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Revision of Laws Act

SOLOMON ISLANDS

[1996 EDITION]

CHAPTER 93

REVISION OF LAWS

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE PREPARATION AND PUBLICATION OF A REVISED EDITION OF ANY ENACTMENT

[21st June 1965]

4 of 1965
11 of 1970
LN 46A of 1978

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Revision of Laws Act.

Interpretation
LN 46A of 1978

2. In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

"Commissioner" means the person or persons appointed under section 3;

"enactment" means any Act, proclamation, order, rules, regulations, by-laws and any other form of subsidiary legislation.

Power to appoint Commissioner
LN 46A of 1978

3.—(1) The Governor-General may by notice appoint any person or persons to be a Commissioner or Commissioners for the purpose of preparing a revised edition of any enactment or enactments, which shall be specified in the notice.

(2) Where the Commissioner is unable from any cause fully to discharge his commission under this Act or where his appointment is revoked, the Governor-General may appoint any other fit and proper person or persons to be Commissioner or Commissioners in his stead.

Powers of Commissioner
LN 46A of 1978

4. In the preparation of any revised edition of any enactment, the Commissioner shall have the following powers—

(a) to omit—

(i) all parts of the enactment which have been repealed expressly or by necessary implication, or which have expired, or which have become spent or have had their effect;

(ii) all repealing enactments contained in the enactment, and all tables or lists of repealed enactments, whether contained in schedules or otherwise;

(iii) any preamble or part of a preamble to the enactment, and all or any recitals in the enactment, where such omission can, in the opinion of the Commissioner, conveniently be made;

(iv) all words of enactment in the enactment;

(v) all enactments prescribing the date when the enactment or part of the enactment is to come into force, where such omission can, in the opinion of the Commissioner, conveniently be made;

(vi) all amending enactments or parts of enactments where the amendments effected by such enactments or parts of enactments have been embodied by the Commissioner in the enactment;

(b) to consolidate into one enactment two or more enactments in pari materia, making the alterations thereby rendered necessary in the consolidated enactment, and affixing such date thereto as seems most convenient;

(c) to alter the order of sections or other divisions in the enactment, and, in all cases where it is necessary to do so, to renumber the sections or other divisions of the enactment;

(d) to alter the form or arrangement of any section or other division of the enactment, either by combining it in whole or in part with another section or division or other sections or divisions, or by dividing it into two or more subsections or other divisions;

(e) to divide the enactment, whether consolidated or not, into parts or other divisions;

(f) to supply or alter marginal notes and tables showing the arrangement of sections;

(g) to correct cross-references;

(h) to shorten or simplify the phraseology of the enactment;

(i) to add a short title or citation to the enactment, and if necessary or expedient, to alter the long title, short title or citation of the enactment.

(j) to correct grammatical and typographical mistakes in the existing copies of the enactment, and for that purpose to make verbal additions, omissions or alterations not affecting the meaning of the enactment;

(k) to correct the punctuation in the enactment;

(l) to provide footnotes by way of amplification;

(m) to make such formal alterations as to names, localities, offices and otherwise as are necessary to bring the enactment into conformity with the circumstances of Solomon Islands;

(n) to make such adaptations of or amendments to the enactment as appear to be necessary or proper as a consequence of changes in the constitutions of Commonwealth countries or in the composition of the Commonwealth;

(o) to make such formal alterations to the enactment as are necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing uniformity of expression;

and power to do all other things relating to form and method, whether similar to the foregoing or not, which appear to him necessary for the perfecting of the revised edition.

Mode of dealing with alteration in substance
LN 46A of 1978

5.—(1) The powers conferred upon the Commissioner by section 4 shall not be taken to imply any power in him to make any alteration or amendment in the matter or substance of any enactment.

(2) If the Commissioner considers that it is desirable that in the preparation of the revised edition of any enactment there should be omissions, amendments or additions other than those authorised by section 4, the same may be collected and submitted to Parliament in the form of one or more Bills.

(3) If such Bill or Bills are enacted prior to the making of an order under section 6 bringing the revised edition into force, then—

(a) the Commissioner shall in the preparation of the revised edition give the like effect to such omissions, amendments or additions as if they had been authorised by section 4; and

(b) if as a result of any such omission, amendment or addition, any part of the enactment has been repealed, or has expired or become spent, or had its effect, that part shall be omitted from the revised edition.

Bringing of a revised edition into force
LN 46A of 1978

6.—(1) The Governor-General may by order declare that the revised edition of any enactment shall come into force on such date as he may think fit.

(2) From the date the revised edition of an enactment is brought into force under subsection (1), the revised edition shall be deemed to be and shall be without any question whatsoever, in all courts and for all purposes whatsoever, the sole and only authentic version of such enactment on the said date:

Provided that nothing in this section shall affect the operation of any enactment which, before the date of the coming into force of the revised edition, may be passed repealing, altering or amending any earlier enactment, although such enactment has already been included in the revised edition.

Construction of references to repealed or amended enactments

7. Wherever in any enactment or in any document of whatsoever kind reference is made to any enactment omitted or otherwise affected by or under the operation of this Act, such reference shall, where necessary and practicable, be construed as a reference to the revised edition of the enactment.

Copies to be signed and deposited
LN 46A of 1978

8. One copy of every enactment revised under this Act shall be dated and signed by the Commissioner and by the Governor-General and shall be sealed with the public seal, and such copy shall thereafter be transmitted to the Chief Justice who shall deposit the same among the records of the High Court.

Distribution of copies of revised edition
LN 46A of 1978

9.—(1) Copies of every revised edition shall be distributed among such persons, officers, departments and institutions as the Governor-General may direct.

(2) There shall be offered to the public such number of copies at such prices as the Governor-General may direct.

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(No Subsidiary Legislation)