Logging IFR hours - is my thinking correct?

[Tinstaafl]

I have ATPLs from Oz, Uk & USA. In all cases I've logged IF, not IFR. And, in all cases, that's what the relevent authority looked at to assess my experience. The rules in Oz & USA are quite clear about logging IF, not IFR. I would be surprised if UK rules (and subsequently JAA) really meant to mean IFR instead of IF.

I think a key point to interpreting rules & regs is that one must first start with the definitions before reading the relevent rule(s). It's not possible to derive the same meaning as the author if you aren't assigning the same meaning to the same words. Further, within a set of rules the same meaning is taken throughout the document unless another meaning has been assigned for any particular section.

In the current JAR 'IFR Conditions' is defined, just as SN3Guppy has written. I'm not aware of any exceptional use of the term only that singular definition. Any use of the term within the rules must be understood to have the meaning as defined. In short, weather conditions that dissallow using VFR or, in other words, IMC.

I suppose the problem now is resolving that instance of using just 'IFR' instead of 'IFR conditions'. My initial thoughts are that it's a discrepency that slipt through, leaving a contradiction in the rules.