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Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973
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Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, Section 7 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 08 July 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
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- s. 32(2) applied (with modifications) by 2021 asp 9 s. 69(8)
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Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 32(2) applied (with modifications) by 2021 asp 9 s. 69(8)
7 Extinction of obligations by prescriptive periods of twenty years.S
[F1(1)An obligation to which this section applies is extinguished on the expiry of the continuous period of 20 years after the date on which the obligation became enforceable.]
(2)This section applies to an obligation of any kind (including an obligation to which section 6 of this Act applies), not being an obligation [F2to which section 22A of this Act applies or an obligation] specified in Schedule 3 to this Act as an imprescriptible obligation [F3or an obligation to make reparation in respect of personal injuries within the meaning of Part II of this Act or in respect of the death of any person as a result of such injuries] [F4or any obligation to pay damages arising from liability under section 148 or section 149 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (see section 18ZD of this Act).]
[F5(3)Subsection (4) applies if—
(a)a relevant claim is made in relation to an obligation to which this section applies,
(b)the claim is made before the time at which the prescriptive period mentioned in subsection (1) would, but for subsection (4), expire, and
(c)at that time—
(i)the claim has not been finally disposed of, and
(ii)the proceedings in which the claim is made have not otherwise come to an end.
(4)The prescriptive period is extended so that it expires—
(a)when the claim is finally disposed of, or
(b)when the proceedings in which the claim is made come to an end (where the proceedings come to an end without the claim having been finally disposed of).
(5)In subsections (3) and (4), the references to proceedings in which a relevant claim is made include references to any other process in or by which a relevant claim is made.]
Textual Amendments
F1S. 7(1) substituted (28.2.2025) by Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 (asp 15), ss. 6(2)(a), 17(2); S.S.I. 2022/78, reg. 2(1) (with regs. 1(2), 3(1), 4(1))
F2Words inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), ss. 6, 41(2), 47(1)(2), Sch. 1 para. 8
F3Words added by Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 45, SIF 97), ss. 5(3), 6(1), Sch. 1 para. 2
F4Words in s. 7(2) inserted (28.6.2022) by Building Safety Act 2022 (c. 30), ss. 151(3), 170(3)
F5S. 7(3)-(5) inserted (28.2.2025) by Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 (asp 15), ss. 6(2)(b), 17(2); S.S.I. 2022/78, reg. 2(1) (with regs. 1(2), 3(1), 4(1))
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