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Metrication Act

LAWS OF TONGA

1988 Revised Edition]

CHAPTER 52

METRICATION ACT

Arrangement of Sections

Section
1 Short title.
2 Interpretation.
3 Object of the Act.
4 Application of Act.
5 Committee.
6 Functions of the Committee.
7 Employees of the Committee.
8 Income of the Committee.
9 Privy Council may amend Schedule.
10 Regulations.
11 Savings.

SCHEDULE 1
UNITS

SCHEDULE II

SCHEDULE III
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

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METRICATION ACT

Acts 34 of 1978 and 22 of 1984

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE METRIC SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENT

Commencement [28th September, 1979]

1 Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Metrication Act.

2 Interpretation.

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires:

"Act" includes any regulation, rule, order, ordinance or other law;

"Appropriate Metric Statement of Quantity" means a statement of quantity expressed by a simple number and a unit of the metric system of measurement; (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

"Committee" means the Metrication Committee established under this Act;

"Legal Unit of Measurement" means a unit specified in accordance with Section 5 of the Weights and Measures Act; (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

"Metric System of Measurement" means measurement in terms of:

(a) the units comprised in the International System of Units (SI) for the time being approved by the General Conference on Weights and Measures and as listed in Schedule I hereto;

(b) units decimally related to those units by the addition of one of the prefixes for the time being approved by the General Conference on Weights and Measures and as listed in Schedule II hereto;

(c) the units listed in Schedule III hereto;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Commerce or such Minister as the Privy Council may appoint to be responsible for the time being for the performance of duties under this Act; (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

"Non-metric" means the same as in Section 2 of the Weights and Measures Act; (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

"Physical Quantity" includes

(a) a quantity stated in terms of

(i) two or more physical quantities referred to in association with each other; or

(ii) one or more physical quantities referred to in association with a stated amount of money; and

(b) a quantity expressed in terms of gauge, mesh or size in a context which implies a statement of physical quantity;

"Statement of Quantity" means an expression of an exact value of a physical quantity in terms of numbers and units of measurement. (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

3 Object of the Act.

The object of this Act is to bring about progressively the use of the metric system of measurement in the Kingdom as the sole system of measurement of physical quantities.

4 Application of Act.

(1) All legislation that contains references to statement of quantity for whatever purposes is subject to the provisions of this Act.

(2) In making Regulations under this Act, the minister shall take notice of the original intent of the legislation as to whether a maximum, minimum or exact value was imposed or inferred by the statement of quantity. (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

5 Committee.

There is hereby established a Metrication Committee which shall consist of:

(a) the Minister of Labour, Commerce and Industries or such other person as His Majesty in Council may appoint, who shall be the Chairman; and

(b) such other members whom His Majesty in Council may appoint.

6 Functions of the Committee.

The Committee shall do all things that it shall consider necessary and desirable in order that the metric system of measurement may be gradually and progressively introduced and adopted in the Kingdom, and may for those purposes conduct and carry out education and publicity programmes in such manner as it may deem desirable.

7 Employees of the Committee.

The Committee may employ or engage any person or persons and pay such remunerations as may be approved by His Majesty in Council, to such person or persons and to its members. Employment of any person by the committee shall not be a bar to membership of such person in the Committee.

8 Income of the Committee.

The income of the Committee shall include such moneys which may be approved by the Legislative Assembly in the annual estimate of the government.

9 Privy Council may amend Schedule.

It shall be lawful for His Majesty in Council, by regulation to add to, vary or amend the Schedules to this Act in accordance with any addition, variation or amendment of units approved by the General Conference on Weights and Measures as being within the International System of Units (SI).

10 Regulations.

The Minister may with the consent of Privy Council make regulations which have the effect of substituting an appropriate metric statement of quantity for each non-metric statement of quantity in any legislation referred to in section 4, provided that the appropriate metric statement of quantity does not differ from the exact metric equivalent of the original (non-metric) statement of quantity by more than eleven per cent. (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

11 Savings.

Anything that was completed in a lawful manner prior to the coming into effect of this Act or any of its pursuant Regulations shall not become unlawful by virtue of this Act or its Regulations. (Inserted by Act 22 of 1984.)

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SCHEDULE I

SCHEDULE II

SCHEDULE III

Units that are not within the International System of Units (SI) but are, by section 2(c) of the Act hereby defined as being within the metric system of measurement.

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