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Fiji Legislation |
LAWS OF FIJI
CHAPTER 35
LIMITATION
Arrangement of Sections
PART I-PRELIMINARY
SECTION
1. Short
title.
2. Interpretation.
PART
II-PERIODS OF LIMITATION FOR
DIFFERENT
CLASSES
OF ACTION
3. Part
II to be subject to provisions of Part III.
A-ACTIONS OF CONTRACT AND TORT AND CERTAIN ACTIONS
4. Limitation of actions of contract and tort, and certain other actions.
5. Limitation in case of successive conversions and extinction of title of owner of converted goods.
6. Time limit for claiming contribution between tortfeasors.
7. Limitations of actions to recover rent.
B-ACTIONS
TO RECOVER MONEY SECURED BY A MORTGAGE
OR
CHARGE OR TO
RECOVER PROCEEDS OF SALE OF LAND
8. Limitation of actions to recover money secured by a mortgage or charge or to recover proceeds of sale of land.
C-ACTIONS IN RESPECT OF TRUST PROPERTY OR THE PERSONAL ESTATE OF DECEASED PERSONS
9. Limitation of actions in respect of trust property.
10. Limitation of actions claiming personal estate of a deceased person.
PART III-EXTENSION OF LIMITATION PERIODS IN CERTAIN CASES
A-DISABILITY
11.
Extension of limitation period in case of disability.
B-ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PART PAYMENT
12. Fresh accrual of action on acknowledgment or part payment.
13. Formal provisions as to acknowledgments and part payments.
14. Effect of acknowledgment or part payment on persons other than the maker or recipient.
C-FRAUD AND MISTAKE
15. Postponement of limitation period in case of fraud or mistake.
D-SPECIAL
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN ACTIONS
IN
RESPECT OF
PERSONAL INJURIES
16. Extension of time limit for actions in respect of personal injuries.
17. Application for leave of court.
18. Application of sections 16 and 17 to actions after death of injured person.
19. Meaning of "material facts relating to a cause of action".
20. Meaning of "facts of a decisive character".
21. When facts will be taken as outside the knowledge of a person.
22. Meaning of "appropriate advice".
23. Power of court to order joinder of parties.
PART IV-GENERAL
24. Application of Act and other limitation enactments to arbitrations.
25. Provisions as to set-off or counterclaim.
26. Acquiescence.
27. Application to the Crown,
28. Saving.
29. Transitional provisions as provisions as to actions already barred.
------------------------------------
Act No. 20 of 1971
AN ACT
TO CONSOLIDATE AND AMEND THE LAW RELATING
TO
THE LIMITATION
OF ACTIONS AND ARBITRATIONS.
[15th April, 1971.]
PART I-PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.
This Act may be cited as the Limitation
Act.
Interpretation
2.-(1)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"action" includes any proceedings in a court of law;
"court", in relation to an action, means the court in which the action has been, or is intended to be, brought;
"foreshore" means the shore and bed of the sea and of any tidal water, below the line of the medium high tide between the spring tides and the neap tides;
"parent" includes father and mother, and grandfather and grandmother, and stepfather and stepmother, whether any such relationship is legitimate, illegitimate or in consequence of adoption;
"personal estate" and "personal property" do not include chattels real;
"personal injuries" includes any disease and any impairment of a person's physical or mental condition;
"ship" includes every description of vessel used in navigation not propelled solely by oars;
"trust", "trustee" and "trust for sale" have the same meanings, respectively, as in the Trustee Act.
(Cap. 65)
(2)
A person shall be deemed to claim through another person, if he became entitled
by, through, under, or by the act of that other
person to the right
claimed:
Provided that a person
becoming entitled to any estate or interest by virtue of a special power of
appointment shall not be deemed
to claim through the
appointer.
(3) References in this
Act to a right of action to recover land shall include references to a right to
enter into possession of the
land and references to the bringing of such an
action shall include references to the making of such an
entry.
(4) In Part III, references
to a right of action shall include references to a cause of action and to a
right to receive money secured
by a mortgage or charge on any property or to
recover proceeds of the sale of land, and to a right to receive a share or
interest
in the personal estate of a deceased person; and references to the date
of the accrual of a right of action shall-
(a) in the case of an action for an account, be construed as references to the date on which the matter arose in respect of which an account is claimed;
(b) in the case of an action upon a judgment, be construed as references to the date on which the judgment became enforceable;
(c) in the case of an action to recover arrears of rent or interest, or damages in respect thereof, be construed as references to the date on which the rent or interest became due.
