chapter-1•Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 1 — Common Law; Construction of Laws
chapter-1Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 1Code1 de jan. de 1859
Division 1. Government — Title 1. General Provisions
Hawaii Revised Statutes as published by the Hawaii State Legislature (files updated 1/5/2026 7:14 PM).
The common law of England, as ascertained by English and American decisions, is declared to be the common law of the State of Hawaii in all cases, except as otherwise expressly provided by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or by the laws of the State, or fixed by Hawaiian judicial precedent, or established by Hawaiian usage; provided that no person shall be subject to criminal proceedings except as provided by the written laws of the United States or of the State.
[L 1892, c 57, §5; am L 1903, c 32, §2; RL 1925, §1; RL 1935, §1; RL 1945, §1; RL 1955, §1-1; HRS §1-1]
§1 - 2 Certain laws not obligatory until published. No written law, unless otherwise specifically provided by legislative enactment, except general or special appropriation acts, loan fund acts, pension acts, and franchise acts, shall be obligatory without first being printed and made public. General or special appropriation acts, loan fund acts, pension acts, and franchise acts, whether affecting state funds or the funds of county or other municipal subdivisions or commissions, shall become operative according to their respective terms.
[CC 1859, §1; RL 1925, §3; RL 1935, §3; am L 1935, c 10, §2; RL 1945, §3; RL 1955, §1-3; HRS §1-2]
No law has any retrospective operation, unless otherwise expressed or obviously intended.
[CC 1859, §5; RL 1925, §5; RL 1935, §5; RL 1945, §4; am L 1955, c 57, §1(a); RL 1955, §1-6; HRS §1-3]
The laws are obligatory upon all persons and property within the jurisdiction of the State.
[CC 1859, §6; am imp PC 1869, c 3, §1 (same as PC 1850, c 3, §1); RL 1925, §6; RL 1935, §6; RL 1945, §5; am L 1955, c 57, §1(b); RL 1955, §1-7; HRS §1-4]
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the State of Hawaii hereby cedes concurrent legislative jurisdiction to the United States over the lands and improvements located in the State presently owned or hereafter acquired, whether acquired by condemnation or otherwise, leased, occupied, or controlled by or for the United States Department of Justice, or any of its component agencies or bureaus, for correctional purposes.
(b) Cession of concurrent legislative jurisdiction, in accordance with subsection (a), shall only take effect upon the acceptance of such jurisdiction by the United States. The concurrent legislative jurisdiction so ceded shall end as to any such lands, improvements, or such portions thereof, that cease to be owned, leased, occupied, or controlled by or on behalf of the United States for correctional purposes.
[L 1998, c 291, §1]
Private agreements shall have no effect to contravene any law which concerns public order or good morals. But individuals may, in all cases in which it is not expressly or impliedly prohibited, renounce what the law has established in their favor, when such renunciation does not affect the rights of others, and is not contrary to the public good.
[CC 1859, §7; RL 1925, §7; RL 1935, §7; RL 1945, §6; RL 1955, §1-8; HRS §1-5]
Whatever is done in contravention of a prohibitory law is void, although the nullity be not formally directed.
[CC 1859, §8; RL 1925, §8; RL 1935, §8; RL 1945, §7; RL 1955, §1-9; HRS §1-6]
Laws may be repealed either entirely or partially by other laws.
[CC 1859, pt of §20; RL 1925, §21; RL 1935, §23; RL 1945, §23; RL 1955, §1-10; HRS §1-7]
The repeal of any law shall not revive any other law which has been repealed, unless it is clearly expressed.
[CC 1859, pt of §20; RL 1925, §22; RL 1935, §24; RL 1945, §24; RL 1955, §1-11; HRS §1-8]
The repeal of a law is either express or implied. It is express when it is literally declared by a subsequent law; it is implied when the new law contains provisions contrary to, or irreconcilable with, those of the former law.
[CC 1859, §21; RL 1925, §23; RL 1935, §25; RL 1945, §25; RL 1955, §1-12; HRS §1-9]
§1 - 10 Effect of repeal on accrued rights. The repeal of any law shall not affect any act done, or any right accruing, accrued, acquired, or established, or any suit or proceedings had or commenced in any civil case, before the time when the repeal takes effect.
[CC 1859, §22; RL 1925, §24; RL 1935, §26; RL 1945, §26; RL 1955, §1-13; HRS §1-10]
No suit or prosecution pending at the time of the repeal of any law, for any offense committed, or for the recovery of any penalty or forfeiture incurred under the law so repealed, shall be affected by such repeal.
[CC 1859, §23; RL 1925, §25; RL 1935, §27; RL 1945, §27; RL 1955, §1-14; HRS §1-11]
All provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes relating to general statutory construction shall apply not merely to laws now in force but to all hereafter enacted, unless otherwise expressed or obviously intended.
[L 1945, c 233, §4; RL 1955, §1-15; HRS §1-12]
English and Hawaiian are the official languages of Hawaii. Whenever there is found to exist any radical and irreconcilable difference between the English and Hawaiian version of any of the laws of the State, the English version shall be held binding. Hawaiian shall not be required for public acts and transactions.
