No. 64 -1967 PARLIAMENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES REPORT OF THE LAW REFORM COMMISSION BEING THE FIRST REPORT ON THE LIMITATION OF ACTIONS (L.R.C. 3) OCTOBER, 1967 Ordered to be printed, 31 October, 1967 BY AUTHORITY ,V;C. N. BLIGHT, GOVERNMENT PRImR. NEW SC PREFACE The Law Reform Commission has been functioning since the beginning of 1966 and has been constituted by the Law Refonn &m- mission Act, 1967. The Commissioners are- The Honourable Mr Justice Manning, Chairman. Professor D. G. Benjdield. Mr R. D. Conacher. Mr H.. M. Scott. The Executive Member of the Commission is Mr R. E. WaIlcer. The offices of the Commission are at Park House, 187 Macquarie Street, Sydney. This report is the third report of the Commission made to the Attorney-General pursuant to a reference by him to the Commission. The short citation for this report is L.R.C.3. CONTENTS Paragraph Page Preface . .. .. .. Contents . .. Report . .. .. .. .. Appendix A-Special Limitation. etc., enactments . Appendix B- Arrangement of Limitation Bill . .. Limitation Bill . .. Appendix C-Note on Limitation BilI .. .. Tables of Statutes . .. .. Table of Cases .. .. .. Part I-Preliminary . .. Section l-Short title and commence- ment . .. 1 .. Section 2-Constntctioa . .. 2 .. Section 3-Division . .. .. 3 .. Section 4 (1)-Repeal of Imperial Acts 4-9 . Section 4 (2)-Repeal of New South Wales Acts . .. 10-33 Section 4 (3)-Amendment of Acts . 34-41 Section 4 (4)-Amendment of Convey- ancing Act . .. 4249 Section 5-Saving . 50. 51 Section 6-Transition . .. 52 .. Section 7-Other limitations . 53. 54 Section 8-Saving of specified enact- ments . .. 55-57 Section 9-Acquiescence. etc. 58 Section 10-The Crown . 59. 60 Section 11 (1)-Interpretation of words 61-82 Section 11 (2bMeaning of references 83-86 Section 11 (3)-Definition of "dis- ability" . 87-93 Section 11 (4)-Interpretation: rent charges . .. 94 .. Section 11 (5)-Accrual of cause of action . .. .. 95 .. Section 1L (6)-References to Acts . 96 . Part 11-Periods of limitation and related matters Division l-Preliminary Sections 12. 13-Relationship of Part II to Part 111; more than one bar 97 . Division 2-General . Section 14-General . .. 98-108 Section 15-Account . 109-112 Section 16-Deed . .. 113. 114 Section 17-Judgment . .. 115-118 Section 18-PenaIty and forfeiture . 119. Section 19-Compensation to relatives 120 . Section 20-Arbitral award . .. 121-126 Section 21-Successive wrongs to goods . 127. 128 Section 22-Shipping . .. 129-131 Section 23-Equitable relief .. .. 132 .. Section 24-Arrears of incorn6 .. 133-149 112-1 14 Paragraph Page Part IT-con timed Division 2-continued Section 25-Rdief against forfeiture of lease . 150-153 114,115 Section 26-Contribution between tort- feasors . .. 154-160 115,116 Division 3-Land Section 27 (l), (31, (4)-General-Re- covery by the Crown and persons claiming through the Crown . 161-169 Section 27 (2)-General-Recovery by other persons . .. 170.. Sections 28, 29, 30-Accrual-Present interests .. .. 171.. Section 3 1-Accrual-Future interests 172. Section 32-Forfeiture and breach of condition . 173.. Section 33-Rent wrongly paid . 174176 Section 34-Tenancies . 177-181 Section 35-Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1948 . 182.. Section 36-Equitable interests .. 183. Section 37-Settled land . .. 184-187 Section 38-Adverse possession .. 188-192 Section 39-Formal entry and claim . 193. Division 4--Mortgages Introductory . 194-208 120-122 Section 40-Mortgage under Real Property Act .. .. 209.. 122 Section 41-Redemption . 210-212 122,123 Section 42-Action for principal, possession or foreclosure .. 213-216 .. 123 Section 43-Action for interest ., 217, 218 . 123 Section 44-Adjustment of interest . 219,220 . 124 Section 45-Power of sale, etc. .. 221.. 124 Section 46-Mortgage of ship . 222-224 . 124 Division 5-Trusts Introductory . 225-229 . 125 Section 47-Fraud and conversion; trust property . 230-236 125,126 Section 48-Breach of trust . .. 237.. 126 Section 49-Accrual-future interest. 238. .. 126 Section 50-Beneficiaries other than the plaintiff . .. 239.. 126 Part 111-Postponement of the bar Division l-General Section 51-Ultimate bar . .. 240,241 .. 127 Division 2-Disability, confirmation, fraud and mistake Section 52-Disability . 242-246 . 127 Section 53-Notice to proceed . 247. .. 127 Section 54-Confirmation .. 248-267 128-131 Section 55-Fraud . .. 268-270 . 131 Section 56-Mistake .. 271 .. 131 CONTENTS-cont inued Paragraph Page Part 111- continued Division 3-Personal injury cases Introductory .. .. .. 272-293 131-135 Section 57-Interpretation . 294-300 . 135 Section 58-Ordinary action . 301 .. .. 136 Section 59-Surviving action .. 302 .. .l36 Section 6&Compensation to relatives 303 . ..l36 Section 62-Prior bar ineffective . 304 . .. 136 Section 62-Evidence . 305 . .l36 Division l-Extinction of right and title Introductory . .. 306-323 136-139 Section 63.Debt. damages. etc... 324 .. .l40 Section 64-Account . .. 