PART
II-PERIODS OF LIMITATION FOR
DIFFERENT
CLASSES
OF ACTION
Part II to be subject to provisions of Part III
3.
The provisions of this Part shall have effect subject to the provisions of Part
III which provide for the extension of the periods
of limitation in the case of
disability, acknowledgment, part payment, fraud and mistake, and in the case of
certain actions in respect
of personal injuries.
A-ACTIONS OF CONTRACT AND TORT AND CERTAIN ACTIONS
Limitation of actions of contract and tort, and certain other actions
4.-(1)
The following actions shall not be brought after the expiration of six years
from the date on which the cause of action accrued,
that is to
say-
(a) actions founded on simple contract or on tort;
(b) actions to enforce a recognizance;
(c) actions to enforce an award, where the submission is not by an instrument under seal;
(d) actions to recover any sum recoverable by virtue of any Act, other than a penalty or forfeiture or sum by way of penalty or forfeiture:
Provided that-
(i) in the case of actions for damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty (whether the duty exists by virtue of a contract or of provision made by or under any Act or independently of any contract or any such provision) where the damages claimed by the plaintiff for the negligence, nuisance or breach of duty consist of or include damages in respect of personal injuries to any person, this subsection shall have effect as if for the reference to six years there were substituted a reference to three years; and
(ii) nothing in this subsection shall be taken to refer to any action to which section 6 applies.
(2) An action for
an account shall not be brought in respect of any matter which arose more than
six years before the commencement
of the
action.
(3) An action upon a
specialty shall not be brought after the expiration of twelve years from the
date on which the cause of action
accrued:
Provided that this
subsection shall not affect any action for which a shorter period of limitation
is prescribed by any other provision
of this
Act.
(4) An action shall not be
brought upon any judgment after the expiration of twelve years from the date on
which the judgment became
enforceable, and no arrears of interest in respect of
any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of six years from
the
date on which the interest became
due.
(5) An action to recover any
penalty or forfeiture, or sum by way of penalty or forfeiture, recoverable by
virtue of any Act or imperial
enactment shall not be brought after the
expiration of two years from the date on which the cause of action
accrued:
Provided that for the
purposes of this subsection the expression "penalty" shall not include a fine to
which any person is liable
on conviction of a criminal
offence.
(6) Subsection (1) shall
apply to an action to recover seamen's wages, but save as aforesaid this section
shall not apply to any cause
of action within the Admiralty jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court which is enforceable in
rem.
(7) This section shall not
apply to any claim for specific performance of a contract or for any injunction
or for other equitable
relief, except in so far as any provision thereof may be
applied by the court by analogy in like manner as has, prior to the commencement
of this Act, been applied.
Limitation in
case of successive conversions and
extinction
of title of owner of
converted goods
5.-(1)
Where any cause of action in respect of the conversion or wrongful detention of
a chattel has accrued to any person, and before
he recovers possession of the
chattel, a further conversion or wrongful detention takes place, no action shall
be brought in respect
of the further conversion or detention after the
expiration of six years from the accrual of the cause of action in respect of
the
original conversion or
detention.
(2) Where any such
cause of action has accrued to any person and the period prescribed for bringing
that action and for bringing any
action in respect of such a further conversion
or wrongful detention as aforesaid has expired and he has not during that period
recovered
possession of the chattel, the title of that person to the chattel
shall be extinguished.
Time limit for claiming contribution between tortfeasors
6.-(1)
Where under the provisions of section 6 of the Law Reform (Contributory
Negligence and Tortfeasors) Act, a tortfeasor (in this section referred to as
the first tortfeasor) becomes entitled after the commencement of this Act to a
right
to recover contribution in respect of any damage from another tortfeasor,
no action to recover contribution by virtue of that right
shall, subject to
subsection (2), be brought after the end of the period of two years from the
date on which that right accrued to
the first
tortfeasor.
(Cap.
