This Ordinance sets the rules for reading, citing and applying laws in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. It defines key terms, makes interpretation rules apply to all Ordinances (including itself), and incorporates much of the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act.
It also fixes procedural rules — how regulations start, how laws from Western Australia and former Singapore ordinances operate here (including currency conversion), who must take judicial notice of laws, and who may delegate or exercise powers. It therefore governs courts, ministers, officials and anyone subject to Island law.
The Interpretation Ordinance 1955 (the Ordinance), as reproduced in the provided text, is a statute of general application for the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands that sets rules for how other Ordinances, instruments and adopted laws are to be read, cited, applied and administered. Its mechanics are primarily interpretive and procedural rather than substantive: it defines key terms used throughout the Territory’s law, prescribes how references to other laws are to be read, incorporates parts of the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act 1901 into the Territory’s regime, establishes evidentiary rules (including mandatory judicial notice of certain laws and presumptions about Gazette publications), sets rules for the making, commencement and parliamentary supervision of subordinate instruments, and provides rules for the adaptation of a body of pre-existing Singapore and Straits Settlements laws as they apply to the Territory.
Key mechanical effects (by section):
The Ordinance applies to “all Ordinances including this Ordinance,” and binds the Crown, unless a contrary intention appears (s 4(1)-(2)). It also applies, unless a contrary intention appears, to instruments made under Ordinances (s 4(3); s 5(2)).
It imports defined meanings for words such as Act, Administrator, applied law, Commissioner for Affidavits, Gazette, medical practitioner, movable property, Ordinance (which expressly includes Commonwealth Ordinance and Singapore Ordinance), police officer, the Act (meaning the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955) and the Territory (s 5(1)).
It applies, subject to listed exceptions, specified provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 “as amended from time to time” to Ordinances, so far as capable of application, treating an Ordinance as if it were an Act (s 6).
Current sections
Direct links to the current provisions in Interpretation Ordinance 1955 (CKI).
32
Part I
Preliminary
Part I—Preliminary
1
Short title
1 Short title
This Ordinance may be cited as the Interpretation Ordinance 1955.
4
Application of Ordinance
4 Application of Ordinance
(1) Except where the contrary intention appears, this Ordinance applies to all Ordinances including this Ordinance.
(2) This Ordinance binds the Crown.
(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.
4A
Western Australian Acts
4A Western Australian Acts
(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.
(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.
Part II
Provisions applicable to Ordinances generally
Part II—Provisions applicable to Ordinances generally
5
Interpretation
5 Interpretation
(1) In an Ordinance, unless the contrary intention appears:
Act means an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth.
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.
applied law means a law of Western Australia as in force in the Territory in accordance with section 8A of the Act.
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.
Commissioner for Affidavits means a person appointed under the Supreme Court Ordinance 1955 to take and receive affidavits.
Commonwealth Ordinance means an Ordinance made under section 12 of the Act.
Gazette means:
(a) the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, published before or after the period that commenced on 1 July 1973 and ended on 30 June 1977;
(b) the Australian Government Gazette published during that period; or
(c) the Government Gazette of the Territory.
Imperial Act means an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
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.
movable property means property of every description except immovable property.
Ordinance includes:
(a) a Commonwealth Ordinance; or
(b) a Singapore Ordinance.
police officer means:
(a) a member or a special member of the Australian Federal Police; or
(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.
regulations means regulations made under the Ordinance.
rules means rules made under the Ordinance.
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.
the Act means the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955.
the Territory means the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Western Australian Act means an Act passed by the Parliament of Western Australia.
(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.
6
Application of Acts Interpretation Act to Ordinances
6 Application of Acts Interpretation Act to Ordinances
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.
8
Citation of Acts and Ordinances
8 Citation of Acts and Ordinances
(1) In an Ordinance, instrument or document:
(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;
(b) an Ordinance may be cited:
(i) by its short title or name; or
(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
(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.
(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.
(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.
8A
References to Ordinances
8A References to Ordinances
Where an Ordinance contains:
(a) a reference to the short title or name of another Ordinance as originally made; or
(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;
then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:
(c) the reference shall be construed as a reference to that other Ordinance as originally made and as amended from time to time; and
(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.
8B
References to Acts
8B References to Acts
Where an Ordinance contains:
(a) a reference to the short title of an Act as originally enacted; or
(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;
then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:
(c) the reference shall be construed as a reference to the Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time; and
(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.
9
Judicial notice to be taken of Ordinances etc
9 Judicial notice to be taken of Ordinances etc
(1) All courts and persons acting judicially must take judicial notice of:
(a) a Commonwealth Ordinance; and
(b) an applied law; and
(c) a Singapore Ordinance; and
(d) an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore as defined in subsection (2); and
(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).
(2) In paragraph 1(d), Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore means:
(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
(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
(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
(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
(e) a law referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) as amended or affected by a Commonwealth Ordinance.
10
Gazette to be evidence of certain matters
10 Gazette to be evidence of certain matters
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:
(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
(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.
11
Compliance with forms
11 Compliance with forms
Where forms are prescribed for the purposes of an Ordinance, substantial compliance with those forms is, unless the contrary intention appears, sufficient.
12A
Offences under 2 or more laws
12A Offences under 2 or more laws
(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.
(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.
13
Attempt to commit offence
13 Attempt to commit offence
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.
14
Civil rights not affected
14 Civil rights not affected
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.
15
Regulations and rules
15 Regulations and rules
(1) Where an Ordinance confers power to make regulations, then, unless the contrary intention appears:
(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
(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.
(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.
(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:
(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
(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;
and where, in any regulations, a provision is made in contravention of this subsection, that provision is void and of no effect.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(8) In this section, regulations includes rules and rules of court.
16
Citation of regulations and rules
16 Citation of regulations and rules
Regulations and rules (including rules of court) may be cited:
(a) by their name; or
(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.
17
Power of Minister to delegate functions etc under Ordinances
17 Power of Minister to delegate functions etc under Ordinances
(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.
(2) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of any power or function by the Minister.
Part III
Provisions relating to Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore in their application as laws of the Territory
Part III—Provisions relating to Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore in their application as laws of the Territory
18
Reference to certain expressions in laws of Singapore
18 Reference to certain expressions in laws of Singapore
(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:
Column 1
Column 2
advocate or advocate and solicitor
A barrister or solicitor as defined in section 5
medical practitioner
A medical practitioner as defined in section 5
the Colony, Cocos or Keeling Islands, the Colony of Singapore, or the Settlement of Singapore
The Territory
the Governor
The Minister
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
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
the Governor in Council, the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly
The Governor‑General
(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.
18A
18A
18A
(1) If, under a Singapore Ordinance, a power or function is vested in:
(a) the Governor of the Colony of Singapore; or
(b) the Governor of that Colony in Council; or
(c) any other person or authority;
then, unless the contrary intention appears, that power or function may be exercised or performed by:
(d) the Minister; or
(e) the Governor‑General.
