (s9, s26).\n- Government decision‑makers who make regulations, delegated instruments or exercise statutory powers (ss4(3), 15, 17, 18A, 19A–19C).\n- Anyone subject to Territory law, because the rules affect how offences, civil rights, citations, and commencement of regulations operate (ss12A, 13, 14, 15).\n- People and businesses relying on older Singapore or WA laws as applied in the Territory — for those laws the Ordinance prescribes how to read references, convert currency, and substitute modern offices and institutions (Part III, ss18–23, 20).\n\n**Why it matters (official purpose and practical effects)**\n\n- Officially, the Ordinance is a toolbox for consistent statutory interpretation in the Territory: it standardises definitions, citation practices, commencement and publication rules, and the adaptation of older external laws (ss5, 6, 8, 15, Part III).\n\n- Practical consequences and trade‑offs:\n  - It centralises interpretive defaults (who a reference points to, how to treat instruments, how offences and attempts are handled). That reduces ambiguity for drafters, courts and the public but requires drafters to rely on these defaults and to express a contrary intention if they want a different effect (s4(1), s5).\n  - It imports many rules from the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act, which promotes coherence with Commonwealth practice but creates dependence on a separate statute (s6). Where the Acts Interpretation Act is amended, the meaning of Territory Ordinances can shift.\n  - It gives the Minister and the Governor‑General formal authority to exercise or reassign functions that previously belonged to colonial offices (ss18A, 19A, 19C). That simplifies administrative continuity but concentrates decision points in a small number of offices and creates scope for delegation (s17, s18A(2)).\n  - Publication and laying requirements for regulations (s15) protect notice and parliamentary oversight but create strict procedural invalidity (regulations not laid are void) that can disrupt administrative schemes if missed.\n  - Currency conversion and rounding rules (s20) and historical substitution rules for Singapore/Straits Settlements terminology (ss18, 19) resolve technical mismatches when older laws apply, but they embed specific numeric and chronological choices (e.g. conversion rates and rounding thresholds) into the law.\n\n**Who pays, who decides, and what behaviour changes**\n\n- Who pays: administrative and compliance costs fall mainly on the Territory/Crown (publication, record keeping, delegation instruments) and on regulated parties who must monitor Gazetted notices and parliamentary laying; private litigants may save proof costs because courts must take judicial notice of specified instruments (s9, s10).\n- Who decides: the Minister (and through delegation, authorised persons), the Governor‑General for certain functions, and courts (for interpretation and judicial notice). Ministers have revocable delegation power and may delegate under specific provisions (s17, s18A(2), s19C).\n- Behaviour changes: drafters will habitually rely on the Ordinance’s defaults unless they expressly provide otherwise; administrators must publish Gazetted notices and lay regulations to ensure effectiveness (s15); courts will accept specified materials without extrinsic proof (s9, s10).\n\n**Implementation risks, compliance burden and trade‑offs**\n\n- Risk of gap or confusion where a local Ordinance intended a different meaning but failed to state a contrary intention — the Ordinance’s defaults will fill the gap (s4(1), s5).\n- Reliance on external laws (Western Australian Acts, Singapore Ordinances, and the Acts Interpretation Act) creates cross‑jurisdictional complexity: changes in those source laws can alter Territory law’s interpretation unless drafters explicitly fix meanings (s4A, s6, ss8A–8B).\n- Delegation and replacement of colonial offices with Minister and Governor‑General roles concentrate discretion; that enables administrative efficiency but raises the importance of transparent delegations and record‑keeping (ss17, 18A, 19C).\n- Strict procedural conditions for regulations (publication, laying, disallowance) mean administrative error can void regulatory instruments with retroactive legal consequences (s15).\n\n(References in parentheses are to the section numbers of the Interpretation Ordinance 1955 supplied.)