30)
(2) For the purposes of this
section, the date on which a right to recover contribution in respect of any
damage accrues to a tortfeasor
(in this subsection referred to as the relevant
date) shall be ascertained as follows:-
(a) if the tortfeasor is held liable in respect of that damage by a judgment given in any civil proceedings, or an award made on any arbitration, the relevant date shall be the date on which the judgment is given or the date of the award, as the case may be;
(b) if, in any case not falling within the provisions of paragraph (a), the tortfeasor admits liability in favour of one or more persons in respect of that damage, the relevant date shall be the earliest date on which the amount to be paid by him in discharge of that liability is agreed by or on behalf of the tortfeasor and that person or each of those persons, as the case may be,
and,
for the purposes of this subsection, no account shall be taken of any judgment
or award given or made on appeal in so far as
it varies the amount of damages
awarded against the tortfeasor.
Limitations of actions to recover rent
7.
No action shall be brought, or distress made, to recover arrears of rent, or
damages in respect thereof, after the expiration of
six years from the date on
which the arrears became due.
B-ACTIONS TO RECOVER MONEY SECURED BY A MORTGAGE OR CHARGE OR TO RECOVER PROCEEDS OF SALE OF LAND
Limitation of actions to recover money secured by a mortgage or charge or to recover proceeds of sale of land
8.-(1)
No action shall be brought to recover any principal sum of money secured by a
mortgage or other charge on property, or to recover
proceeds of the sale of
land, after the expiration of twenty years from the date when the right to
receive the money accrued.
(2) No
foreclosure action in respect of mortgaged personal property shall be brought
after the expiration of twenty years from the
date on which the right to
foreclose accrued:
Provided that
if, after that date the mortgagee was in possession of the mortgaged property,
the right to foreclose on the property
which was in his possession shall not,
for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to have accrued until the date on
which his
possession
discontinued.
(3) The right to
receive any principal sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge and the
right to foreclose on the property
subject to the mortgage or charge shall not
be deemed to accrue so long as that property comprises any future interest or
any life
assurance policy which has not matured or been
determined.
(4) Nothing in this
section shall apply to a foreclosure action in respect of mortgaged land, but
the provisions of this Act relating
to actions to recover land shall apply to
such an action.
(5) No action to
recover arrears of interest payable in respect of any sum of money secured by a
mortgage or other charge or payable
in respect of the proceeds of sale of land,
or to recover damages in respect of such arrears, shall be brought after the
expiration
of six years from the date on which the interest became
due:
Provided that-
(a) where a prior mortgagee or other incumbrancer has been in possession of the property charged, and an action is brought within one year of the discontinuance of such possession by the subsequent incumbrancer, he may recover by that action all the arrears of interest which fell due during the period of possession by the prior incumbrancer or damages in respect thereof, notwithstanding that the period exceeded six years;
(b) where the property subject to the mortgage or charge comprises any future interest or life insurance policy and it is a term of the mortgage or charge that arrears of interest shall be treated as part of the principal sum of money secured by the mortgage or charge, interest shall not be deemed to become due before the right to receive the principal sum of money has accrued or is deemed to have accrued.
(6)
This section shall not apply to any mortgage or charge on a ship.
C-ACTIONS IN RESPECT OF TRUST PROPERTY OR THE PERSONAL ESTATE OF DECEASED PERSONS
Limitation of actions in respect of trust property
9.-(1)
No period of limitation prescribed by the provisions of this Act shall apply to
an action by a beneficiary under a trust, being
an action-
(a) in respect of any fraud or fraudulent breach of trust to which the trustee was a party or privy; or
(b) to recover from the trustee, trust property or the proceeds thereof in the possession of the trustee, or previously received by the trustee and converted to his use.
(2)
Subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of the Trustee Act, an action by a
beneficiary to recover trust property or in respect of any breach of trust, not
being an action for which a period
of limitation is prescribed by any other
provision of this Act, shall not be brought after the expiration of six years
from the date
on which the right of action
accrued:
(Cap.
65)
Provided that the right of
action shall not be deemed to have accrued to any beneficiary entitled to a
future interest in the trust
property, until the interest fell into
possession.
(3) No beneficiary as
against whom there would be a good defence under the provisions of this Act
shall derive any greater or other
benefit from a judgment or order obtained by
any other beneficiary than he could have obtained if he had brought the action
and this
Act had been pleaded in defence.
Limitation of actions claiming personal estate of a deceased person
10.
Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of section 9, no action in respect
of any claim to the personal estate of a deceased
person or to any share or
interest in such estate, whether under a will or on intestacy, shall be brought
after the expiration of
twelve years from the date when the right to receive the
share or interest accrued, and no action to recover arrears of interest
in
respect of any legacy, or damages in respect of such arrears, shall be brought
after the expiration of six years from the date
on which the interest became
due.