(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.
(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.
19
References in laws of Singapore
19 References in laws of Singapore
(1) In an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore:
(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;
(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
(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.
(2) In an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore (not being an Imperial Act or Order in Council), unless the contrary intention appears:
(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;
(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;
(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
(d) a reference to a year shall be read as a reference to a year according to the British calendar.
(3) In an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore (not being an Imperial Act or Order in Council), unless the contrary intention appears:
act, in relation to an offence or civil wrong, includes a series of acts, and words which refer to acts extend to illegal omissions.
animal includes birds, reptiles, fish and every kind of vertebrate animal and their young.
Chapter, Part, section and Schedule means respectively a Chapter, Part and section of, and a Schedule to, the law in which the word occurs.
common law means the common law of England.
subsection means a subsection of the section in which the word occurs.
(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.
19A
Power to make regulations etc
19A Power to make regulations etc
Where:
(a) an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore confers power to make regulations, rules or rules of court; and
(b) that power is expressed to be conferred on the Governor in Council of that Colony;
that power shall be deemed to be conferred on, and is exercisable by, the Minister of the State for the Commonwealth administering the Act.
19B
Notification and commencement of regulations etc
19B Notification and commencement of regulations etc
(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.
(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).
(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.
(4) In this section, regulations includes rules and rules of court.
19C
Other powers and functions under laws of Singapore
19C Other powers and functions under laws of Singapore
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.
20
References to Singapore currency
20 References to Singapore currency
(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.
(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:
(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
(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.
(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:
(a) if the percentage is not greater than 0.45, the percentage shall be disregarded; or
(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).
(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.
21
References to persons, places, matters and things in existing laws
21 References to persons, places, matters and things in existing laws
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.
22
References to Ordinances of the Straits Settlements
22 References to Ordinances of the Straits Settlements
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.
23
Citation of Ordinances of Colony of Singapore
23 Citation of Ordinances of Colony of Singapore
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.
25
Discontinuance of adopted laws deemed to be a repeal
25 Discontinuance of adopted laws deemed to be a repeal
(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.
(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.
26
References to Magistrates
26 References to Magistrates
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.
Source text: opening excerpt
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Part I Preliminary
Part I—Preliminary
1 Short title
1 Short title
This Ordinance may be cited as the Interpretation Ordinance 1955.
4 Application of Ordinance
4 Application of Ordinance
(1) Except where the contrary intention appears, this Ordinance applies to all Ordinances including this Ordinance.
(2) This Ordinance binds the Crown.
(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.
4A Western Australian Acts
4A Western Australian Acts
(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.
(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.
Part II Provisions applicable to Ordinances generally
Part II—Provisions applicable to Ordinances generally
5 Interpretation
5 Interpretation
(1) In an Ordinance, unless the contrary intention appears:
Act means an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth.
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.
applied law means a law of Western Australia as in force in the Territory in accordance with section 8A of the Act.
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.
Commissioner for Affidavits means a person appointed under the Supreme Court Ordinance 1955 to take and receive affidavits.
Commonwealth Ordinance means an Ordinance made under section 12 of the Act.
It prescribes citation and reference rules for Acts, Ordinances and Imperial Acts, and contains rules for construction when references are to other Ordinances or Acts as originally enacted or as amended (ss 8, 8A, 8B).
It requires judicial officers and persons acting judicially to take judicial notice of Commonwealth Ordinances, applied laws, Singapore Ordinances, certain historical Ordinances and specified subordinate instruments (s 9), and makes Gazette publications prima facie evidence of matters printed within (s 10).
It sets out requirements for regulations and rules made under Ordinances: publication of notice in the Gazette, commencement dates, parliamentary tabling and disallowance procedures, consequences of non‑tabling (voidness) and constraints on retrospective effect that prejudices private rights (s 15).
It provides that substantial compliance with prescribed forms is sufficient unless a contrary intention appears (s 11).
It regulates double prosecution and punishment for the same act or omission across multiple Ordinances and between Ordinances and Acts (s 12A), treats attempts to commit offences as offences (s 13), and preserves civil causes of action despite criminal penalties unless expressly stated otherwise (s 14).
It authorises ministerial delegation of powers conferred on the Minister and makes such delegations revocable at will (s 17), and contains detailed provisions for adapting and applying Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore (ss 18-25, 18A-19C) and for converting historical currency references into Australian currency at fixed rates with rounding rules (s 20).
It standardises references to magistrates in Territory laws (s 26).
The Ordinance therefore functions as a foundational drafting and interpretive instrument that shapes legal certainty, administrative procedure and institutional responsibilities for legislation and subordinate instruments in the Territory. Its immediate, concrete impact is to set defaults (definitions, tabling and commencement rules, evidentiary presumptions and adaptation rules) that will determine who decides certain matters, what must be done to make subordinate instruments effective, which texts courts must notice without proof and how historical or adopted laws are to be read.
Main concepts
The Ordinance establishes a compact of interpretive defaults and procedural rules designed to make the Territory’s statutory corpus intelligible and administrable. The main concepts and how they operate in the text are:
Application and binding effect
The Ordinance expressly applies to all other Ordinances “except where the contrary intention appears” and binds the Crown (s 4(1)-(2)). This creates a presumption that the interpretive rules will govern unless a later provision explicitly displaces them.
Definitions and semantic primacy
Section 5 supplies a schedule of defined terms. These definitions are normative for the construction of other Ordinances and for instruments made under them (s 5(1) and s 5(2)). Defined terms include institutional actors (Administrator, Minister,as given effect in ss 18, 18A), evidentiary concepts (Gazette), professional statuses (barrister, medical practitioner), and categories of law (applied law, Singapore Ordinance). The Ordinance therefore centralises core legal vocabulary for the Territory.
Incorporation of Acts Interpretation Act
Section 6 imports parts of the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act 1901 into the law applicable to Ordinances, excluding several specified provisions (sections 5 and 15A, paragraphs 26(e) and 27(d), section 30, sections 37-40, paragraph 46(a) and sections 47-49). The importation is stated to be “as amended from time to time” and “so far as they are capable of application,” effectively creating an evolving default interpretive framework for ordinary statutory construction.
Reference and citation rules
Sections 8, 8A and 8B require that references to Acts, Ordinances and Imperial Acts be read in particular ways, including as references to those instruments “as originally made and as amended from time to time,” unless a contrary intention appears. Section 8 lists authorised citation forms; ss 8A and 8B operate as interpretive devices that update cross‑references over time and across repeals/remakes.
Judicial notice and evidentiary presumptions
Section 9 imposes a mandatory duty on all courts and persons acting judicially to take judicial notice of a list of laws and subordinate instruments. Section 10 makes printed Gazettes prima facie evidence of their contents, including appointments and notifications.
