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Meaning of ‘ambulatory’ and ‘non-ambulatory’ references

A reference in legislation X to legislation Y is ‘ambulatory’ if the reference automatically updates every time legislation Y is amended. It is a question of interpretation whether the reference to legislation Y is ambulatory. For example, if the reference is to legislation Y ‘as amended from time to time’, that is a clear indication the reference is ambulatory. For further guidance, see Commentary: Incorporation by reference: Bennion, Bailey and Norbury on Statutory Interpretation [17.9].

Note that references in EU legislation are generally regarded as ambulatory (or ‘dynamic’, see page 52 of the EU legislative drafting guide). It is therefore likely that references in EU regulations incorporated into retained eu law by EU(W)A 2018, s 3 will be interpreted as ambulatory. That is because of the effect of