Unit IV · Interpretation of Statutes

External aids: legislative history, dictionaries, international law and official statements

Study aid only. Confirm statute numbers with the current bare Act and the official OU LL.B. (3-YDC) 2024–25 syllabus PDF.

Statute sections

Act / instrument	Section	Name
General Clauses Act, 1897	8	References to a repealed enactment
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969	31–32	Treaty interpretation as an analogical aid

AIR 1984 SC 684 · Supreme Court of India

Parliamentary history and the Objects and Reasons may be consulted where the words are ambiguous.

[1993] AC 593 · House of Lords

Clear ministerial statements in Parliament may be admitted to resolve genuine ambiguity in a UK statute.

AIR 1997 SC 3011 · Supreme Court of India

International conventions (CEDAW) were used to fill a legislative vacuum consistently with the Constitution.