Regulation-making procedure and parliamentary supervision
Section 15 sets a specific publication and tabling regime for regulations, including a notice in the Gazette, commencement rules, non-retroactivity constraints affecting private rights (s 15(3)), a 15‑sitting‑day tabling window, and disallowance effects, including revival of prior law if disallowance occurs (ss 15(1)-(7)). It also equates “regulations” with rules and rules of court for these purposes (s 15(8)).
Delegation and ministerial authority
Section 17 gives the Minister a written delegation power which is revocable at will and does not exclude ministerial exercise of powers. Sections 18A and 19A further adapt historical delegations from Singapore-era law to the modern Minister/Governor‑General structure and permit delegation to persons to whom s 8G(7) of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act applies.
Adaptation and conversion of adopted laws
Parts III (ss 18-26) set out how Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore, Ordinances of the Straits Settlements and other historical laws are to be read and adapted in the Territory, including substitution tables (s 18(1) table), rules for currency conversion (s 20) with precise conversion rates and rounding rules, and machinery for reading references to persons, places and institutions in a way that fits the Territory (s 21).
Procedural and penal cross‑over rules
Sections 12A-14 set cross‑statutory limits on prosecution and punishment, equate attempt to commit an offence with an offence unless contrary intention appears (s 13), and preserve private civil rights notwithstanding criminal penalties unless the statute explicitly curtails civil remedies (s 14).
These concepts interact: definitions feed into judicial notice and citation rules; imported interpretive rules from the Acts Interpretation Act are subject to the exceptions listed; and the regulatory regime imposes publication, tabling and disallowance constraints that affect when subordinate instruments take effect and how they may be challenged or reversed. The Ordinance therefore operates as a foundational grammar for the Territory’s legislative and subordinate instrument ecosystem.
Who it affects
The Ordinance names and thereby affects a number of institutional actors and classes of persons. Reading the provisions together identifies who pays (bears compliance cost), who decides (holds discretion), and who is subject to legal presumptions.
The Minister and ministerial staff
The Minister is repeatedly referenced as the officer who may exercise powers previously vested in the Governor or Governor in Council under Singapore-era laws (s 18(1) table and s 18A(1)). The Minister is the recipient of delegation power under ss 17 and 18A(2) and may direct which person or authority exercises powers previously conferred on other authorities under Singapore laws (s 19C). The Minister therefore holds decision-making authority to exercise or authorise key functions and to delegate them in writing.
The Administrator and executive officers
“Administrator” is defined (s 5(1)) and will be an actor in the Territory’s administration. The Administrator’s role is relevant to the operation of Ordinances insofar as that role is invoked; the Ordinance binds the Crown (s 4(2)), confirming executive accountability for statutory obligations.
Courts and judicial officers
All courts and persons acting judicially are required to take judicial notice of Commonwealth Ordinances, applied laws, Singapore Ordinances and certain subordinate instruments (s 9). Courts therefore are directly affected by the evidentiary and interpretive presumptions; judicial procedure will change insofar as judges may accept these texts without formal proof.
Parliamentary Houses (Commonwealth Parliament)
The regulation-making regime requires regulations to be laid before “each House of the Parliament” within 15 sitting days (s 15(2)) and permits either House to disallow regulations (s 15(5)-(6)). This constrains subordinate legislation and assigns oversight duties to the federal legislature.
Practitioners and parties in legal proceedings
Definitions (s 5) and rules on forms (s 11) affect legal practitioners (barristers, solicitors), parties using prescribed forms, and persons relying on affidavits (Commissioner for Affidavits). The judicial notice provision reduces transactional proof burdens for lawyers proving the existence or content of certain laws.
Persons or entities subject to regulations and subordinate instruments
The requirement for Gazette notice and tabling means that affected entities (businesses, individuals) have a mechanism to learn when regulations take effect (s 15(1)). But if regulations are not laid they are void (s 15(4)), which affects ongoing compliance risk for regulated parties.
Persons governed by adopted Singapore/Straits Settlements laws
Sections 18-25 expressly adapt pre‑existing Singapore and Straits Settlements laws to the Territory and provide substitution rules (s 18, s 19). Entities or individuals whose rights or obligations are governed by adopted laws are affected by the mapping of references (for example, “Governor” to “Minister”) and conversion rules (currency conversion under s 20). The Ordinance also deems discontinuance of such adopted laws to be repeal where an Ordinance so provides (s 25).
The Crown and government bodies
The Ordinance binds the Crown (s 4(2)) and provides that the Crown benefits from non-retrospectivity rules in certain cases (s 15(3) prohibits regulations taking effect to the detriment of any person other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth). This distinction creates different legal exposures for the Crown versus private persons.
Police and legal practitioners
“Police officer” is defined to include members of the Australian Federal Police and certain state/territory police appointed to provide services for the Territory (s 5(1)). This has practical implications for enforcement, investigations and prosecutions. “Barrister, solicitor” is defined by reference to Judiciary Act entitlements, specifying the class of legal practitioners recognised in the Territory (s 5(1)).
The public at large and regulated parties
The Gazette rules (s 10) and the “substantial compliance” rule for forms (s 11) affect how private persons interact with government processes,what must be filed, how evidence is adduced, and how the public becomes informed of regulatory changes.
Overall, the Ordinance affects those who make laws (the Minister and delegated officers), those who implement and enforce laws (courts, police, administrative officers), those who are regulated by or rely on laws (businesses, individuals, legal practitioners), and institutions that oversee subordinate legislation (Parliament). The distribution of decision-making power leans to the Minister for delegation and to Parliament for disallowance of regulations; the courts are constrained to accept certain materials without formal proof. Compliance burdens fall on drafters of regulations (publication and tabling), regulated entities (observing regulations that are validly made and published), and lawyers who must be attentive to conversion, substitution and substantial-compliance rules.
Key duties and rights
The Ordinance sets out specific duties for public officers, courts, and drafters of subordinate instruments, and preserves particular rights of private parties. Below are the substantive duties and rights and the operative sections that create them.
Duties
Duty to apply the Ordinance unless contrary intention appears
By s 4(1), the Ordinance applies to all Ordinances except where a contrary intention appears, creating an overarching duty on drafters and courts to apply its rules when construing other Ordinances.
Duty on courts and persons acting judicially to take judicial notice
Section 9(1) mandates judicial notice of specified laws and instruments. Courts therefore have a duty to accept these legal texts without requiring proof, which simplifies proof burdens but also creates a duty to be aware of the texts.
Duty to publish notice of regulations in the Gazette
Section 15(1)(a) requires notice of the making of regulations and the place where copies can be purchased to be published in the Gazette. This imposes an administrative duty on the responsible authority for regulations to ensure publication.
Duty to table regulations before Parliament
Section 15(2) requires all regulations to be laid before each House of Parliament within 15 sitting days after their making. That is a procedural duty linking the executive’s subordinate law-making to parliamentary oversight.