PART III-EXTENSION OF LIMITATION PERIODS IN CERTAIN CASES
A-DISABILITY
Extension of limitation period in case of disability
11.-(1)
If on the date when any right of action accrued for which a period of limitation
is prescribed by this Act, the person to whom
such right accrued was under a
disability, the action may be brought at any time before the expiration of six
years from the date
when the person ceased to be under a disability or died,
whichever event first occurred, notwithstanding that the period of limitation
had expired:
Provided
that-
(a) this section shall not affect any case where the right of action first accrued to some person (not under a disability) through whom the person under a disability claims;
(b) when a right of action which has accrued to a person under a disability accrued, on the death of that person while still under a disability, to another person under disability, no further extension of time shall be allowed by reason of the disability of the second person;
(c) no action to recover land or money charged on land shall be brought by virtue of this section by any person after the expiration of thirty years from the date on which the right of action accrued to that person or some person through whom he claims;
(d) this section shall not apply to any action to recover a penalty or forfeiture, or sum by way thereof, by virtue of any Act, except where the action is brought by an aggrieved party.
(2)
In the case of actions for damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty
(whether the duty exists by virtue of a contract
or of provision made by or
under any Act or independently of any contract or any such provision) where the
damages claimed by the
plaintiff for the negligence, nuisance or breach of duty
consist of or include damages in respect of personal injuries to any person
and
in the case of actions to which section 6 applies-
(a) subsection (1) shall have effect as if for the words "six years" there were substituted-
(i) as regards any action to which section 6 applies, the words "two years";
(ii) as regards any other action to which this subsection refers, the words "three years"; and
(b) this section shall not apply unless the plaintiff proves that the person under the disability was not, at the time when the right of action, or (as regards an action to which section 6 applies) the right to recover contribution, accrued to him, in the custody of a parent,
(3)
For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to be under a
disability while he is an infant or of unsound mind,
and, without prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing provisions of this subsection, a person shall be
conclusively presumed
to be of unsound mind while he is detained in pursuance of
any Act authorizing the detention of persons of unsound mind, including
persons
convicted of offences or awaiting trial, or while he is receiving treatment
voluntarily under the provisions of the Mental
Treatment
Act.
(Cap.
113)
B-ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND PART PAYMENT
Fresh accrual of action on acknowledgment or part payment
12.-(1)
Where there has accrued any right of action (including a foreclosure action) to
recover land or any right of a mortgagee of
personal property to bring a
foreclosure action in respect of the property, and-
(a) the person in possession of the land or personal property acknowledges the title of the person to whom the right of action has accrued; or
(b) in the case of a foreclosure or other action by a mortgagee, the person in possession as aforesaid or the person liable for the mortgage debt makes any payment in respect thereof, whether of principal or interest,
the
right shall be deemed to have accrued on and not before the date of the
acknowledgment or the last
payment.
(2) Where a mortgagee is
by virtue of the mortgage in possession of any mortgaged land and either
receives any sum in respect of the
principal or interest of the mortgage debt or
acknowledges the title of the mortgagor, or his equity of redemption, an action
to
redeem the land in his possession may be brought at any time before the
expiration of twelve years from the date of the payment or
acknowledgment.
(3) Where any
right of action has accrued to recover any debt or other liquidated pecuniary
claim, or any claim to the personal estate
of a deceased person or to any share
or interest therein, and the person liable or accountable therefor acknowledges
the claim or
makes any payment in respect thereof, the right shall be deemed to
have accrued on and not before the date of the acknowledgment
or the last
payment:
Provided that a payment
of a part of the rent or interest due at any time shall not extend the period
for claiming the remainder then
due, but any payment of interest shall be
treated as a payment in respect of the principal debt.
Formal provisions as to acknowledgments and part payments
13.-(1)
Every acknowledgment referred to in section 12 shall be in writing and signed by
the person making the
acknowledgment.
(2) Any such
acknowledgment or payment as aforesaid may be made by the agent of the person by
whom it is required to be made under
the provisions of section 12, and shall be
made to the person, or to an agent of the person, whose title or claim is being
acknowledged,
or, as the case may be, in respect of whose claim the payment is
being made.
