Introduction
A "limitation period" is the period of time within
which court or arbitration proceedings must be commenced. Every
legal claim will be subject to a limitation period, imposed either
by the governing law or by the applicable contract terms. In
addition, contractual time limits may apply to govern the time
within which claims must be notified to another party. Time limits
and limitation periods are therefore one of the first and most
important points to consider whenever a dispute or potential
dispute arises.
The starting point for a court or a tribunal is that if a claim
is not made within the applicable time limit it cannot be made at
all, and while some courts and tribunals may have discretion to
permit a claim which has been made out of time, persuading courts
and tribunals that claims should be allowed in such circumstances
can be a lengthy and uncertain process. Missing a time limit can
therefore have severe consequences.