Duty to use prescribed forms with substantial compliance
Section 11 requires substantial compliance with prescribed forms, imposing a duty on persons who must use statutory forms and advising that literal non-compliance is not necessarily fatal unless a contrary intention appears.
Duty to follow the special citation and reference rules
Sections 8, 8A and 8B require drafters and interpreters to cite Acts and Ordinances by specified forms and to construe references to other laws as references to those laws as amended, repealed and remade, unless a contrary intention appears. This is a duty on legal drafters and courts.
Duty to respect non-retrospectivity constraints for private rights
Section 15(3) prohibits regulations from being expressed to take effect earlier than publication where that would prejudice private rights or impose liabilities for past acts. Drafters must therefore avoid such retrospective provisions.
Duty to observe tabling and disallowance consequences
Sections 15(4)-(7) impose consequences (voidness or disallowance reviving prior law) where tabling or disallowance requirements are not satisfied. The duty is to comply with the tabling regime to make subordinate instruments durable.
Rights
Protection against multiple punishments for the same conduct
Section 12A protects offenders from being punished more than once for the same act or omission when it constitutes offences under multiple Ordinances or under an Ordinance and an Act, unless contrary intention appears. It also prevents punishment under an Ordinance where already punished under an Act for the same offence (s 12A(2)). This is a right of persons accused of offences.
Right not to be deprived of civil remedies by criminal penalties
Section 14 states that the imposition of a penalty by an Ordinance does not, absent express provision, affect the right to bring civil proceedings in respect of the same act or omission. This preserves private civil action rights.
Right to treat an attempt as an offence where the Ordinance so provides
Section 13 deems an attempt to commit an offence to be an offence under the same provision unless contrary intention appears. While this is framed as a provision, it is a substantive right for prosecution to proceed on attempt, and a corresponding expectation of culpability for parties.
Evidentiary rights arising from Gazette presumptions
Under s 10, parties have the benefit of presumptions: a printed Gazette purporting to be published by authority shall be admitted in evidence without proof of publication and is evidence of appointments, notifications and matters contained therein. This streamlines litigation and administrative processes.
Right to “substantial compliance” with prescribed forms
Section 11 protects persons who substantially comply with statutory forms from invalidation where a contrary intention does not appear. This reduces strict formalistic risk for litigants and applicants.
Rights preserved under conversion rules
Section 20 provides deterministic conversion of old currency amounts to Australian currency, including rounding rules, reducing ambiguity for rights or liabilities denominated in historical currency.
Delegation and discretion
The Minister has express power to delegate functions in writing and can revoke delegations at will (s 17(1)-(2)), but the delegation does not bar the Minister from exercising the power personally. Section 18A(1) also allows powers vested under Singapore Ordinances to be exercised by the Minister or the Governor‑General unless contrary intention appears. Section 18A(2) permits the Minister to delegate to persons or authorities listed in s 8G(7) of the Act.
Rights and duties in relation to adopted Singapore laws
Sections 18-23 and 25 provide duties to read and adapt Singapore-era laws to the Territory, replace historical terms with Territory-relevant terms (s 18(1) table), and to apply formal alterations to persons, places and things as necessary for application to the Territory (s 21). These are drafting duties that also create rights for the public in clarity of which law applies.
In sum, the Ordinance imposes procedural duties on administrators and drafters (publication, tabling, forms), prescribes how courts must treat certain texts and evidentiary material, protects certain rights of regulated persons and accused persons (double punishment, civil rights), and centralises discretion in the Minister for delegation while preserving Parliamentary oversight for subordinate legislation.
Penalties and enforcement
The Ordinance itself is primarily interpretive and procedural; it does not create an extensive suite of stand‑alone criminal penalties. Nevertheless the text contains provisions that affect how penalties under other Ordinances are to be treated and how subordinate legislation is enforced. The enforcement-related mechanisms are procedural, evidential and structural.
Double prosecution and double punishment constraints (s 12A)
Section 12A(1) states that where the same act or omission constitutes offences under two or more Ordinances, or under an Ordinance and at common law, the offender may be prosecuted and convicted under either or any of those Ordinances or at common law, but is not liable to be punished more than once for that act or omission, unless a contrary intention appears. Section 12A(2) further provides that where an act constitutes an offence under an Ordinance and an Act, and the offender has been punished under the Act, that offender is not liable to be punished for the offence under the Ordinance. Mechanically, this creates an enforcement constraint that limits cumulative punishment and requires prosecutors to elect the charge(s) on which to pursue conviction and penalty.
Attempt as an offence (s 13)
Section 13 deems an attempt to commit an offence under an Ordinance to be an offence punishable as if the offence had been committed, unless a contrary intention appears. This expands prosecutorial reach to attempts where the particular Ordinance provides for an offence and there is no contrary provision.
Preservation of civil rights despite penalties (s 14)
Section 14 expressly preserves the right to institute civil proceedings in respect of acts or omissions for which a penalty is imposed by an Ordinance, unless an express provision denies that right. For enforcement systems, this means criminal penalties do not automatically extinguish private enforcement actions.
Regulations: voidness and disallowance (s 15)
Section 15 contains enforceable consequences for failure to follow the statutory regime for regulations:
s 15(3) renders void any regulation provision that purports to take retrospective effect where such retrospective effect would prejudice private rights or impose liabilities for past acts before publication (except for Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities).
s 15(4) states that if regulations are not laid before each House in accordance with s 15(2), they are void and shall be deemed to have been void and of no effect.
ss 15(5)-(7) create a disallowance mechanism: either House may pass a resolution disallowing regulations within a specified period; disallowance ceases their effect and revives any previous law that the regulations had amended or repealed. These are structural enforcement tools that vest Parliament with corrective power and create legal consequences for administrative error or executive overreach.
Gazette as evidentiary device (s 10)
Section 10(a) requires courts to admit printed copies of relevant Gazettes as evidence without proof of publication, and s 10(b) treats the date and contents as evidence. This accelerates enforcement by simplifying proof of notices, appointments and notifications. It reduces transactional costs for enforcement agencies and private litigants who must prove publication or that a particular regulation was published.
Judicial notice obligation (s 9)
Section 9(1) requires courts and persons acting judicially to take judicial notice of specified classes of laws and instruments. This has enforcement implications: if a court must take judicial notice of a law, a prosecutor need not adduce formal proof of that law’s existence; likewise, parties cannot avoid enforcement by challenging the authenticity of a text that falls within s 9(1).
Ministerial delegation (s 17)
The Minister’s ability to delegate powers and functions in writing, and to revoke delegations at will (s 17(1)-(2)), affects enforcement by determining which officers have authority to act. The revocability at will centralises control and can be used to respond to compliance failures but also creates potential discontinuities in enforcement responsibilities.
Currency conversion and rounding rules (s 20)
Section 20 prescribes conversion rates and rounding rules for historical currency references. This is not a penalty, but it enforces certainty for the quantification of monetary liabilities under adopted laws and for enforcement of monetary obligations.
