Statutory Interpretation The Technique of Statutory ... - Francis Bennion

128 Part II — Statutory Interpretation
patent. Accordingly where Acts are shown as receiving royal assent on the same day, the chapter
number shows the deemed order of passing.
The chapter number for a public general Act is in large arabic figures. It is in small roman for local
Acts (including Provisional Order Confirmation Acts), and small italicised arabic for personal Acts (if
printed). This is important because the type face of the chapter number is the only thing that tells
the reader which sort of Act he is looking at, or is being referred to.
Date of passing The passing of the Act and the receiving of royal assent amount to the same thing (R
v Smith [1910] 1 KB 17). The significance of the date of passing is therefore that, unless the contrary
intention appears, it is also the date of commencement.
Headings A heading within an Act, whether contained in the body of the Act or a Schedule, is part
of the Act. It may be considered in construing any provision of the Act, provided due account is
taken of the fact that its function is merely to serve as a brief, and therefore often inaccurate,
guide to the material to which it is attached. In accordance with the informed interpretation rule
modern judges consider it not only their right but their duty to take account of headings (eg Dixon v
British Broadcasting Corpn [1979] QB 546; Customs and Excise Commrs v Mechanical Services (Trailer
Engineers) Ltd [1979] 1 WLR 305; Lloyds Bank Ltd v Secretary of State for Employment [1979] 1
WLR 498; Re Phelps (deed) [1980] Ch 275).
Where a heading differs from the material it describes, this puts the court on enquiry. However it is
most unlikely to be right to allow the plain literal meaning of the word? to be overridden purely by
reason of a heading (Fitzgerald v Hall Russell & Co Ltd [1970] AC 984, 1000; Pilkington Bros Ltd v
IRC [1982] 1 WLR 136, 145). However where general words are preceded by a heading indicating a
narrower scope it has been held to be legitimate to treat the general words as cut down by the heading
(Inglis v Robertson and Baxter [1898] AC 616).
Sidenotes A sidenote or marginal note to a section is part of the Act. It may be considered in
construing the section or any other provision of the Act, provided due account is taken of the fact that
its function is merely to serve as a brief, and therefore necessarily inaccurate, guide to the content of the
section (R v Schildkamp [1971] AC 1, 10). For example the Bail Act 1976, s 6 makes it an offence if
a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings fails without reasonable cause to
surrender to custody. The sidenote reads: 'Offence of absconding by person released on bail' (emphasis
added). Absconding is not the only possible reason for failing to