ABSTRACT

From time to time it becomes necessary for Parliament to pass a series of Acts on the one topic, or to pass a series of Acts that are so far related to each other as to form a system of legislation. Such Acts are referred to by lawyers as Acts in pari materia. The proper way to read Acts of that kind is to read them together. They ‘are to be taken together as forming one system, and as interpreting and enforcing each other’,1 and words which appear in both should be given the same meaning:

Expressing the same view, Lord Justice Stamp said that ‘It is no doubt correct that if you find the same word appearing … in several statutes covering the same subject matter, it ought in the absence of a controlling context to be given the same meaning’.3