Voidness consequences for subordinate instruments (s 15(4))
The declared voidness of regulations that are not laid before Parliament is an enforcement mechanism that acts as a sanction on the validity of the instrument rather than on the maker. It exposes administrative actors to legal invalidation and third parties to risk if they relied on such invalid instruments.
The Ordinance’s enforcement architecture thus focuses on legal validity and procedural correctness rather than criminal enforcement per se. It shapes the terrain of penalties by preventing double punishment, extending criminal liability to attempts in many cases, preserving civil remedies against the Crown, and giving Parliament the power to disallow and thereby nullify subordinate instruments. Practically, administrators and drafters face the enforcement risk of invalidation (voidness) if they fail to comply with publication and tabling requirements, while prosecutors and courts must structure charges and sentencing consistent with s 12A’s constraints.
How it interacts with other laws
The Ordinance is explicitly designed as an interpretive bridge between the Territory’s legal order and several other legal sources: the Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act 1901, Western Australian Acts, Acts and Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore and the Straits Settlements, Imperial Acts and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955. Its interaction mechanisms are textual incorporation, substitution, conversion, and mandatory judicial notice.
Incorporation of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (s 6)
Section 6 applies, subject to this Ordinance, the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to Ordinances, “so far as they are capable of application,” excepting certain sections and paragraphs enumerated in the section. The importation is “as amended from time to time.” Mechanically, this creates a dynamic incorporation: subsequent amendments to the Commonwealth Act will, unless otherwise stated, alter the interpretive regime that courts apply to Territory Ordinances. The exceptions listed constrain that incorporation in specific areas (the excluded provisions include, among others, sections 5 and 15A, and sections 37-40 and 47-49), which requires drafters and practitioners to consult the Ordinance to determine which interpretive devices have been adopted.
Application to Western Australian Acts (s 4A)
Section 4A(1)-(2) provides for references in an Ordinance to a Western Australian Act and clarifies when a citation with “(W.A.)” or “(WA)(CKI)” refers to the Act as in force in Western Australia or as in force in the Territory under s 8A of the Act. It therefore links the Territory’s law to Western Australian legislation where the Ordinance refers to Western Australian Acts, making their operative text the WA version unless otherwise indicated.
Reading-in and substitution for Singapore and Straits Settlements laws (ss 18-23, 25)
Part III contains a suite of provisions that systematically adapt historical laws of the Colony of Singapore and the Straits Settlements to the Territory. Section 18 provides a substitution table (for example “the Governor” becomes “the Minister”; “the Colony” becomes “the Territory”). Section 19 and 21 direct further readings and formal alterations to persons, places and things necessary for making those laws applicable to the Territory. Section 22 allows Ordinances of the Straits Settlements to be treated as Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore where they were in force immediately before the Act. Section 25 deems discontinuance of adopted laws to be a repeal where an Ordinance so provides, and states that subsidiary legislation under that adopted law will cease to be in force as a result, unless a contrary intention is expressed. These provisions produce a conversion regime that maps foreign-era statutory references into the present local institutional architecture.
Judicial notice and evidentiary effects across texts (ss 9-10)
Section 9 mandates judicial notice of Commonwealth Ordinances, applied laws, Singapore Ordinances, and specified subordinate instruments. This ensures that courts accept cross‑referenced laws as established without formal proof, facilitating cross-text enforcement and interpretation. Section 10 makes Gazette copies evidence of publication and content. Together they reduce transactional frictions in litigating the content and applicability of other laws.
Citation and cross‑reference update rules (ss 8, 8A, 8B)
Sections 8, 8A and 8B provide that references to Acts and Ordinances be read as references to those instruments “as amended from time to time,” and where an Act/Ordinance has been repealed and re-enacted, the reference includes the remade instrument and corresponding provisions. This means that Ordinances that refer to other laws will generally track those other laws through amendment and re-enactment, unless a contrary intention appears,creating a doctrinal rule of automatic updating for cross-references.
Interaction with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955 (the Act)
The Ordinance repeatedly references the Act (defined in s 5(1) as “the Act”) and delegates under historical Singapore Ordinances are mapped to the Minister “of State for the Commonwealth administering the Act” (s 18(2), s 18A(1), s 18A(2)). Section 4A(2) and other parts explicitly refer to s 8A and s 8G(7) of the Act, incorporating the Act’s mechanisms for applying Western Australian laws and for particulars of delegation. Practitioners must therefore read the Ordinance in conjunction with the Act to determine how powers and references are translated in practice.
Non-retrospectivity vis-à-vis Commonwealth or Commonwealth authorities (s 15(3))
Section 15(3) contains a carve-out: regulations may not be expressed to take effect before publication in circumstances that would prejudice private persons, but the subsection explicitly excludes the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth from that protection. This interaction differentiates the legal treatment of private persons from the Crown under the regime for regulatory commencement.
Preservation of common law references (s 19(3))
Section 19(3) contains definitions such as “common law means the common law of England” for the purposes of Singapore Ordinances as adapted. This retains the historical link between adopted ordinances and the English common law as their background principle, affecting how rights and obligations are interpreted where adopted laws invoke the common law.
Currency conversion and interaction with monetary obligations (s 20)
Section 20 prescribes how references to Singapore or Straits Settlements currency are to be converted to Australian currency for the purposes of the adapted laws, with precise exchange ratios and rounding rules. This is a direct interaction rule ensuring monetary obligations, fines or fees expressed historically are expressed in modern, local currency values for enforcement and adjudication.
In practice, these interaction mechanisms mean that practitioners cannot treat Ordinances as isolated texts; they must read them with a dynamic network of external instruments in mind. The Ordinance establishes legal continuity with past legal regimes (Singapore and Straits Settlements laws), imports a majority of the Acts Interpretation Act’s interpretive tools, and ensures subordinate legislation is subject to federal parliamentary oversight. It also creates a built-in tendency for references to update automatically with amendments to the external Acts adopted, which reduces the need for frequent legislative remakes but places an onus on drafters to identify instances where a contrary intention has been signalled.
Amendment history
The provided text itself contains internal signals of amendment and references to temporal cut‑offs and transitional arrangements, but it does not supply a consolidated chronological amendment record. The text does, however, indicate several mechanistic features relevant to amendment and to how references are to be treated:
Dynamic references to “as amended from time to time”
Multiple provisions treat references to other Acts and Ordinances as including those instruments “as originally made and as amended from time to time” (ss 8A( c )-(d ), 8B( c )-(d ), and s 6’s application of the Acts Interpretation Act “as amended from time to time”). These phrases are substantive statutory choices that make the Ordinance receptive to later amendments of the external Acts without requiring specific amendment of the Ordinance itself.
