Bar Council of India is a club liable to pay Service Tax? : No Charity!says, Board.

Would it mean that Blak's dictionary is to be considered for any conflicting interpretation and legal proceedings?

Service Tax is already requires to consider various laws, for related definitions, now black's dictionary is also recognised as a law of indian service tax?

Anand Chauhan 26/09/2006

 

Dear Anand

There are many legal terms and phrases though defined in our statutes are much debated for their definitive meanings in the context in which they are used in our statutes. Black's law dictionary is an internationally acclaimed standard for its thorough and researched definitions supported by case laws decided in the US Supreme Court. It is also referred to in various cases decided in the UK. Our Hon'ble Judges of various High Courts and Apex Court while deciding complex cases in our Country often refer not only this dictionary but also various cases decided in the US and UK.

Therefore your question as to whether we should consider Black's law dictionary as an Indian law or for that matter a corollary of Service tax law is very naive and juvenile. This is an international standard dictionary and is more or less biblical for laws everywhere in the world and as explained above when there are contradictions in interpreting our laws we look into various national and international references, case laws, dictionaries scientific as well as legal for resolving our cases. For your reference I have extracted an introduction to Black's law dictionary in Wikipedia:

"Black's Law Dictionary is the definitive law dictionary for the law of the United States. It was founded by Henry Campbell Black. It has been cited as legal authority in many Supreme Court cases (see Secondary authority). The latest edition, including abridged and pocket versions, are a useful starting points for the layman or student when faced with a completely unfamiliar legal word. It is the reference of choice for definitions in legal briefs and court opinions.

The first edition was published in 1891, and the second edition in 1910 long before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed in 1928. The sixth and earlier editions of the book also provided case citations for the term cited, which some lawyers saw as its most useful function, providing a useful starting point with leading cases. The Internet made legal research easier than it ever had been, so many state- or circuit-specific case citations and outdated or overruled case citations were dropped from the seventh edition 1999. The eighth edition introduced a unique system of perpetually updated case citations and cross-references to legal encyclopedias.

As many legal terms derive from Latin, the Dictionary gives a pronunciation guide for such terms and the applicable entries provide pronunciation transcriptions consistent with those found among North American practitioners of law or medicine".

santosh hatwar 26/09/2006