The Limitation Act 1980 (c. 58) is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
applicable only to England and Wales. It is a
statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
which provides timescales within which action may be taken (by issuing a claim form) for breaches of the law. For example, it provides that breaches of an ordinary
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
are actionable for six years after the event
[Limitation Act 1980]
s. 5
.
whereas breaches of a
deed are actionable for twelve years after the event.
[Limitation Act 1980]
s. 8
.
In most cases, after the expiry of the time periods specified in the Act the
remedies available for breaches are extinguished and no action may be taken in the courts in respect of those breaches.
Summary of time limits
The ordinary time limits allowed by the act are set out below. These limits may, in some cases, be extended or altered. Most of the time limits run from the day after the accrual of action, which is "the earliest time at which an action could be brought". If the potential claimant was not at least 18 or did not have a
sound mind at the time of the accrual of action, time will not run until he is at least 18 and has sound mind. Where there has been fraud or concealment, or the action is for relief from the consequences of a mistake, time will not run until the fraud, concealment or mistake is discovered or could with reasonable diligence be discovered.
[Limitation Act 1980]
s.32
.
Magistrates' court fine non-payment
In September 2016
Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service
His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals ...
(HMCTS) set up the "
Historic Debt Project" to tackle long outstanding unpaid criminal fines and financial orders, from
debtors
A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this ...
who previously were difficult to trace, with the use of new intelligence and tracing tools. Outstanding debts of 10 years and longer are pursued by a dedicated team in the HMCTS
National Compliance and Enforcement Service. Magistrates' Court fines, being a criminal matter, are not subject to the Limitations Act 1980 (neither can they be included in
bankruptcy, an
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or a
Debt Relief Order
Debt relief orders (DROs) are a simplified, quicker and cheaper alternative to bankruptcy as an insolvency measure in the United Kingdom, which came into effect in England and Wales on 6 April 2009, and are also offered in Northern Ireland.
Debt r ...
DRO).
References
External links
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United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1980
Statutes of limitations