Effect of acknowledgment or part payment on persons other than the maker or recipient
14.-(1)
An acknowledgment of the title to any land or mortgaged personality by any
person in possession thereof shall bind all other
persons in possession during
the ensuing period of
limitation.
(2) A payment in
respect of a mortgage debt by the mortgagor or any person in possession of the
mortgaged property shall, so far as
any right of the mortgagee to foreclose or
otherwise to recover the property is concerned, bind all other persons in
possession of
the mortgaged property during the ensuing period of
limitation.
(3) Where two or more
mortgagees are by virtue of the mortgage in possession of the mortgaged land, an
acknowledgment of the mortgagor's
title or of his equity of redemption by one of
the mortgagees shall bind only him and his successors and shall not bind any
other
mortgagee or his successors, and where the mortgagee by whom the
acknowledgment is given is entitled to a part of the mortgaged land
and not to
any ascertained part of the mortgage debt, the mortgagor shall be entitled to
redeem that part of the land on payment,
with interest, of the part of the
mortgage debt which bears the same proportion to the whole of the debt as the
value of the part
of the land bears to the whole of the mortgaged
land.
(4) Where there are two or
more mortgagors, and the title or right to redemption of one of the mortgagors
is acknowledged as aforesaid,
the acknowledgment shall be deemed to have been
made to all the mortgagors.
(5) An
acknowledgment of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall bind the
acknowledgor and his successors but not any other
person:
Provided that an
acknowledgment made after the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed
for the bringing of an action to
recover the debt or other claim shall not bind
any successor on whom the liability devolves on the determination of a preceding
estate
or interest in property under a settlement taking effect before the date
of the acknowledgment.
(6) A
payment made in respect of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall
bind all persons liable in respect
thereof:
Provided that a payment
made after the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed for the
bringing of an action to recover
the debt or other claim shall not bind any
person other than the person making the payment and his successors, and shall
not bind
any successor on whom the liability devolves on the determination of a
preceding estate or interest in property under a settlement
taking effect before
the date of the payment.
(7) An
acknowledgment by one of several personal representatives of any claim to the
personal estate of a deceased person, or to any
share or interest therein, or a
payment by one of several personal representatives in respect of any such claim
shall bind the estate
of the deceased
person.
(8) In this section the
expression "successor", in relation to any mortgagee or person liable in respect
of any debt or claim, means
his personal representatives and any other person on
whom the rights under the mortgage or, as the case may be, the liability in
respect of the debt or claim devolve, whether on death or bankruptcy or the
disposition of property or the determination of a limited
estate or interest in
settled property or otherwise.
C-FRAUD AND MISTAKE
Postponement of limitation period in case of fraud or mistake
15.
Where, in the case of any action for which a period of limitation is prescribed
by this Act, either-
(a) the action is based upon the fraud of the defendant or his agent or of any person through whom he claims or his agent; or
(b) the right of action is concealed by the fraud of any such person; or
(c) the action is for relief from the consequences of a mistake,
the
period of limitation shall not begin to run until the plaintiff has discovered
the fraud or the mistake, as the case may be, or
could with reasonable diligence
have discovered it:
Provided that
nothing in this section shall enable any action to be brought to recover, or
enforce any charge against or set aside
any transaction affecting, any property
which-
(i) in the case of fraud, has been purchased for valuable consideration by a person who was not a party to the fraud and did not at the time of the purchase know or have reason to believe that any fraud had been committed; or
(ii) in the case of mistake, has been purchased for valuable consideration, subsequently to the transaction in which the mistake was made, by a person who did not know or have reason to believe that the mistake had been made.
D-SPECIAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN ACTIONS IN RESPECT OF PERSONAL INJURIES
Extension of time limit for actions in respect of personal injuries
16.-(1)
The provisions of subsection (1) of section 4 shall not afford any defence to an
action to which this section applies, in so
far as the action relates to any
cause of action in respect of which-
(a) the court has, whether before or after the commencement of the action, granted leave for the purposes of this section; and
(b) the requirements of subsection (3) are fulfilled.
(2)
This section applies to any action for damages for negligence, nuisance or
breach of duty (whether the duty exists by virtue of
a contract or of provision
made by or under any Act or independently of any contract or any such provision)
where the damages claimed
by the plaintiff for the negligence, nuisance or
breach of duty consist of or include damages in respect of personal injuries to
the plaintiff or any other
person.
