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Interpretation (Amendment) Act 2021

REPUBLIC OF FIJI

INTERPRETATION (AMENDMENT) ACT 2021

ACT NO. 42 OF 2021

I assent.

J. K. KONROTE
President
[22 September 2021]

AN ACT

TO AMEND THE INTERPRETATION ACT 1967

ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji -

Short title and commencement

1. - (1) This Act may be cited as the Interpretation (Amendment) Act 2021.

(2) This Act comes into force on a date appointed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.

Section 2 amended

2. Section 2 of the Interpretation Act 1967 is amended by -

(a) in subsection (1) after the definition of "barrister and solicitor", inserting the following new definition -

• ""birth certificate", in relation to a person, means the original or certified copy of a certificate which reflects the entry of the person's current information in the register of births kept in accordance with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1975, or the original or certified copy of the person's certificate of birth issued in any other country in accordance with the relevant law in force in the country at the time the certificate of birth is issued;"; and

(b) after subsection (8), inserting the following new subsections -

• "(9) Where any written law authorises or requires a person to provide his or her name, the person must provide his or her name as specified on his or her birth certificate, and where any written law authorises or requires a person to provide any form of identification of himself or herself, the person must provide such form of identification which accurately reflects his or her name as specified on his or her birth certificate.
• (10) Where any written law authorises or requires a person to receive or accept the name of another person, the first-mentioned person may only receive or accept the name as specified on the second-mentioned person's birth certificate, and where any written law authorises or requires a person to receive or accept any form of identification of another person, the first-mentioned person may only receive or accept such form of identification which accurately reflects the name as specified on the second-mentioned person's birth certificate.
• (11) For the purposes of subsections (9) and (10), if a person is a citizen of Fiji and his or her name on his or her birth certificate is not in the English alphabet, the person's name on his or her certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation, as the case may be, is deemed to be the person's name on his or her birth certificate.
• (12) Notwithstanding subsections (9) and (10) and with the exception of a voter card issued under the Electoral (Registration of Voters) Act 2012, if a certificate, licence, permit, deed or any other document is issued to a person under any written law before the commencement of the Interpretation (Amendment) Act 2021 and the certificate, licence, permit, deed or document refers to the person by a name that is different from the person's name as specified on his or her birth certificate, the certificate, licence, permit, deed or document continues in existence provided however that the certificate, licence, permit, deed or document does not have an expiration date; and if the certificate, licence, permit, deed or document has an expiration date, the certificate, licence, permit, deed or document continues in existence until the expiration date unless the certificate, licence, permit, deed or document is cancelled, revoked, rescinded or terminated before the expiration date.".
  

Passed by the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji this 22nd day of September 2021.