Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973

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Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, Section 14 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 11 July 2026. 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)

14 Computation of prescriptive periods.S

(1)In the computation of a prescriptive period for the purposes of any provision of this Part of this Act—

(a)time occurring before the commencement of this Part of this Act shall be reckonable towards the prescriptive period in like manner as time occurring thereafter, but subject to the restriction that any time reckoned under this paragraph shall be less than the prescriptive period;

(b)any time during which any person against whom the provision is pled was under legal disability shall (except so far as otherwise provided by [F1subsection (4) of section 6 of this Act including that subsection as applied by section 8A of this Act] of this Act) be reckoned as if the person were free from that disability;

(c)if the commencement of the prescriptive period would, apart from this paragraph, fall at a time in any day other than the beginning of the day, the period shall be deemed to have commenced at the beginning of the next following day;

(d)if the last day of the prescriptive period would, apart from this paragraph, be a holiday, the period shall, notwithstanding anything in the said provision, be extended to include any immediately succeeding day which is a holiday, any further immediately succeeding days which are holidays, and the next succeeding day which is not a holiday;

(e)save as otherwise provided in this Part of this Act regard shall be had to the like principles as immediately before the commencement of this Part of this Act were applicable to the computation of periods of prescription for the purposes of the M1Prescription Act 1617.

F2(1A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F3(1B). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F4(1C). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F5(1D)The prescriptive period calculated in relation to a [F6consumer contract dispute] for the purposes of any provision of this Part of this Act is [F7, in a case where ADR is carried out in respect of the dispute,] extended where the last day of the period would, apart from this subsection fall—

(a) after the date when [F8the ADR] starts but before the date that [F9it] ends;

(b) on the date that [F10the ADR] in relation to the dispute ends; or

(1E) Where subsection (1D) applies, the prescriptive period is extended so that it expires on the date falling 8 weeks after the date on which [F12the ADR] ends.

(1F) For the purposes of subsections (1D)(a) and (1E), [F13ADR] starts in relation to a [F14consumer contract dispute] on the date when the dispute is first sent or otherwise communicated to the ADR entity in accordance with the entity’s rules regarding the submission of complaints.

(1G) For the purposes of subsections (1D) and (1E), a [F15ADR] ends on the date that any of the following occurs—

(a)all of the parties reach an agreement in resolution of the [F16consumer contract dispute];

(b) a party completes the notification of the other parties that it has withdrawn from [F17the ADR];

(c)a party to whom a qualifying request is made fails to give a response reaching the other parties within 14 days of the request;

(d) the ADR entity notifies the party that submitted the [F16consumer contract dispute] to the ADR entity that, in accordance with its policy, the ADR entity refuses to deal with the [F16consumer contract dispute];

(e) after the parties are notified that the ADR entity can no longer act in relation to the [F16consumer contract dispute] (for whatever reason), the parties fail to agree within 14 days to submit the dispute to an alternative ADR entity;

(f)[F18the ADR] otherwise comes to an end pursuant to the rules of the ADR entity. ]

(2)In this section—

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[F23“ADR” has the same meaning as in Chapter 4 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024;
“ADR entity” means a person who carries out ADR in compliance with section 293(1) of that Act (which prohibits persons from carrying out ADR unless exempt, accredited, or acting under special ADR arrangements, in accordance with Chapter 4 of Part 4 of that Act);
“consumer contract dispute” has the same meaning as in Chapter 4 of Part 4 of that Act.]
“holiday” means a day of any of the following descriptions, namely, a Saturday, a Sunday and a day which, in Scotland, is a bank holiday under the M2Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971;
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[F25 “qualifying request” is a request by a party that another (A) confirm to all parties that A is continuing with [F26the ADR] procedure;
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