(3) The requirements of
this subsection shall be fulfilled in relation to a cause of action if it is
proved that the material facts
relating to that cause of action were or included
facts of a decisive character which were at all times outside the knowledge
(actual
or constructive) of the plaintiff until a date which-
(a) either was after the end of the three-year period relating to that cause of action or was not earlier than twelve months before the end of that period; and
(b) in either case, was a date not earlier than twelve months before the date on which the action was brought.
(4)
For the purposes of subsection (3), reference to the three-year period relating
to a cause of action means a reference to the
period of three years from the
date on which that cause of action
accrued:
Provided
that-
(a) in relation to any cause of action in respect of which, by virtue of section 11, an action could have been brought after the end of the period of three years from the date on which that cause of action accrued, any such reference to the three-year period relating to that cause of action shall be construed as a reference to the period up to the end of which an action could, by virtue of that section, have been brought in respect thereof;
(b) in relation to a cause of action in respect of which, by virtue of section 15, the period of limitation did not begin to run until a date after the cause of action accrued, any such reference to the three-year period relating to that cause of action shall be construed as a reference to the period of three years from the date on which, by virtue of that section, the period of limitation began to run.
(5)
Nothing in this section shall be construed as excluding or otherwise
affecting-
(a) any defence which, in any action to which this section applies, may be available by virtue of any provisions of any Act other than those contained in subsection (1) of section 4 (whether it is an Act imposing a period of limitation or not) or by virtue of any rule of law or equity; or
(b) the operation of any Act or of any rule of law or equity which, apart from this section would enable such an action to be brought after the end of the period of three years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.
Application for leave of court
17.-(1)
Any application for the leave of the court for the purposes of section 16 shall
be made ex
parte, except in so far as rules of court
may otherwise provide in relation to applications which are made after the
commencement of a
relevant
action.
(2) Where such an
application is made before the commencement of any relevant action, the court
may grant leave in respect of any
cause of action to which the application
relates if, but only if, on evidence adduced by or on behalf of the plaintiff,
it appears
to the court that, if such an action were brought forthwith and like
evidence were adduced in that action, that evidence would, in
the absence of any
evidence to the contrary, be sufficient-
(a) to establish that cause of action, apart from any defence under subsection (1) of section 4; and
(b) to fulfil the requirements of subsection (3) of section 16 in relation to that cause of action.
(3)
Where such an application is made after the commencement of a relevant action,
the court may grant leave in respect of any cause
of action to which the
application relates if, but only if, on evidence adduced by or on behalf of the
plaintiff, it appears to the
court that, if the like evidence were adduced in
that action, that evidence would, in the absence of any evidence to the
contrary,
be sufficient-
(a) to establish that cause of action, apart from any defence under subsection (1) of section 4; and
(b) to fulfil the requirements of subsection (3) of section 16 in relation to that cause of action,
and
it also appears to the court that, until after the commencement of that action,
it was outside the knowledge (actual or constructive)
of the plaintiff that the
matters constituting that cause of action had occurred on such a date as, apart
from the last preceding
section, to afford a defence under subsection (1) of
section 4.
(4) In this section,
"relevant action", in relation to an application for the leave of the court,
means any action in connection with
which the leave sought by the application is
required.
Application of sections 16 and 17 to actions after death of injured person
18.-(1)
In relation to any action to which section 16 applies being an action in respect
of one or more causes of action surviving for
the benefit of the estate of a
deceased person by virtue of section 2 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous
Provisions) (Death and Interest) Act, subsections (1), (3) and (5) of section
16, and section 17, shall have effect subject to the provisions of subsections
(4) and (5).
(Cap.
27)
(2) Subsections (1), (3) and
(5) of section 16, and section 17, shall have effect subject to the provisions
of subsections (4) to
(6), in relation to an action brought by virtue of the
Compensation to Relatives Act for damages in respect of a person's death, as
they have effect in relation to an action to which section 16
applies.
(Cap.
29)
(3) In subsections (4), (5)
and (6), and in sections 16 and 17 as modified by those provisions, "the
deceased" means the person referred
to in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may
be.
(4) Subsection (1) of section
16 shall not have effect in relation to any action falling within subsection (1)
or (2) unless the action
is brought before the end of the period of twelve
months from the date on which the deceased
died.