Transitional and commencement-era references
The text contains explicit transitional references to the period 1 July 1973 to 30 June 1977 when defining “Gazette” in s 5(1) and in the substitution table in s 18(1). Those references suggest the Ordinance recognises historical usages and publications within defined periods and treats those differently. Additionally, s 18A(3) and s 19B(1) contain transitional provisions preserving instruments or adapting notification and commencement rules with reference to 1 July 1992. These are embedded transitional arrangements within the Ordinance.
Preservation of pre-existing instruments
Section 18A(3) provides that an instrument of direction or delegation in force immediately before 1 July 1992 under section 8 of the Act continues in force as if that section had not been repealed. That is an express saving clause preserving previously made delegations notwithstanding statutory change.
Repeal and discontinuance treated as repeal (s 25)
Section 25(1) states that a provision in an Ordinance discontinuing an adopted Singapore Ordinance or Act “shall be deemed to be the repeal of an Ordinance.” The provision uses the language of deemed repeal rather than expressly providing amendment mechanics. Section 25(2) clarifies that subsidiary legislation in force under that adopted law ceases to be in force by virtue of that provision, unless a contrary intention appears. These are rules for the legal effects of discontinuance rather than a catalogue of historical amendments.
Effect of disallowance on reviving prior law (s 15(7))
When regulations are disallowed, s 15(7) provides that the disallowance has the same effect as a repeal of the regulations, and that if the regulations amended or repealed a prior law, the disallowance revives the previous law “from and including the date of the disallowance, as if the disallowed regulations had not been made.” This is an operational rule about legal effect upon repeal/disallowance.
References to former numbering and repealed sections
Section 8(1)(b)(ii) references “if it was numbered as mentioned in former section 7 of this Ordinance,” and s 16 refers to “former subsection 16(1) of this Ordinance.” These wording choices indicate past structural changes to the Ordinance’s text and preserve citation modes tied to previous numbering schemes. They also suggest the Ordinance has been restructured or renumbered in the past.
Exclusions from application of Commonwealth Acts Interpretation Act
Section 6 expressly enumerates provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 that do not apply, which is itself an act of amendment-by-reference: the Ordinance chooses to exclude those specific provisions from incorporation. If the Acts Interpretation Act is amended, the Ordinance’s dynamic incorporation clause means changes will generally be absorbed unless they concern the excluded parts.
What the text does not provide
The reproduced text does not include a legislative history table, dates of amendments, or the instrument of amendment. It does not record which parliamentary instrument or Act amended which section. Outside sources or the official statute register would be required to produce a chronological list of amendments, their dates and the instruments that made them. The Ordinance itself, however, has embedded transitional clauses and dynamic reference rules intended to reduce the need for frequent textual amendment when related external Acts change.
Practical implication for practitioners
Because the Ordinance references other instruments “as amended from time to time,” practitioners must check the current versions of external Acts (for example, the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 or Western Australian Acts where referenced) and any transitional saving clauses (for example, the provisions preserving pre-1 July 1992 instruments) when advising on interpretation. The absence of an internal amendment chronology in the text means reliance on official legislative databases or consolidation instruments will be necessary to trace the current operative wording and past amendments.
In short, the Ordinance contains embedded mechanisms that make it responsive to subsequent amendments of related instruments and contains internal saving and transitional clauses that preserve pre-existing delegations and linkages. The text itself does not include a standalone amendment list; that information must be obtained from official legislative histories or consolidated versions.
Litigation history
The provided text contains no references to judicial decisions, reported cases, statutory construction disputes, or litigation outcomes. It names no cases and records no judicial interpretations. Accordingly:
No case law is cited in the text
The Ordinance, as provided, does not mention nor cite any judicial decisions or precedent, and does not record any litigation history for any of its provisions.
Implication for research
The absence of litigation references in the statutory text means that to understand how courts have interpreted or applied the Ordinance, one must search external sources: local case law, appellate decisions, and judicial commentary (none of which are included here). Practitioners should look for decisions on:
The scope of s 6’s incorporation of the Acts Interpretation Act and the significance of the excluded provisions.
The operation of s 15’s tabling, commencement and disallowance regime , for example, disputes over whether a regulation was properly laid or whether it can be treated as void.
The meaning of “substantial compliance” with prescribed forms under s 11 and how strictly courts have applied that standard.
The application of s 12A’s prohibition on double punishment in prosecutions involving overlapping Ordinances, Acts and common law offences.
The conversion and rounding rules in s 20 and their application to monetary claims under adopted Singapore-era provisions.
No judicial guidance on ambiguous terms included here
Because the text does not supply judicial exposition on how to resolve conflicts (for example, what amounts to a “contrary intention” sufficient to displace the Ordinance’s defaults), practitioners will need to seek case law or rely on general principles from the Acts Interpretation Act (as imported where applicable) and common law doctrines of statutory construction.
Practical next step for litigators and counsel
Anyone litigating issues that depend on the Ordinance’s interpretation should undertake targeted searches of the Territory’s courts, the Federal Court, and relevant superior courts for decisions applying the Ordinance or its imported Acts Interpretation Act provisions. In the absence of precedent within the provided text, counsel must build arguments from primary statutory text, the Acts Interpretation Act provisions as imported, and any persuasive decisions from analogous jurisdictions where the same or similar interpretive devices have been used.
Summary
The provided statute text contains no litigation history. To assess judicial application and to anticipate litigation risks or precedents, practitioners must consult external judicial decisions and consolidated statutory annotations not included in the material provided.
Gotchas
The Ordinance contains several drafting devices and procedural rules that create traps for the unwary drafters, administrators and practitioners. What follows is a non‑exhaustive list of specific “gotchas” grounded in the text, each tied to the precise mechanism that generates risk.
“Unless the contrary intention appears” is pervasive and capacious (ss 4(1), 5(2), 11, 12A(1), 13, 18A(1), 19(2)-(3))
Many of the Ordinance’s defaults are expressly subject to displacement by a “contrary intention.” That phrase preserves flexibility but creates doctrine risk: whether a contrary intention appears is a question of statutory construction. Practitioners should not assume defaults apply if the operative ordinance contains textual markers that might amount to contrary intention. Where a specific Ordinance contains ambiguous language conflicting with the Interpretation Ordinance, litigators and drafters will need to litigate or interpret whether a contrary intention exists.
Voidness of regulations not laid before Parliament (s 15(4))
Regulations not laid before each House within 15 sitting days are “void and shall be deemed to have been, void and of no effect.” This is a strict legal consequence that can render an administrative regime null retrospectively. The “15 sitting days” clock and what counts as “laid” must be strictly observed. There is a risk that operational or clerical lapses create severe legal invalidity for regulations that have been relied upon by the public.
Retrospective effect prohibited where prejudicial to private rights (s 15(3))
A regulation cannot be expressed to take effect before publication where that would prejudice private persons’ rights, or impose liabilities concerning past acts , and such provisions are void. Drafters who attempt to back‑date rules will risk invalidity. Note the carve-out for the Commonwealth or its authorities, which may be able to accept different treatment.
