Statute Of Limitations And Amendment Of Claim

Introduction

As one of the essential rules of law, a statute of limitations¹ commences once a receivable becomes due (Article 149 of the Code of Obligations) and is interrupted by:

• filing of an action or objection before a court or an arbitration tribunal;
• initiation of execution proceedings; or
• an application to the bankruptcy administration (Article 154 of the Code of Obligations).

When a lawsuit is filed for a part of the receivable, the statute of limitations will be interrupted only with respect to such portion of the receivable and will continue to run for the remainder of the receivable (ie, that part which is not covered by the lawsuit).

Therefore, a plaintiff wishing to amend a claim at a later stage of a lawsuit (Article 176 of the Code of Civil Procedure) is entitled to amend the claim totally (Article 180) or partially (Article 181) only once. However, the plaintiff must do this within the statute of limitations. Thus, where a plaintiff fails to amend its claim