- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973
You are here:
- UK Public General Acts
- 1973 c. 52
- Part III
- Section 23A
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes over time for: Section 23A
Changes to legislation:
Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, Section 23A is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 23 April 2024. 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.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 23A:
- s. 23A(5)(a) word substituted by S.I. 2019/834 reg. 2(a) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. S.I. 2019/834, reg. 2 substituted (17.12.2020) by S.I. 2020/1574, regs. 1, 6(2))
- s. 23A(5)(b) word substituted by S.I. 2019/834 reg. 2(b) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. S.I. 2019/834, reg. 2 substituted (17.12.2020) by S.I. 2020/1574, regs. 1, 6(2))
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 6(4A) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 4(3)
- s. 7(3)-(5) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 6(2)(b)
- s. 7A inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 9(2)
- s. 8(1A)-(1C) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 7(3)
- s. 9(1)(e)-(h) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 10(2)(b)
- s. 9(2A) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 11(2)
- s. 9A inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 12
- s. 13A inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 14(2)
- s. 22A(3)(d)-(g) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 10(3)(b)
- s. 22A(7A) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 14(3)
- s. 32(2) applied (with modifications) by 2021 asp 9 s. 69(8)
- Sch. 1 para. 1(fa)(fb) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 2(2)
- Sch. 1 para. 1(h) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 3(2)(b)
- Sch. 1 para. 2(fa)-(fd) inserted by 2018 asp 15 s. 3(3)(b)
- Sch. 1 para. 1(d)(da) substituted for Sch. 1 para. 1(d) by 2018 asp 15 s. 1(2)
- Sch. 1 para. 2(e)(ea) substituted for Sch. 1 para. 2(e) by 2018 asp 15 s. 3(3)(a)
[F123APrivate international law application.S
(1)Where the substantive law of a country other than Scotland falls to be applied by a Scottish court as the law governing an obligation, the court shall apply any relevant rules of law of that country relating to the extinction of the obligation or the limitation of time within which proceedings may be brought to enforce the obligation [F2, subject to section 23B,] to the exclusion of any corresponding rule of Scots law.
(2)This section shall not apply where it appears to the court that the application of the relevant foreign rule of law would be incompatible with the principles of public policy applied by the court.
(3) This section shall not apply in any case where the application of the corresponding rule of Scots law has extinguished the obligation, or barred the bringing of proceedings prior to the coming into force of the M1Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1984.]
[F3(4) This section [F4and section 23B] shall not apply in any case where the law of a country other than Scotland falls to be applied by virtue of any choice of law rule contained in [F5the Rome I Regulation or] the Rome II Regulation.
[F6(5)In subsection (4)—
(a)“the Rome I Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) as that Regulation has effect as [F7assimilated direct] legislation (including that Regulation as applied by regulation 4 of the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (Scotland) Regulations 2009), unless the proceedings are ones in respect of which Regulation (EC) No. 593/2008 has effect by virtue of Article 66 of the EU withdrawal agreement, in which case it means that Regulation as it has effect by virtue of that Article; and
(b)“the Rome II Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II) as that Regulation has effect as [F8assimilated direct] legislation (including that Regulation as applied by regulation 4 of the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (Scotland) Regulations 2008), unless the proceedings are ones in respect of which Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 has effect by virtue of Article 66 of the EU withdrawal agreement, in which case it means that Regulation as it has effect by virtue of that Article.]]
Textual Amendments
F1S. 23A inserted by Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 45, SIF 97), ss. 4, 5(2)
F2Words in s. 23A(1) inserted (30.6.2021) by Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021 (c. 23), s. 14(2), Sch. 3 para. 2(2)(a); S.I. 2021/678, reg. 2
F3S. 23A(4)(5) inserted (11.1.2009) by Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (S.S.I. 2008/404), regs. 1(1), 3
F4Words in s. 23A(4) inserted (30.6.2021) by Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021 (c. 23), s. 14(2), Sch. 3 para. 2(2)(b); S.I. 2021/678, reg. 2
F5Words in s. 23A(4) inserted (17.12.2009) by Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (S.S.I. 2009/410), regs. 1(1), 3(a)
F6S. 23A(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by S.I. 2019/834, reg. 2 (as substituted by The Jurisdiction, Judgments and Applicable Law (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1574), regs. 1, 6(2))
F7Words in s. 23A(5) substituted (1.1.2024) by The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/374), reg. 1(1), sch. 1 para. 1(2)(a)
F8Words in s. 23A(5) substituted (1.1.2024) by The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/374), reg. 1(1), sch. 1 para. 1(2)(b)
Marginal Citations
M11984 c. 45(97).
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.