The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament,[3] Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly,[4] subordinate legislation,[5] "deeds and other instruments and documents",[6] Acts of the Scottish Parliament and instruments made thereunder (added 1998),[7] and Measures and Acts of the National Assembly for Wales and instruments made thereunder.

[8] The Act makes provision in relation to: the construction of certain words and phrases, words of enactment, amendment or repeal of Acts in the Session they were passed, judicial notice, commencement, statutory powers and duties, the effect of repeals, and duplicated offences.

Unless it is clear there is a contrary intention, wherever in any Act of Parliament or Statutory Instrument there are words importing the masculine gender, the words should be construed to incorporate the feminine and vice versa.

[13] It states that Where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post (whether the expression "serve" or the expression "give" or "send" or any other expression is used) then, unless the contrary intention appears, the service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document and, unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.

In this particular case, a letter was shown to have been properly addressed, pre-paid and posted, but not received.

[19] The words "same offence" at the end of section 18 do not mean "same act" or "same cause".

[24] It applies to Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, and, so far as it relates to Acts passed before 1 January 1979, to measures of the Church Assembly passed after 28 May 1925, as it applies to Acts.