Disallowance revives previous law (s 15(7))
If regulations are disallowed, any prior law they amended or repealed is revived from the date of disallowance as if the regulations had not been made. This can produce sudden legal reversals and transitional complexity for persons who changed conduct in reliance on the disallowed regulations.
Delegations are revocable at will (s 17(2))
Delegations from the Minister may be revoked at will and do not prevent the Minister from exercising the power. This facilitates administrative control but creates discontinuity risk: a delegated official’s acts might be challenged if the delegation is revoked in a way that suggests misuse. There is no statutory protection for ongoing validity of prior acts of a delegate beyond usual doctrines; the Ordinance does not provide non‑retrospective protection for acts done under a delegation later revoked.
“Substantial compliance” with forms (s 11)
Substantial compliance is permitted “unless the contrary intention appears.” This saves forms from strict technical invalidation but is vague; parties may litigate what constitutes substantial compliance where forms are defective, potentially increasing litigation costs.
Dynamic incorporation of the Acts Interpretation Act with exclusions (s 6)
Section 6 imports parts of the Acts Interpretation Act “as amended from time to time” but excludes specified provisions. Practitioners must be careful which interpretive rules are in play. The dynamic import means future amendments to the Commonwealth Act may change interpretation frameworks for Territory Ordinances without an express local amendment , a potential source of legal volatility.
Currency conversion rounding edge cases (s 20(2)-(4))
The fixed conversion ratios (1 dollar Singapore = 40 cents Australian; 1 cent Singapore = 0.4 cents Australian) and rounding rules in s 20(3)-(4) create arithmetic edge cases:
When conversion yields a percentage of a cent, if the percentage is not greater than 0.45 it is disregarded, otherwise the cent is rounded up by one cent. The provision interacts with the special rule that three cents or less in old currency is deemed one cent in Australian currency (s 20(4)). Drafters and courts must apply these rules precisely to avoid miscalculations in monetary liabilities.
These rules can produce non-intuitive outcomes for small amounts and for statutory fines, fees or debts relying on historical denominations.
Judicial notice obligations can shift litigation dynamics (s 9)
Courts must take judicial notice of listed laws and instruments. While this reduces formal proof burdens, it also means practitioners cannot contest the existence or official content of those texts on ordinary evidentiary grounds. They must instead litigate content or meaning on the merits, potentially narrowing procedural avenues.
Discontinuance deemed repeal and cessation of subsidiary legislation (s 25)
Where an Ordinance provides that a Singapore Ordinance is to cease to apply, the provision is deemed a repeal and subsidiary legislation under that adopted law ceases to be in force. This can produce cascading effects: one discontinuance clause may unintentionally strip away a large body of subsidiary instruments, creating regulatory gaps.
Scope of “police officer” (s 5(1))
The definition of police officer includes Australian Federal Police members and members of State or Territory police appointed under s 8G(6) of the Act. Because that definition imports persons appointed by the Minister under a provision of the Act (s 8G(6)), enforcement powers can depend on administrative appointment processes external to the Ordinance. Practitioners should confirm appointment status rather than assume authority.
Preservation of pre-1992 delegations (s 18A(3))
Section 18A(3) saves instruments of delegation in force immediately before 1 July 1992 under former section 8 of the Act. This creates possible legacy arrangements where powers remain conferred under historical instruments and may complicate contemporary accountability and chain-of-command questions.
“Contrary intention” and multiple exclusive phrases
The prevalence of saving phrases “unless the contrary intention appears” across many sections increases uncertainty and invites litigation on textual interpretation. Parties should not assume the Ordinance’s defaults will apply where the particular Ordinance’s language is open to alternative readings.
Ambiguity over “applied law”
“Applied law” is defined to mean a law of Western Australia “as in force in the Territory in accordance with section 8A of the Act” (s 5(1)). The interdependence with s 8A of the Act means that whether a WA law applies and in what terms depends on provisions of the Act which are not in the provided text. This creates a dependency that practitioners must resolve by consulting the Act.
Each of these “gotchas” is a concrete mechanism in the Ordinance that creates legal risk or complexity. Practitioners drafting regulations, advising clients on compliance, or litigating under the Territory’s laws should audit their processes against these provisions to avoid invalidation, miscalculation or procedural forfeitures.
How to comply
Compliance with the Interpretation Ordinance 1955 involves implementing procedures across legislation drafting, regulation-making, administrative delegation and litigation practice that respect the Ordinance’s defaults, tabling and publication requirements, evidentiary presumptions and adaptation rules. The following checklist is grounded in the text and designed for government drafters, agency lawyers, regulatory managers and private parties affected by Territory legislation.
Drafting and legislative design
Check for “contrary intention” language: When drafting a new Ordinance or amending an existing one, explicitly state whether any provision is intended to displace the Interpretation Ordinance’s defaults. Because many provisions operate “unless the contrary intention appears” (for example ss 4, 11, 12A, 13), clear drafting reduces litigation risk over whether defaults apply.
Use prescribed citation forms: Comply with s 8’s authorised citation modes for Acts, Ordinances and Imperial Acts. When referencing Western Australian Acts, use the (W.A.) or (WA)(CKI) conventions as required by s 4A and ensure the reference tracks the intended territorial variant.
Mind cross‑reference updating: If an Ordinance refers to another instrument, decide whether to allow the reference to “follow” that instrument as amended (per ss 8A and 8B) or to pin it to a specific historical text. If a pinned reference is intended, say so expressly to avoid the automatic updating implied by ss 8A and 8B.
Regulation-making and subordinate instruments (s 15)
Publish Gazette notice before relying on a regulation: Section 15(1)(a) requires notice of the making of regulations and the place to purchase copies to be published in the Gazette. Ensure the notice is published and accurately identifies where copies can be obtained.
Check commencement dates and avoid unlawful retrospective effect: If a regulation takes effect from a date other than the date of publication, ensure that it does not prejudice private persons’ rights or impose retroactive liabilities for acts done before publication (s 15(3)). If retrospective effect is necessary, include explicit justification and consider whether it would be limited to the Commonwealth or its authorities (the subsection carves them out).
Table regulations before Parliament within 15 sitting days: Ensure proper tabling in both Houses within the statutory window (s 15(2)). Maintain records proving tabling (dates, transcripts) because failure to lay regulations renders them void (s 15(4)).
Monitor the disallowance process: Be prepared that either House may disallow regulations within the statutory notice period (ss 15(5)-(7)). Where regulations amend or repeal prior law, plan for the possibility that disallowance will revive the prior law, and include transitional provisions to minimise disruption.
Delegation practices (s 17, s 18A)
Make delegations in writing and maintain revocability records: Section 17 requires delegations to be in writing. Keep copies, ensure delegations specify the scope (general or particular matter/class/part of Territory), and create administrative records for revocation to manage legal continuity.
