INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES – STUDY NOTES

Asmatullah Kakar (Asst. Professor, University Law College, Quetta)

CHAPTER # 02: LAW AND LEGISLATION

TYPES OF STATUTES

Statute:

 The word statute is derived from the Latin verb statuere which means ‘to be made or
to set up or erected’.
 A statute is the will of the legislature.
 It is a written law passed by the provincial or federal legislature.

Types of Statutes:

 Statutes may classified with reference to its duration, effect, operation, Nature, object,
content and subject-matter/extent of application.
I. Classification with Reference to Duration:
1. Temporary Statutes:
 A statute which has been enacted for a specified time. It expires on the lapse of
the period so specified unless repealed earlier.
 Financial Act is a good example of a temporary Statute and it is being enacted
every year. Further, Industrial Relations Act, 2008 was a temporary statute. Its
section 87(3) provided: “This Act shall, unless repealed earlier, stand repealed
on 30th April, 2010.
2. Permanent Statutes:
 A statute in which there is no specified period of its applicability is mentioned.
 It is perpetual for all the times to come.
 It can only expires on either express or implied repeal by the legislature.
 Specific Relief Act, Contract Act, Pakistan Penal Code etc. are all
permanent/perpetual statutes.
II. Classification with Reference to Effect:
1. Statutes with Immediate Effect:
 Those statutes which becomes effective soon after its coming into existence.
2. Prospective Statutes:
 A statute which operates to regulate acts and transactions which shall take place
in future.

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 3. Retrospective Statutes:
 A Retrospective Statute is a statute which operates though from a future date
but it impairs certain rights or creates new obligations with respect to acts or
transactions occurred in past.
4. Retroactive Statutes:
 Those statutes which have been given effect and operates from some past date
and regulates the transactions which have occurred in past.
III. Classification with Reference to Operation/Extent:
1. General Statutes:
 Those statutes which are applicable through the territory or to all individuals of
a particular State or to all individuals of a particular class within a State.
2. Special Statutes:
 Special Statutes are those statutes which are making rules for a particular group
of individuals either within a State or within a particular class of individuals
within a State.
3. Local Statutes:
 A Local Statute is having operation only on a specified territory or locality.
IV. Classification with Reference to Nature:
1. Directory Statutes:
 These are also known as affirmative statutes.
 Statutes that recommend the doing or not doing of certain act but does not
imposes any penalty on its non-observance.
2. Mandatory Statutes:
 These statutes are also known as imperative statutes.
 Statute that mandates the doing or refraining from doing certain acts and
prescribes penalties for non-observance.
 Mandatory Statutes of two types:
 Positive Statutes: Those statutes which require the doing of an act in a certain
manner or form and the non-observance is sanction by a penalty, are called
Positive Statutes.
 Negative Statutes: Those statutes which are refraining from the doing of a
certain act and providing penalty for its contravention, are called negative
statutes.
V. Classification with Reference to Object:
1. Enabling Statutes:
 Those statutes which are making the doing of something lawful which is
otherwise unlawful.

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 2. Disabling Statutes:
 Those statutes which are making the doing of something unlawful which is
otherwise lawful.
3. Permissive Statutes:
 The statutes that merely permitting the doing of certain acts but without
commanding their performances.
4. Prohibitory Statutes:
 Those statutes that prohibit/forbid the doing of certain acts.
5. Codifying Statutes:
 A statute that collecting in a single document and systematically arranging the
rules weather existing or new.
6. Consolidating Statutes:
 Consolidating Statutes presents the whole existing law on a particular subject
in a single document.
7. Curative or Validating Statutes:
 The statutes that cures the defects in the prior law and validates proceedings,
instruments or acts undertaken under that defective law.
8. Repealing Statutes:
 Statutes that repeals whether expressly or by necessary implication the prior
statutes.
9. Amending Statutes:
 The statutes which are bringing certain changes by way of omissions,
deletions, insertions or additions into a previously applicable law.
10. Declaratory Statutes:
 A statute which is removing doubts in law, occurred due to certain conflicting
decisions of the Courts.
 In other words, it is declaring that what the law is in a particular matter.
VI. Classification with Reference to Content:
1. Substantive Statutes:
 A statute which deals with the substance of law, i.e. creating or extinguishing
the rights and duties. For example, PPC, Transfer of Property Act etc.
2. Adjective/Procedural Statutes:
 A statute that deals with the procedure of enforcing the infringement of the
rights and duties contained in substantive law. For example, Cr.PC, CPC,
Evidence etc.

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VII. Classification with Reference to Subject-matter/Scope:
1. Public Statutes:
 A Public Statutes is meant to regulate the relationship between an individual
and the society as a whole.
 It is concerned with the individual rights of the people but with the collective
rights of the society.
2. Private Statutes:
 It deals with the individual/private rights and duties of the people.
 In other words these statutes regulate the relationship existing between
specific individuals in contrast to Public Statutes which deals with the
relationship of a person and society.
3. Criminal Statutes:
 A Criminal Statute is one which deals entirely with crimes and their
regulations within a society/state e.g. PPC and Cr.PC
 These statutes define an act to be called as a crime and prescribe punishments
for the commission or omission of such acts.
 The primary object of a Criminal Statute is to define the acts or omission that
shall constitute a criminal conduct and its secondary object is to provide
punishment for these acts and omissions.
4. Penal Statutes:
 A Penal Statute is a statute whose basic aim is to prescribe punishments for
certain criminal acts. For example, The Whipping Act, 1909 and Abolition of
the Punishment of Whipping Act, 1996.
 In other words, the primary object behind a Penal Statute is to define
punishments for certain acts which have been categorized as criminal.
 Mostly, Criminal and Penal Statutes are being used interchangeably.
However, there is a slight distinction between the two.
 The distinction does not lie in the subjects they are dealing with but in the
underlying intention behind each of them, as the intention behind a Criminal
Statute is to define acts and omissions to be known as criminal and the
intention behind Penal Statutes is the prescription of punishments for acts
which are criminal.
 However, owing to their nature sometimes an Act may be both Criminal and
Penal, like PPC which is mainly dealing with defining and prescribing
punishments for criminal acts. It is concerned at the same time both with the
regulation of crime and prescribing of punishments for offences so defined.

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 5. Punitive Statutes:
 A Punitive Statute is also a statute which to some extent deals with offences
and punishments.
 However, it may be distinguished from Criminal or Penal Statutes in the sense
that the primary intention behind a Punitive Statute is something else to be
legislated and it prescribes punishments only for certain acts or omissions
necessary to effectuate the provisions of that particular Act.
 For example, the primary aim behind Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is to deal
with the situations and procedure of acquiring private lands for any public
purpose. However, to effectuate the provisions of this Act, a penalty has also
been prescribed by this Act for the persons who willfully obstructs the
acquisition of such land. Therefore, though it is a Civil Act by nature,
however, it may be punitive as it also deals with some offences and
punishments.
6. Fiscal Statutes:
 A Fiscal Statute is an Act that deals with fiscal/financial matters or with
matters of revenue and expenditure of public wealth. For example, Income
Tax Ordinance, 2001 and The Sales Tax Act, 1990 etc.
7. Real Statutes:
 A statute that deals with property matters are known as Real Statutes.
8. Remedial Statutes:
 These are civil in nature. They are dealing with the remedies to be granted to
individuals in case of violation of their private or civil rights.
 The remedies may include, restitution, compensation, declaration, specific
performance, damages and even penal damages etc.
 For example, Specific Relief Act, 1897 etc.

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