(5) For the purpose of the
application of subsection (3) of section 16 to an action falling within
subsection (1) or (2)-
(a) any reference in the said subsection (3) to the plaintiff shall be construed as a reference to the deceased; and
(b) the requirements of that subsection shall be taken to be fulfilled in relation to a cause of action if either the matters specified in that subsection (as modified by paragraph (a)) are proved or it is proved that the material facts relating to that cause of action were or included facts of a decisive character which at all times until his death were outside the knowledge (actual or constructive) of the deceased and any reference to the requirements of the said subsection (3) shall, in relation to an action falling within subsection (1) or (2), be construed as a reference to the requirements of the said. Subsection (3) as modified by this subsection.
(6)
In the application of sections 16 to 22 to an action brought by virtue of the
Compensation to Relatives
Act-
(Cap.
29)
(a) any reference to a cause of action to which an action relates shall be construed as a reference to a cause of action in respect of which it is claimed that the deceased could, but for his death, have maintained an action and recovered damages; and
(b) any reference to establishing a cause of action shall be construed as a reference to establishing that the deceased could, but for his death, have maintained an action and recovered damages in respect thereof.
Meaning of "material facts relating to a cause of action"
19.
In sections 16 and 18 any reference to material facts relating to a cause of
action means a reference to any one or more of the
following:-
(a) the fact that personal injuries resulted from the negligence, nuisance or breach of duty constituting that cause of action;
(b) the nature or extent of the personal injuries resulting from that negligence, nuisance or breach of duty;
(c) the fact that the personal injuries so resulting were attributable to that negligence, nuisance or breach of duty, or the extent to which any of those personal injuries were so attributable.
Meaning of "facts of a decisive character"
20.
For the purposes of sections 16 and 18, any of the material facts relating to a
cause of action shall be taken, at any particular
time, to have been facts of a
decisive character if they were facts which a reasonable person, knowing those
facts and having obtained
appropriate advice within the meaning of section 22
with respect to them, would have regarded at that time as determining, in
relation
to that cause of action, that, apart from any defence under subsection
(1) of section 4, an action would have a reasonable prospect
of succeeding and
of resulting in the award of damages sufficient to justify the bringing of the
action.
When facts will be taken as outside the knowledge of a person
21.-(1)
Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), for the purposes of sections 16 to
18 a fact shall, at any time, be taken to have
been outside the knowledge,
actual or constructive, of a person if, but only if-
(a) he did not then know that fact;
(b) in so far as that fact was capable of being ascertained by him, he had taken all such action, if any, as it was reasonable for him to have taken before that time for the purpose of ascertaining it; and
(c) in so far as there existed, and were known to him, circumstances from which with appropriate advice within the meaning of section 22 that fact might have been ascertained or inferred, he had taken all such action, if any, as it was reasonable for him to have taken before that time for the purpose of obtaining appropriate advice as aforesaid with respect to those circumstances.
(2)
In the application of subsection (1) to a person at a time when he was under a
disability and was in the custody of a parent,
any reference to that person in
paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of that subsection shall be construed as a reference
to that parent.
Meaning of "appropriate advice"
22.
In sections 20 and 21 "appropriate advice", in relation to any fact or
circumstances, means the advice of competent persons qualified,
in their
respective spheres, to advise on the medical, legal or other aspects of that
fact or those circumstances, as the case may
be.
Power of court to order joinder of parties
23.
Where an action has been commenced within any period of limitation prescribed by
this or any other Act and, after the expiry of
such period, it transpires that
there has been misjoinder or non-joinder of any party to that action, the court
may order that any
other party may be joined in the action notwithstanding that
the period of limitation has expired against that other party.
PART IV-GENERAL
Application of Act and other limitation enactments to arbitrations
24.-(1)
This Act and any other Act relating to the limitation of actions shall apply to
arbitrations as they apply to actions in the
Supreme
Court.
(2) Notwithstanding any
term in an arbitration agreement to the effect that no cause of action shall
accrue in respect of any matter
required by the agreement to be referred until
an award is made under the agreement, the cause of action shall, for the purpose
of
this Act and of any other such Act, whether in its application to
arbitrations or to other proceedings, be deemed to have accrued
in respect of
any such matter at the time when it would have accrued but for that term in the
agreement.
(3) For the purpose of
this Act and of any other such Act as aforesaid, an arbitration shall be deemed
to be commenced when one party
to the arbitration serves on the other party or
parties a notice requiring him or them to appoint an arbitrator or to agree to
the
appointment of an arbitrator, or, where the arbitration agreement provides
that the reference shall be to a person named or designated
in the agreement,
requiring him or them to submit the dispute to the person so named or
designated.
