Time Please!

Originally published in March 2002

The Law Commission's initial proposals to reform the present law of limitation, that is to say how long a claimant has to bring legal proceedings against a defendant, were widely considered by the reinsurance industry to be likely to cost millions of pounds in unmet reinsurance recoveries. However, following representations by the industry, these concerns have been significantly reduced in modified proposals published by the Law Commission last year.

The current limitation provisions, mainly contained in the Limitation Act 1980, prescribe different limitation periods, ranging from three years to twelve years, for different causes of action (personal injury, contract, land related actions and so on). A number of exceptions and special rules also apply, for example, where "fraud, concealment or mistake" has occurred and when a defendant acknowledges a debt or makes a part payment in respect of it. The time at which the applicable