Explain the maxims 'Contemporanea Expositio est optima et fortissinia in lege' and 'Optima legum interpres est consuetude' as a rule of…

This doctrine is based on the concept that a statute or a document is to be interpreted by referring to the exposition it has received from contemporary authority. The maxim "Contemporanea Expositio est optima et fortissinia in lege" means "contemporaneous exposition is the best and strongest in the law." This means a law should be understood in the sense in which it was understood at the time when it was passed. The maxim "optima legum interpres est consuetude" simply means, "Custom is the best interpreter of law”. Thus, the court was influenced in its construction of a statute of Anne by the fact that it was that which had been generally considered as the true one for one hundred and sixty years. (Cox Vs. Leigh 43 LJQB 123). In this regard, it is to be noted that this maxim is to be applied for construing ancient statutes, but not to Acts that are comparatively modern.