When delegating functions derived from Singapore Ordinances, ensure compliance with the Act’s s 8G(7) list to whom delegation may be made (see s 18A(2)). Confirm the delegate’s statutory authority and appointment status before exercising powers.
Forms and procedural compliance (s 11)
Design forms to reduce disputes over “substantial compliance”: Because s 11 admits substantial compliance unless a contrary intention appears, ensure forms are clear, with checklists and validation steps to strengthen the case for substantial compliance. Consider electronic filing systems with mandatory field checks to avoid contested omissions.
Evidence and litigation preparation (ss 9-10)
Use the Gazette and judicial notice to prove laws and appointments: Under s 10, a Gazette copy produced as published by authority is prima facie evidence of publication and contents. Retain certified copies of Gazette notices and ensure archives are secure. Anticipate that courts will take judicial notice of specified laws per s 9, and prepare submissions accordingly.
Where relying on applied laws or adopted Singapore laws, prepare a crosswalk of substitutions and conversions: For example, map historical terms (“Governor”) to their modern equivalents (“Minister”) under s 18(1) and apply currency conversion rules under s 20 to determine current monetary amounts.
Currency conversion (s 20)
Apply conversion and rounding rules exactly: Use the specified ratios (1 dollar old currency = 40 cents Australian; 1 cent old currency = 0.4 cents Australian) and the rounding rule in s 20(3)-(4) when converting historical monetary amounts. Document the conversion methodology in advice and schedules attached to regulatory instruments or court pleadings to avoid disputes.
Criminal charge selection and sentencing (s 12A-13)
Avoid cumulative punishment: When conduct attracts multiple offences under different Ordinances or under an Ordinance and an Act, select charges bearing in mind s 12A’s bar on multiple punishments. Maintain prosecutorial charging policies that reflect s 12A’s constraints and preserve proportionality and procedural fairness.
Consider attempted offences separately: Section 13 treats attempts as offences unless a contrary intention exists. Ensure indictments and information pleadings are carefully drafted to include attempts where appropriate and where statutory language supports that approach.
Repeal and discontinuance (s 25)
When discontinuing adopted laws, check subsidiary instruments: Section 25(2) deems subsidiary legislation under a discontinued adopted law to cease to be in force unless the discontinuing Ordinance expressly preserves them. Before discontinuing an adopted law, prepare a schedule of subsidiary instruments and either migrate or expressly preserve any necessary instruments to avoid inadvertent regulatory gaps.
Training and governance
Train drafters, delegated officials and legal counsel to recognise “contrary intention” risks and to apply the Ordinance’s defaults deliberately.
Maintain a central register of delegations, Gazette publications and tabling certificates to demonstrate compliance with s 15 and s 17 obligations.
Audit and recordkeeping
Retain authoritative Gazette copies and evidence of publication dates (s 10).
Keep detailed records of tabling before Parliament and any disallowance motions (s 15(2)-(7)).
Maintain a compliance checklist for each subordinate instrument including drafting authority, publication, tabling, commencement date, whether it amends prior law and whether potential disallowance would revive prior law.
By operationalising these steps, administrative bodies, drafters and private parties can reduce the principal compliance risks inherent in the Ordinance: invalid subordinate instruments through failure to publish or table, uncertainty from ambiguous drafting that fails to specify a contrary intention, arithmetic and rounding errors from historical currency conversions, and delegations lacking written form. The Ordinance itself supplies clear procedural triggers (publication, tabling, writing for delegations, conversion rules), and compliance systems should be built around those statutory triggers.
(a) the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, published before or after the period that commenced on 1 July 1973 and ended on 30 June 1977;
(b) the Australian Government Gazette published during that period; or
(c) the Government Gazette of the Territory.
Imperial Act means an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
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.
movable property means property of every description except immovable property.
Ordinance includes:
(a) a Commonwealth Ordinance; or
(b) a Singapore Ordinance.
police officer means:
(a) a member or a special member of the Australian Federal Police; or
(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.
regulations means regulations made under the Ordinance.
rules means rules made under the Ordinance.
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.
the Act means the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955.
the Territory means the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Western Australian Act means an Act passed by the Parliament of Western Australia.
(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.
6 Application of Acts Interpretation Act to Ordinances
6 Application of Acts Interpretation Act to Ordinances
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.
8 Citation of Acts and Ordinances
8 Citation of Acts and Ordinances
(1) In an Ordinance, instrument or document:
(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;
(b) an Ordinance may be cited:
(i) by its short title or name; or
(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
(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.
(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.
(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.
8A References to Ordinances
8A References to Ordinances
Where an Ordinance contains:
(a) a reference to the short title or name of another Ordinance as originally made; or
(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;
then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:
(c) the reference shall be construed as a reference to that other Ordinance as originally made and as amended from time to time; and
(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.
8B References to Acts
8B References to Acts
Where an Ordinance contains:
(a) a reference to the short title of an Act as originally enacted; or
(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;
then, except so far as the contrary intention appears:
(c) the reference shall be construed as a reference to the Act as originally enacted and as amended from time to time; and
(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.
9 Judicial notice to be taken of Ordinances etc
9 Judicial notice to be taken of Ordinances etc
(1) All courts and persons acting judicially must take judicial notice of:
(a) a Commonwealth Ordinance; and
(b) an applied law; and
(c) a Singapore Ordinance; and
(d) an Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore as defined in subsection (2); and
(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).
(2) In paragraph 1(d), Ordinance of the Colony of Singapore means:
(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
(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
(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
(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
(e) a law referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) as amended or affected by a Commonwealth Ordinance.
10 Gazette to be evidence of certain matters
10 Gazette to be evidence of certain matters
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:
(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
(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.
11 Compliance with forms
11 Compliance with forms
Where forms are prescribed for the purposes of an Ordinance, substantial compliance with those forms is, unless the contrary intention appears, sufficient.
12A Offences under 2 or more laws
12A Offences under 2 or more laws
(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.
(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.
13 Attempt to commit offence
13 Attempt to commit offence
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.
14 Civil rights not affected
14 Civil rights not affected
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.
15 Regulations and rules
15 Regulations and rules
(1) Where an Ordinance confers power to make regulations, then, unless the contrary intention appears:
(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
(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.
(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.
(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:
(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
(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;
and where, in any regulations, a provision is made in contravention of this subsection, that provision is void and of no effect.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(8) In this section, regulations includes rules and rules of court.
16 Citation of regulations and rules
16 Citation of regulations and rules
Regulations and rules (including rules of court) may be cited:
(a) by their name; or
(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.
17 Power of Minister to delegate functions etc under Ordinances
17 Power of Minister to delegate functions etc under Ordinances
(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.
(2) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of any power or function by the Minister.
Part III Provisions relating to Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore in their application as laws of the Territory
Part III—Provisions relating to Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore in their application as laws of the Territory
18 Reference to certain expressions in laws of Singapore
18 Reference to certain expressions in laws of Singapore
(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:
| Column 1 | Column 2
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.