Reference of Foreign Cases in India For The Purpose of Interpretation

REFERENCE OF FOREIGN CASES IN INDIA FOR THE
PURPOSE OF INTERPRETATION
INTRODUCTION
For the purpose of construction of interpretation, the court obviously has to take recourse to
various internal and external aids. Internal aids mean those materials which are available in the
statute itself, though they may not be part of enactment. These internal aids include, long title,
preamble, headings, marginal notes, etc. When internal aids are not adequate, court has to take
recourse to external aids. It may be parliamentary material, historical background, reports of a
committee or a commission, official statement, dictionary meanings, foreign decisions, etc. The
Supreme Court has accepted the necessity of external aids in interpretation of statutory provision.
O.Chennappa Reddy J. in B. Prabhakar Rao and others v State of A.P. and others,
has
observed: Where internal aids are not forthcoming, we can always have recourse to external
aids to discover the object of the legislation. External aids are not ruled out. This is now a well
settled principle of modern statutory construction.
At the outset it must be clarified that reliance on foreign precedents is necessary in certain
categories of appellate litigation and adjudication. For instance in litigation pertaining to crossborder business dealings as well as family-related disputes, the actual location of the parties in
different jurisdictions makes it necessary to cite and discuss foreign statutory laws and decisions.
Hence, domestic courts are called on to engage with foreign precedents in fields such as
Conflict of Laws. Furthermore, Courts are also required to look into the text and interpretations
of international instruments (i.e. treaties, conventions, declarations) if their respective countries
are party to the same.
Constitutional aspect:
1 AIR 1986 SC 120.
In People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India2 and Association for Democratic Reforms
v. Union of India,3 the Supreme Court of India directed that candidates seeking election to
legislative bodies at all levels were bound to disclose their educational, financial and criminal
antecedents for the information of the electorate. The voters right to inform
ation was understood as flowing out of the freedom of speech and expression on the premise
that an informed choice was necessary for a meaningful exercise of free expression through the
act of voting. In these cases, reliance was placed on the Beijing Statement of Principles of the
Independence of the Judiciary and the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights (ICCPR).
Indian laws are modeled on British statutes and enactments. The fundamental rights of citizens
of India under the Constitution of India are based entirely on the U.S. Bill of Rights. As a result,
it is imperative that the higher judiciary in India follow the precedents of foreign courts in
clarifying the parameters of statutes applied. Courts are also required to review the text and
interpretations of international instruments, e.g., treaties, conventions, and declarations. The
Chief Justice of India has stated, In recent years, the decisions of Constitutional Courts in
common law jurisdictions such as South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and India have become
the primary catalyst behind the growing importance of comparative constitutional law. In India,
as in the jurisdictions mentioned, reliance on foreign precedents has become commonplace in
public law litigation.
Rules related to intellectual property rights:
Indian judiciary is well equipped to handle International cases relating to Intellectual Property
Rights (IPR). The Judiciary has always played a proactive role in the protection of Intellectual
Property Rights and has invented and extended general principles to cover such cases. The
Courts have extended its concept of cause of action in IPR cases and have not gone by traditional
concept of the place of residence of the defendants. The courts have dealt cases even deviating
from the general principle laid down under Section 20 of CPC extended flexibility in
jurisdiction.
2 AIR 1997 SC 568
3 (2002) 5 SCC 294
The concept of trans-border reputation was introduced for the first time in the Apple Computer4
case where the court held that though the trade mark apple was not in use in India; it had a
reputation in India in relation to computers as information had flown in through various sources.
In Grasim Industries Ltd v Collector of Customs,5 Bombay, the rule of Ejusdem Generis is
applicable when particular words pertaining to a class, category or genus are followed by general
words. In such a case the general words are construed as limited to things of the same kind as
those specified. Every clause of a statute must be construed with reference to other clauses of the
Act.
Bhatia International vs Bulk Trading S. A. & Anr,6 While deciding a Section 9 petition (for
interim measures) in an ICC arbitration, a three judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously
held that all provisions of Part-I, including Section 9, is applicable to international commercial
arbitrations held outside India. The Court further held that while in the case of 'domestic
arbitrations', provisions of Part-I compulsorily apply; in 'foreign arbitrations' Part I applies unless
the parties have expressly or impliedly excluded the provisions of the same. It was held that if
more than one interpretation is possible for a statute, then the court has to choose the
interpretation which depicts the intention of the legislature.
In State Of Rajasthan vs Babu Ram, 7 the word "person" has not been defined in the Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. One of the basic principles of interpretation of
Statutes is to construe the words according to their plain, literal and grammatical meaning. The
word "person" has not been defined in the Act. Section 2(xxix) of the Act says that the words and
expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure have the
meanings respectively assigned to them in that Code. The Code, however, does not define the
word "person". Section 2(y) of the Code says that the words and expressions used therein and not
4 Apple inc in 2010
5 1998 (103) ELT 515 Tri Del
6 SC 2002
7 AIR 2007 SC 2018
defined but defined in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 have the meanings respectively assigned to
them in that Code. Section 11 of the Indian Penal Code says that the word "person" includes any
Company or Association or body of persons whether incorporated or not. Similar definition of
the word "person" has been given in Section 3(42) of the General Clauses Act.
CHAPTERS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Introduction
Kinds of interpretation
Internal aid and external aid
Foreign references meaning
References regarding to constitution
References to different statues
Limitation of foreign references
Conclusion
CASES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India, (2002) 5 SCC 294

State Of Rajasthan vs Babu Ram, AIR 2007 SC 2018
Bhatia International vs Bulk Trading S. A. & Anr, SC 2002
Grasim Industries Ltd v Collector of Customs, 1998 (103) ELT 515 Tri Del
Naz Foundation v. NCT of Delhi, WP(C) No. 7455/2001.

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REFERENCE OF FOREIGN CASES IN INDIA FOR THE

1 AIR 1986 SC 120.

Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India, (2002) 5 SCC 294

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