(4) Any such notice as
aforesaid may be served either-
(a) by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served; or
(b) by leaving it at the usual or last known place of abode of that person; or
(c) by sending it by post in a registered letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode,
as
well as in any other manner provided in the arbitration
agreement.
(5) Where the court
orders that an award be set aside or orders, after the commencement of an
arbitration, that the arbitration shall
cease to have effect with respect to the
dispute referred, the court may further order that the period between the
commencement of
the arbitration and the date of the order of the court shall be
excluded in computing the time prescribed by this Act or any such
other Act as
aforesaid for the commencement of proceedings, including arbitration, with
respect to the dispute
referred.
(6) This section shall
apply to an arbitration under an Act as well as to an arbitration pursuant to an
arbitration agreement, and
subsection (3) and (4) shall have effect, in relation
to an arbitration under an Act, as if for the references to the arbitration
agreement there were substituted references to such of the provisions of the Act
or of any subsidiary legislation made thereunder
as relate to the
arbitration.
Provisions as to set-off or counterclaim
25.
For the purposes of this Act, any claim by way of set-off or counterclaim shall
be deemed to be a separate action and to have been
commenced on the same date as
the action in which the set-off or counterclaim is pleaded.
Acquiescence
26.
Nothing in this Act shall affect any equitable jurisdiction to refuse relief on
the ground of acquiescence or otherwise.
Application to the Crown
27.
Save as in this or in any other Act otherwise expressly provided and without
prejudice to the provisions of section 28, this Act
shall apply to proceedings
by or against the Crown in like manner as it applies to proceedings between
subjects:
Provided that this Act
shall not apply to any proceedings by the Crown for the recovery of any tax or
duty or interest thereon or
to any forfeiture proceedings under any written law
relating to the customs or excise or to any proceedings in respect of the
forfeiture
of a ship.
Saving
28.
This Act shall not apply to any action or arbitration for which a period of
limitation is prescribed by any other Act, or to any
action or arbitration to
which the Crown is a party and for which, if it were between subjects, a period
of limitation would be prescribed
by any other enactment.
Transitional provisions and provisions as to actions already barred
29.-(1)
Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), the provisions of section
16 to 22 shall have effect in relation to causes
of action which accrued before
the commencement of this Act (whether the action relating to any such cause of
action was then already
barred or not) as well as to causes of action which
accrue after the commencement of this Act, and shall have effect in relation
to
any cause of action which accrued before the commencement of this Act
notwithstanding that an action in respect thereof has been
commenced and is
pending at the commencement of this
Act.
(2) In the application of
section 17 to an action which is pending at the commencement of this Act,
subsection (3) of that section
shall have effect with the exception of the last
six lines of that subsection.
(3)
For the purposes of subsection (1), an action shall not be taken to be pending
at any time after a final order or judgment has
been made or given therein,
notwithstanding that an appeal is pending or that the time for appealing has not
expired; and accordingly
section 15 shall not have effect in relation to a cause
of action in respect of which a final order or judgment has been made or
given
before the commencement of this
Act.
(4) Save as aforesaid,
nothing in this Act shall-
(a) affect any action or arbitration commenced before the commencement of this Act or the title to any property which is the subject of any such action or arbitration; or
(b) enable any action to be brought which, immediately before the commencement of this Act, was then barred by the provisions of any Act which ceases to apply in Fiji by virtue of section 30, except in so far as the cause of action or right of action may be revived by an acknowledgment or part payment made in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(5)
Subject to the provisions of section 6 and subsection (4), the time for bringing
proceedings in respect of a cause of action which
accrued before the
commencement of this Act shall, if it has not then already expired, expire at a
time when it would have expired
apart from the provisions of this Act or at any
time when it would have expired if the provisions of this Act had at all
material
times been in force, whichever is the
later:
Provided that where a cause
of action, for which a period of limitation is prescribed by this Act, has
accrued before the commencement
of this Act in any case in which, but for the
provisions of this Act, no time for bringing proceedings in respect thereof is
limited,
the time for bringing such proceedings, as limited by the provisions of
this Act, shall commence to run from the commencement of
this
Act.
Controlled by Ministry of the Attorney-General
----------------------------
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