RULES OF LAW

The principle of prospective operation of statutes is a fundamental aspect of legal interpretation that is crucial to upholding the rights of individuals, and it is essential for legal practitioners, business leaders, and the individuals to understand its implications. The settled rule of interpretation is that any amendment to a statute that affects the legal rights of an individual must be presumed to be prospective, unless it is expressly or impliedly retrospective. This principle is fundamental to the interpretation of all legislation and ensures that the rights of individuals are protected under the law. When a repeal of an enactment is followed by a fresh legislation, such legislation does not affect the substantive rights of the parties on the date of the suit or adjudication of the suit, unless it is retrospective. This means that a court of appeal cannot take into consideration a new law brought into existence after the judgment appealed from has been rendered, as the righ...

The first and most elementary rule of construction is that the words of a statue must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning. Ordinary words must be given their ordinary meanings and technical meanings, unless absurdity would result. This is called the golden rule of interpretation. This rule is also called “literal rule of Construction”. The intention of the Legislature is primarily to be gathered from the language used in the statute, thus paying attention to what has been said as also to what has not been said. When the words used are not ambiguous, literal meaning has to be applied. Effect should be given to the plain words, not because there is any charm or magic in the plainness of such words but because plain words may be expected to convey plainly the intention of the Legislature. Intention of the legislature and not the words is paramount. Even where the words of statutes appear to be prima facie clear and unambiguous it may sometimes be possible that the pl...