Subject Matter Index

Browse cases by legal subject matter and principles

A fundamental premise of interpretation

Cardinal principle of construction of written instruments

Duty of the court in interpretation where a party to a suit has however complained that the provisions of a statute has been breached against him or that the mandatory provision of a statute was not complied with

General principles of interpretation of statutes

How a court should interprete a statute

How a law which imposes a pecuniary burden should be construed

How ambiguous words are construed

How a provision of a statute or constitution should be construed in accordance with section 10(4) of the Interpretation Act, 2009 (Act 792)

How clear and unambiguous words should be construed

How electoral laws should be interpreted

How rules and laws should be interpreted

How rules of court are to be interpreted

How the court should construe a statutory provision where the legislature has not stipulated the consequences for non-compliance

How the courts should interprete statutes and rules of court

How words in an enactment should be construed

How words or expressions should be construed

Principle of computation of time when the word "from" is used in a statutory provision

Principle of interpretation of statutes which encroach on the rights of subjects

Principle of interpretation where an enactment in a schedule contradicts an earlier clause

Principle of interpretation where a passage is susceptible to more than one meaning

Principle of interpretation where words have been legally or judicially defined

Principles of construction of statutes with respect to retrospectivity

Principles of interpreting a subsidiary legislation in relation to the principal statute

Principle that a statute should be interpreted in a way to give effect to it

The applicable principles of interpretation where there are conflicting provisions in a statute

The approach to interpretation of a statute where there are two choices of interpretation

The general principle regarding the interpretation of statute

The governing principle where two general enactments are in conflict

The guiding principle in the interpretation of statutes

The importance of construing a statute in the light of the consequences that may result from it

The position of the law where there is a mistake in a statute

The presumption against ousting or restricting the jurisdiction of a superior court

The principle of construing statutes to suit only the true object intended by it

The principle of interpretation where a statute is divided into parts

The principle of interpretation where the provision of a section is made subject to another one in application

The principle of interpretation where two statutes are in pari materia

The principle of interpreting mandatory provisions in a statute or rule of court

The principle of interpreting words which are in pari materia

The principles governing the relevance of a previous Statute in the interpretation of a later Statute

The principles of interpretation of wide words of a statute

The principle that a court is under obligation to construe mutually related provisions of a statute harmoniously

The principle that a court must always construe a statute ut res magis valeat quam pereat.

The principle that although generally speaking the same word bears the same meaning, it is a rebuttable presumption

The principle that a section of a statute must be read as a whole

The principle that a section or sub-section of statue must not be read or construed in isolation

The principle that a statute should not be construed as to impair an existing right or obligation

The principle that headings and side notes are useful guides in the interpretation of statutes

The principle that rules of court must be read together as a whole

The principle that the interpretation must be nearly as close to the purpose of the maker as is possible

The principle that when the language employed by the legislature in an earlier statute on a particular subject has been departed from in a later statute relating to the same subject, the presumption is that the alteration in the language used in the latter statute must be taken to have been made deliberately

The principle that where provisions in different statutes conflict, there is an implied repeal of the earlier one by the later one

The principle that where the provisions of a statute pari materia with another, a previous decision where the similar provisions were considered can be employed in interpreting the latter provisions

The principle where a statute set out rights and provides a particular remedy for the ventilation of those rights

The rule that in the interpretation of Nigerian constitution and the laws made pursuant thereto, the Courts are under an onerous and bounden duty not to follow or accord credence to alien judicial decisions that are not in pari materia with the constitution or the laws

The rule that it is not for the courts to assume a mistake and then seek to correct the assumed mistake

What a change in style in legislative drafting portends

Whether a court, by a process of interpretation, can alter basic provisions of a statute

Whether additional text may be imported into an enactment in order to give effect to its purpose

Whether a judge can import phrases and words into the very enactment being interpreted

Whether another piece of legislation may be consulted in construing legislation

Whether a repealed law can be used to interpret a valid law

Whether it is permissible to supply omissions in a statute

Whether it is the duty of the courts to "fill in the gaps" when interpreting statutes

Whether it is useful to look at earlier Acts and to find out the state of the law prior to the Act which is being construed

Whether previous decisions can be relied on where the provisions of a section are unique

Whether schedule to a statute can be interpreted to overrule the plain words in the body of the statute

Whether the court can remedy a casus omissus

Whether the court can rewrite a law in the course of interpretation

Whether the court can use an aid to the construction of an enactment where the meaning of the enactment is not in issue

Whether the courts rely on the spirit of statutes when interpreting them

Whether the court will import words into clear and unambiguous provisions of a statute

Whether there is any need to resort to any other aids of interpretation where the meaning of the words used is plain and obvious

Whether the same meaning must be assigned to the same words occurring in different parts of a statute

Whether the task of interpretation arises where the words in a statute are plain and unambiguous

Whether words in a statute bear the usual meaning found in a dictionary

Whether words in a statute should be interpreted according to their dictionary meaning

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