[L 1864, p 68; RL 1925, §26; RL 1935, §9; RL 1945, §8; RL 1955, §1-16; HRS §1-13; am L 1979, c 97, §2]
(a) Kahakō and `okina may be used in the spelling of words or terms in the Hawaiian language in documents prepared by or for state or county agencies or officials.
(b) Effective July 1, 2023, any letterhead prepared by or for state or county agencies or officials that contains names or words in the Hawaiian language shall use and spell the names and words consistently; provided that revisions to conform any letterhead existing before July 1, 2023, to the requirements of this section may be implemented when the letterhead requires replacement, reprinting, or otherwise requires revision.
(c) Any rule, order, policy, or other act, official or otherwise, that prohibits or discourages the use of kahakō and `okina or the consistent use and spelling of Hawaiian names and words, as provided by this section, shall be void.
(d) For the purposes of consistency, any Hawaiian names and words used in letterhead subject to subsection (b) shall be printed in conformance with:
(1) "Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian", by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, University of Hawai`i Press, copyright 1986;
(2) Any other commonly used Hawaiian-language dictionary;
(3) "Place Names of Hawaii", by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert, and Esther T. Mookini, University of Hawai`i Press, copyright 1974, as revised and expanded in 1976;
(4) Consultations from members of the Hawaiian-speaking language community, including native speakers;
(5) Consultations with the Hawaii board on geographic names for the names and spellings of geographic features in Hawaii; or
(6) The Hawaiian newspaper collection Nupepa Olelo Hawaii.
(e) Violation of this section shall not invalidate any document or render it unenforceable and shall provide no cause of action against the State; any county; or any state or county agency, official, or employee.
(f) If, in any document covered by this section, there is a conflict between words used by native speakers and second language speakers, two versions of the document may be made available to the public upon request if the affected department has sufficient resources.
(g) For the purpose of this section, "native speakers" means speakers of the Hawaiian language who come from an unbroken lineage of primary speakers of the Hawaiian language.
[L 1992, c 169, §2; am L 2022, c 170, §2]
American Sign Language is recognized as a fully developed, autonomous, natural language with its own distinct grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and cultural heritage.
[L 2023, c 246, §2]
The words of a law are generally to be understood in their most known and usual signification, without attending so much to the literal and strictly grammatical construction of the words as to their general or popular use or meaning.
[CC 1859, §9; RL 1925, §9; RL 1935, §10; RL 1945, §9; RL 1955, §1-17; HRS §1-14]
Where the words of a law are ambiguous:
(1) The meaning of the ambiguous words may be sought by examining the context, with which the ambiguous words, phrases, and sentences may be compared, in order to ascertain their true meaning.
(2) The reason and spirit of the law, and the cause which induced the legislature to enact it, may be considered to discover its true meaning.
(3) Every construction which leads to an absurdity shall be rejected.
[CC 1859, §10; RL 1925, §10; RL 1935, §11; RL 1945, §10; am L 1955, c 57, §1(c); RL 1955, §1-18; HRS §1-15]
Laws in pari materia, or upon the same subject matter, shall be construed with reference to each other. What is clear in one statute may be called in aid to explain what is doubtful in another.
[CC 1859, §11; RL 1925, §11; RL 1935, §12; RL 1945, §11; RL 1955, §1-21; HRS §1-16]
§1 - 17 Number and gender. Words in the masculine gender signify both the masculine and feminine gender, those in the singular or plural number signify both the singular and plural number, and words importing adults include youths or children.
[PC 1869, c 1, §5; RL 1925, §14; RL 1935, §15; RL 1945, §14; am L 1945, c 233, §1; RL 1955, §1-22; HRS §1-17]
Each of the terms "or" and "and", has the meaning of the other or of both.
[PC 1869, c 1, §4; RL 1925, §15; RL 1935, §16; RL 1945, §15; am L 1945, c 233, §2; RL 1955, §1-23; HRS §1-18]
The word "person", or words importing persons, for instance, "another", "others", "any", "anyone", "anybody", and the like, signify not only individuals, but corporations, firms, associations, societies, communities, assemblies, inhabitants of a district, or neighborhood, or persons known or unknown, and the public generally, where it appears, from the subject matter, the sense and connection in which such words are used, that such construction is intended.
[CC 1859, §17; RL 1925, §16; RL 1935, §17; am L 1939, c 150, §1; RL 1945, §16; am L 1945, c 233, §3; am L 1955, c 57, §1(e); RL 1955, §1-24; HRS §1-19]
§1 - 20 "Month", "year". The word "month" means a calendar month; and the word "year", a calendar year.
[CC 1859, §18; RL 1925, §17; RL 1935, §18; RL 1945, §17; RL 1955, §1-25; HRS §1-20]
The word "oath" includes a solemn affirmation.