325 .. -140 Section 65-Property .. 326. 327 .. 140 Section 66-Instrument under Real Property Act . .. 328 .. .l# Section 67-Future interest in land . 329 .. .l40 Section 68-Possessory lien . 330 .. .l40 Division 2-Arbitration Introductory . .. .. .. 331 .. ..l40 Section 69-Interpretation . 332 .. .l40 Section 70-Application of the Bill to arbitrations . 333. 334 . 141 Section 71-Accrual . .. 335-337 . 141 Section 72-Commencement .. .. 338 .. .l41 Section 73-Extension of limitation period . .. 339 .. .l41 Division 3-General Section 74-Set.off. etc . .. 340. 341 141. 142 Section 75-Joint right . .. 342. 343 . 142 Section 76-Joint liability . .. 344. 345 . 142 Section 77-Rules of court .. 346 .. 142 Provisions of the Imperial Act of 1939 with no counterpart in the Bill . 347-364 142-145 Index to note . .. 146 Appendix D-C omparative tables . 151 Present law to Bill . 152 Bill to present law . .. .. 153 Imperial Acts to Bill .. .. .. 155 LAW REFORM COMMISSION FIRST REPORT ON THE LIMITATION OF ACTIONS To the Honourable K. M. McCaw, M.L.A.. Attorney-General for New South Wdes. 1. You have made a reference to this Commission in the following terms : "To review the law mlating to the limitation of actions, notice of action, and incidental matters." 2. We have approached our task by dividing it into two parts. The hst part concerns tha general law of the limitation of actions. The second part concerns particular matters which will require consultation with, numcmus persons and authorities affected. These particular mat- ters include the large number of special provisions for the hitation of actions against public authorities, persons in pubIic offices, and other persons, and for notice of action; also the question of &g limitation periods for the enforcement of statutory chuges on land, for example, rates under the Local Government Act, 1919 ; and further consideration of tbc limitation period for an action by the Crown to recover land. Appcndu A to thls report is a list of statutory provisions for considera- tion in the second part of our work under this reference: the list Appendix A ought not to be treated as exhaustive. 3. We do not read our terms of reference as requiring us to con- sider limitation periods for criminal proceedings. 4. It is convenient to deal first. as this report does deal, with the general law a£ the limitation of actions. There are two reasons. Fist. it is not practicable to recommend legislation m the particular matters mentioned in paragraph 2 of this report except m the basis of knowing what the general law is to be. Second, we would like to have, before recommeudieg anything concerning these particular matters, the views of the peraons affected. It must take time if a proper opportunity is to be gwen for those views to be furnished to us. 5. Our terms of reference are broadly simiIar to the terms of reference of a subcommittee of the Law Reform Committee set up by your predecessor. The latter terms of reference were "to revise the law relatin to limitation of actions (including notice of action) and to sub- mit a haft Bill in tha~behalf fur the consideration of the Government," The subcommittee, under the chirmanship at first of The Honourable Mr Justice Else Mitchd and later of The Honourable Mr Justice Asprey, have carried their work a considerable distance and we have had the advantage of seeing papers prepared in the come of their work. In particular we should Iike to mention the work of hlr R. P. Meagher, barrister, who prepared the first working ddt of a limitation BiU. 6. The general law of the limitation of actions in force in New South Wak todq is in general the same as it was in England when Queen Victda came to the throne in 1837. The law rests. in the main, on Imperial Acte pssed before the fwst settlement of this country, together with some later E@sh legislation adqted, or copied, by New South Wales legislation passed over 100 years ago. Fa the limitation rules of most comman application, it is necessary to go back to a statute passed in 1623 and it may possibly be necessary to go back to a statute of 1588. 7. The text of these old statutes is inaccessible except in a few textbooks now out of print or in sets of old Imperial statutes also out of print and held only by the largest legal libraries. Further, the statutes are cast in a language explicable only by reference to court procedures, and forms of landholding, and institutions, which otherwise are rarely of any but antiquarian interest to the practising lawyer, or to the citizen, of today. 8. Since New South Wales became wiff-governing, two major epi- sodes in the history of the general law 01 &c limitation of actions have happened in England. The first episode was in 1874. It concerned the twenty-year limitation period which governed (and in New South Wales still does govern) an action on a covenant in a deed, an action to recover land, and other actions which we need not specify here.