Foreign Limitation Periods Act 1984
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1984 c. 16 |
| Year | 1984 |
Foreign Limitation Periods Act 1984
1984 CHAPTER 16
An Act to provide for any law relating to the limitation of actions to be treated, for the purposes of cases in which effect is given to foreign law or to determinations by foreign courts, as a matter of substance rather than as a matter of procedure.
[24th May 1984]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Commencement Information
I1
Act not in force at Royal Assent see s. 7(2); Act wholly in force at 1.10.1985
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1
Act applied (31.1.1997) by 1996 c. 23, s.13 (with s. 81(2)); S.I. 1996/3146, art. 3
C2
Act amended (31.1.1997) by 1996 c. 23, s. 14(1) (with s. 81(2)); S.I. 1996/3146, art.3
(1)
Subject to the following provisions of this Act, where in any action or proceedings in a court in England and Wales the law of any other country falls (in accordance with rules of private international law applicable by any such court) to be taken into account in the determination of any matter—
(a)
the law of that other country relating to limitation shall apply in respect of that matter for the purposes of the action or proceedings
F1
, subject to
F2
section 1ZA and
F3
section 1B
; and
(b)
except where that matter falls within subsection (2) below, the law of England and Wales relating to limitation shall not so apply.
(2)
A matter falls within this subsection if it is a matter in the determination of which both the law of England and Wales and the law of some other country fall to be taken into account.
(3)
The law of England and Wales shall determine for the purposes of any law applicable by virtue of subsection (1)(a) above whether, and the time at which, proceedings have been commenced in respect of any matter; and accordingly, section 35 of the
M1
Limitation Act 1980 (new claims in pending proceedings) shall apply in relation to time limits applicable by virtue of subsection (1)(a) above as it applies in relation to time limits under that Act.
(4)
A court in England and Wales, in exercising in pursuance of subsection (1)(a) above any descretion conferred by the law of any other country, shall so far as practicable exercise that discretion in the manner in which it is exercised in comparable cases by the courts of that other country.
(5)
In this section “
law
”, in relation to any country, shall not include rules of private international law applicable by the courts of that country or, in the case of England and Wales, this Act.
Amendments (Textual)
F1
Words in s. 1(1)(a) inserted (20.5.2011) by The Cross-Border Mediation (EU Directive) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/1133), regs. 2, 28 (with regs. 3, 4)
F2
Words in s. 1(1)(a) inserted (30.6.2021) by Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021 (c. 23), s. 14(2), Sch. 2 para. 2(2); S.I. 2021/678, reg. 2
F3
Words in s. 1(1)(a) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Cross-Border Mediation (EU Directive) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/469), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 10(2) (with reg. 5) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1493, regs. 1(1), 4(5)(6)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Marginal Citations
M1
1980 c. 58.
(1)
Subsection (3) applies where—
(a)
the law of another country relating to limitation applies by reason of section 1(1)(a) in respect of a matter for the purposes of an overseas armed forces tort action, and
(b)
the commencement condition applies in relation to that action,
and in this section the law relating to limitation that applies for the purposes of that action is referred to as “
the relevant foreign limitation law
”.
(2)
The commencement condition applies in relation to an overseas armed forces tort action if the action commenced on a date which is after the end of the period of six years beginning with—
(a)
the date on which any limitation period specified in the relevant foreign limitation law began to run, or
(b)
where the relevant foreign limitation law has the effect that the action may be commenced within an indefinite period, the first date on which the action could have been commenced.
(3)
The relevant foreign limitation law is to be treated as providing the defendant with a complete defence to the action so far as relating to the matter (where that would not otherwise be the case).
(4)
An “
overseas armed forces tort action
” means an action—
(a)
which is an overseas armed forces action as defined in section 33(1ZB) of the Limitation Act 1980, and
(b)
which (under the law of the other country that falls to be taken into account) corresponds to—
(i)
an action to which section 11 of that Act applies (personal injuries),
(ii)
an action in respect of false imprisonment, or
(iii)
an action under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (death).
(5)
In the application of subsection (2) to an action in respect of which—
(a)
in accordance with the relevant foreign limitation law, a limitation period specified in that law has been suspended or interrupted for a period by reason of a person's lacking legal capacity or being under a disability, or
(b)
in accordance with the relevant foreign limitation law, a period during which a person lacks legal capacity or is under a disability has been disregarded in computing a limitation period specified in that law,
the reference to the period of six years is to be treated as a reference to the period of six years plus the period of suspension or interruption or (as the case may be) the period that was so disregarded.
(6)
In the application of subsection (2) to an action in respect of which a limitation period specified in the relevant foreign limitation law has been suspended in accordance with section 1(1) of the Limitation (Enemies and War Prisoners) Act 1945, the reference to the period of six years is to be treated as a reference to the period of six years plus—
(a)
the period during which the limitation period was suspended, and
(b)
any extra period after the suspension ended during which the action could have been brought only because of an extension provided for by section 1(1) of that Act.
Amendments (Textual)
F4
S. 1ZA inserted (30.6.2021) by Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021 (c. 23), s. 14(2), Sch. 2 para. 2(3); S.I. 2021/678, reg. 2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amendments (Textual)
F5
S. 1A omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Cross-Border Mediation (EU Directive) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/469), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 10(3) (with reg. 5) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1493, regs. 1(1), 4(5)(6)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
(1)
In this section—
(a)
F7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b)
F8
“ADR entity” means a person whose name appears on a list maintained in accordance with regulation 10 of the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (
S.I. 2015/542
);
(c)
F9
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d)
F10
“ADR procedure” means a procedure for the out-of-court resolution of disputes through the intervention of an ADR entity which proposes or imposes a solution or brings the parties together with the aim of facilitating an amicable solution;
(da)
F11
“consumer” means an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession;
(e)
“non-binding
ADR
procedure” means an
ADR
procedure the outcome of which is not binding on the parties;
(f)
F12
“relevant dispute” means a dispute that—
(i)
concerns obligations under a sales contract or a service contract, and
(ii)
is between a trader established in the United Kingdom or the European Union and a consumer resident in the United Kingdom,
which the parties attempt to settle by recourse to a non-binding ADR procedure;
(g)
F13
“sales contract” means a contract under which a trader transfers, or agrees to transfer, the ownership of...
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