[CC 1859, §19; RL 1925, §18; RL 1935, §19; RL 1945, §18; RL 1955, §1-26; HRS §1-21; am L 1973, c 31, §1]
The word "county" includes the city and county of Honolulu.
[L 1935, c 121, §1; RL 1945, §19; RL 1955, §1-27; HRS §1-22]
If any provision of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
[L 1955, c 57, §1(f); RL 1955, §1-29; HRS §1-23]
All provisions of uniform acts adopted by the State shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate their general purpose to make uniform the laws of the states and territories which enact them.
[L 1955, c 57, §1(f); RL 1955, §1-30; HRS §1-24]
Whenever reference is made to any portion of the Hawaii Revised Statutes or of any other law of the State, the reference applies to all amendments thereto.
[L 1955, c 57, §1(f); RL 1955, §1-28; HRS §1-25]
Whenever reference is made to a series of sections in the Hawaii Revised Statutes by citing only the numbers of the first and last sections connected by the word "to", the reference includes both the first and last sections.
[L 1955, c 57, §1(f); RL 1955, §1-31; HRS §1-26]
Any act of the legislature may be cited in any subsequent legislative act or in any other proceeding by reference to the chapter or section numbers as set forth in the supplements and replacement volumes published pursuant to sections 23G-14 to 23G-16.
[L 1955, c 76, §2; RL 1955, §1-5.5; am L 1963, c 193, §2; HRS §1-27; am L 1979, c 105, §1]
Wherever a state statute provides for the giving of notice or service of legal process by registered mail the sending of such notice or service of such legal process may be made by means of certified mail, return receipt requested and deliver to addressee only.
[L 1961, c 48, §1; Supp, §1-36; HRS §1-28]
(a) Notwithstanding any other statute, law, charter provision, ordinance, or rule to the contrary, whenever a government agency is required to give public notice or to publish notice, the notice shall be given only as follows:
(1) For statewide publication:
(A) In a daily or weekly publication of statewide circulation; or
(B) By publication in separate daily or weekly publications whose combined circulation is statewide; and
(2) For county-wide publication, by publication in a daily or weekly publication in the affected county.
Additional supplemental notice may also be given through Hawaii FYI, the State's interactive computer system.
(b) For purposes of this section, the comptroller pursuant to chapter 103D shall determine a publication for all government agencies to enable the public to go to one source of publication for published public notice on each island.
(c) Whenever a public notice is published in a newspaper or other publication described in subsection (a), proof of the publication shall be the affidavit of the printer, publisher, principal clerk, or business manager of the newspaper or other publication or of the designated agent of the group that published the notice.
(d) This section shall not apply to notices required by chapters 103D, 103F, 127A, and 523A.
(e) For purposes of publishing a proposed, revised, or final reapportionment plan pursuant to section 25-2, public notice shall be permitted in a short form; provided that each short form public notice shall include the following information:
(1) Whether the reapportionment plan has been either proposed, revised, or adopted;
(2) The online location to view the reapportionment plan;
(3) A list of the location of each public office where the hard copies of the reapportionment plan and maps are available; and
(4) The public hearing dates.
(f) For purposes of this section, "government agency" means each department, board, commission, or officer of the State or any of its political subdivisions.
[L 1998, c 2, §2; am L 1999, c 160, §22; am L 2003, c 74, §1; am L 2014, c 111, §3; am L 2021, c 14, §3]
The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Sunday or holiday and then it is also excluded. When so provided by the rules of court, the last day also shall be excluded if it is a Saturday.
[L 1923, c 3, §1; RL 1925, §19; RL 1935, §20; RL 1945, §20; RL 1955, §1-40; HRS §1-29; am L 1973, c 31, §2]
In all statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, and orders relating to the time of performance of any act by any state or county officer or agency, whether in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of the government, or relating to the time within which any rights shall accrue or determine, or within which any act shall or shall not, may or may not, be performed by any person subject to the jurisdiction of the State, that time shall be Hawaiian standard time.
[L 1947, c 161, §2; RL 1955, §1-41; HRS §1-30]
Hawaiian standard time is ten hours slower than Greenwich time, based on the mean solar time of the one hundred and fiftieth degree of longitude west from Greenwich and shall be the time which the entire State, including all of its political subdivisions, shall observe annually, notwithstanding the daylight time conversion provisions of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, Public Law 89-387, 80 Statutes at Large 107.
[L 1947, c 161, §1; RL 1955, §1-42; am L 1967, c 4, §2; HRS §1-31]
Whenever any act of a secular nature other than a work of necessity or mercy is appointed by law or contract to be performed upon a particular day, which day falls upon a Sunday or holiday, the act may be performed upon the next business day with the same effect as if it had been performed upon the appointed day. When so provided by the rules of court, the act also may be performed upon the next business day with the same effect as if it had been performed upon the appointed day if the appointed day falls on a Saturday.
[L 1923, c 3, §2; RL 1925, §20; RL 1935, §23; RL 1945, §22; RL 1955, §1-44; HRS §1-32; am L 1973, c 31, §3]
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