Prescription and Limitation of Actions

For the Scottish legal practitioner, questions of prescription and limitation arise almost every day and are often of exceptional importance. Yet in all but the simplest case it is far from straightforward to identify precisely: a) When a right or obligation has been extinguished by negative prescription, b) When it has been fortified by positive prescription, or c) When it has been barred by limitation. The terms of the statute that governs most of these questions, the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, are complex and can be obscure . Practitioners therefore need a close examination of the 1973 Act and its operation in practice. This is the challenge taken up by David Johnston, who has a keen understanding and great practical experience of this area of the law.Since the publication of the first edition of this book in 1999 there have been significant developments in case law and legislation, as well as various amendments to the 1973 Act. This second edition takes account of all of these changes which relate, among other things, to positive prescription, the 28 European directive on mediation in civil and commercial matters, and the introduction of new limitation periods for proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 22. CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATIONDavid Johnston is a Q.C. and an honorary professor at Edinburgh Law School.