- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (01/02/1991)
- Original (As enacted)
Interpretation Act 1978
You are here:
- UK Public General Acts
- 1978 c. 30
- Statutory powers and duties
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes over time for: Cross Heading: Statutory powers and duties
Version Superseded: 01/12/1991
Alternative versions:
Status:
Point in time view as at 01/02/1991. This version of this cross heading contains provisions that are not valid for this point in time.
Status
Not valid for this point in time generally means that a provision was not in force for the point in time you have selected to view it on.
Changes to legislation:
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Interpretation Act 1978, Cross Heading: Statutory powers and duties.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
Statutory powers and dutiesU.K.
12 Continuity of powers and duties.U.K.
(1)Where an Act confers a power or imposes a duty it is implied, unless the contrary intention appears, that the power may be exercised, or the duty is to be performed, from time to time as occasion requires.
(2)Where an Act confers a power or imposes a duty on the holder of an office as such, it is implied, unless the contrary intention appears, that the power may be exercised, or the duty is to be performed, by the holder for the time being of the office.
13 Anticipatory exercise of powers.U.K.
Where an Act which (or any provision of which) does not come into force immediately on its passing confers power to make subordinate legislation, or to make appointments, give notices, prescribe forms or do any other thing for the purposes of the Act, then, unless the contrary intention appears, the power may be exercised, and any instrument made thereunder may be made so as to come into force, at any time after the passing of the Act so far as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose—
(a)of bringing the Act or any provision of the Act into force; or
(b)of giving full effect to the Act or any such provision at or after the time when it comes into force.
14 Implied power to amend.U.K.
Where an Act confers power to make—
(a)rules, regulations or byelaws; or
(b)Orders in Council, orders or other subordinate legislation to be made by statutory instrument,
it implies, unless the contrary intention appears, a power, exercisable in the same manner and subject to the same conditions or limitations, to revoke, amend or re-enact any instrument made under the power.
Valid from 25/04/2013
[F114APower to include sunset and review provisions in subordinate legislationU.K.
(1)This section applies where an Act confers a power or a duty on a person to make subordinate legislation except to the extent that—
(a)the power or duty is exercisable by the Scottish Ministers, or
(b)the power or duty is exercisable by any other person within devolved competence (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998).
(2)The subordinate legislation may include—
(a)provision requiring the person to review the effectiveness of the legislation within a specified period or at the end of a specified period;
(b)provision for the legislation to cease to have effect at the end of a specified day or a specified period;
(c)if the power or duty is being exercised to amend other subordinate legislation, provision of the kind mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) in relation to that other legislation.
(3)The provision that may be made by virtue of subsection (2)(a) includes provision requiring the person to consider whether the objectives which it was the purpose of the legislation to achieve remain appropriate and, if so, whether they could be achieved in another way.
(4)Subordinate legislation including provision of a kind mentioned in subsection (2) may make such provision generally or only in relation to specified provisions of the legislation or specified cases or circumstances.
(5)Subordinate legislation including provision of a kind mentioned in subsection (2) may make transitional, consequential, incidental or supplementary provision or savings in connection with such provision.
(6)In this section, “specified” means specified in the subordinate legislation.]
Textual Amendments
F1S. 14A inserted (25.4.2013) by Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (c. 24), ss. 59(2), 103(1)(e)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThis Cross Heading only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.