Limitation of Actions

Current project status

• Initiation: Could include discussing scope and terms of reference with lead Government Department
• Pre-consultation: Could include approaching interest groups and specialists, producing scoping and issues papers, finalising terms of project
• Consultation: Likely to include consultation events and paper, making provisional proposals for comment
• Policy development: Will include analysis of consultation responses. Could include further issues papers and consultation on draft Bill
• Reported: Usually recommendations for law reform but can be advice to government, scoping report or other recommendations

This project is complete. Our recommendations were rejected.

In this project we reviewed the law on limitation periods. We recommended that the problems with the existing law should be resolved by the introduction of a single, core limitation regime, which would apply, as far as possible, to all claims for a remedy for a wrong, claims for the enforcement of a right and claims for restitution.

In 2002, the then Government accepted our recommendations in principle, subject to further consideration of certain aspects of the report. On 19 November 2009, however, the Government announced to the House of Commons that it would not include the recommendations in the Civil Law Reform Bill and would not be taking the reforms forward.