Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953

41 Interpretation

In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say—

• " birth " includes a live-birth and a still-birth ;

• " disposal ", in relation to a dead body, means disposal by burial, cremation or any other means, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly ;

• " general search " means a search conducted during any number of successive hours not exceeding six, without the object of the search being specified;

• " house " includes a public institution ;

• " live-birth " means the birth of a child born alive ;

• " the Minister " means the Minister of Health ;

• " occupier " in relation to a public institution, includes the governor, keeper, master, matron, superintendent, or other chief resident officer, and, in relation to a house let in separate apartments or lodgings, includes any person residing in the house who is the person under whom the lodgings or separate apartments are immediately held, or his agent;

• " particular search " means a search of the indexes covering a period not exceeding five years for a specified entry;

• " public institution " means a prison, lock-up or hospital, and such other public or charitable institution as may be prescribed;

• " prescribed " means prescribed by regulations made under section thirty-nine of this Act;

• " qualified informant ", in relation to any birth or death, means a person who is by this Act or, in the case of a birth or death occurring before the commencement of this Act, by any enactment repealed by this Act required, or stated to be qualified, to give information concerning that birth or death;

• " registrar " in relation to any birth or death, means the registrar of births and deaths for the sub-district in which the birth or death takes place, or where any living new-born child is found exposed or any dead body is found and no information as to the place of birth or death is available, for the sub-district in which the child or the dead body is found;

• " relative " includes a relative by marriage and, in relation to a person in respect of whom an adoption order has been made under the Adoption of Children Act, 1926. the Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act, 1930, or the Adoption Act, 1950, or under the Adoption of Children Act (Northern Ireland), 1929, or any other Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland for the time being in force, also includes any person who would be a relative if the adopted person were the child of the adopter born in lawful wedlock;

• " still-born child " means a child which has issued forth from its mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy and which did not at any time after being completely expelled from its mother breathe or show any other signs of life, and the expression " still-birth " shall be construed accordingly ;

• " superintendent registrar " in relation to any registrar, means the superintendent registrar of births, deaths and marriages for the district in which that registrar's sub-district is situate.