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Ordinance has grown significantly beyond a simple 'dictionary' for local statutes. Its original 1955 purpose was primarily to provide standard interpretation rules for Ordinances made under the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act. However, it has expanded into a complex mechanism for managing legal continuity—particularly Parts II and III, which extensively deal with the translation and adaptation of colonial Singapore laws. The inclusion of detailed currency conversion rules (section 20), specific judicial notice requirements for pre-1992 Singapore instruments (section 9), and elaborate parliamentary disallowance procedures for regulations (section 15) suggest the legislation now functions as a comprehensive 'legal plumbing' system for a territory with layered colonial and federal governance, rather than merely interpreting local enactments."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple overlapping legal systems: The Ordinance must reconcile three distinct sources of law—Commonwealth Acts, Western Australian Acts applied to the Territory, and colonial Singapore Ordinances still in force","Extensive cross-referencing: Heavy reliance on external legislation (Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955, Acts Interpretation Act 1901, Judiciary Act 1903, Courts Ordinance 1955) with specific section exclusions","Temporal complexity: Multiple commencement dates referenced (1 July 1992, 1 July 1973–30 June 1977 period) affecting which version of laws apply","Currency conversion mechanics: Detailed mathematical rules for converting Singapore/Straits Settlements currency to Australian dollars including rounding provisions (subsections 20(2)–(4))","Nested deeming provisions: Multiple layers of 'deemed to be' and 'read as' constructions, particularly in sections 18–21 for translating colonial terminology","Delegated legislation machinery: Detailed procedural requirements for regulations including disallowance mechanisms (section 15) with multiple conditional triggers","Dual application clauses: Provisions that apply both to CKI Ordinances and to instruments made under them (sections 4(3), 5(2))","Survival of pre-1992 instruments: Section 18A(3) preserves instruments made under repealed provisions, creating parallel validity tracks"],"plain_english_summary":"This is the **Interpretation Ordinance 1955** for the **Cocos (Keeling) Islands** (CKI), a small Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean. Think of it as the 'rulebook for reading the rulebook'—it tells everyone (courts, government officials, lawyers, and ordinary people) how to understand and apply all other laws in the Territory.\n\n**What it does:**\n\n*   **Defines key terms:** It sets out what common words mean when they appear in local laws—words like 'medical practitioner', 'police officer', 'Gazette' (the official government newspaper), and 'the Territory' itself.\n*   **Adopts Australian federal rules:** It borrows most of the rules from the Commonwealth's *Acts Interpretation Act 1901* (the standard guide for understanding federal laws) and applies them to local CKI Ordinances, with some exceptions.\n*   **Manages the colonial legal legacy:** The Cocos (Keeling) Islands used to be governed by laws from Singapore (when it was a British colony). This Ordinance provides a 'translation guide' for those old Singapore laws still in force—updating references to 'the Governor' to mean 'the Minister', converting Singapore dollars to Australian dollars at a fixed rate (40 cents Australian = $1 Singapore), and swapping out colonial institutions for modern Australian ones.\n*   **Sets rules for delegated legislation:** It establishes how regulations and rules (secondary laws made by the executive government) are made, published, tabled in Parliament, and can be disallowed.\n*   **Standardises legal citations:** It explains how to properly refer to Acts, Ordinances, and regulations in legal documents.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Anyone living or doing business in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands**—because it affects how all local laws are interpreted.\n*   **Courts and judges**—who must use these rules when deciding cases.\n*   **The Australian Government**—particularly the Minister responsible for the Territory and the Administrator (the local representative of the Crown).\n*   **Lawyers and public servants** drafting or enforcing local laws.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this Ordinance, there would be confusion about whether old Singapore colonial laws still apply, how to interpret ambiguous language in local statutes, and what happens when laws overlap. It ensures legal certainty in a territory with a complex history of British, Singaporean, and Australian governance."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki","history":"/api/acts/interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki/history","analysis":"/api/acts/interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/interpretation-ordinance-1955-cki/documents"}}