ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION

PART I
PRELIMINARY

PART II
PERIODS OF LIMITATION FOR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF ACTION

Actions of Contract and Tort and Certain Other Actions

Actions for Damages in respect of Personal Injuries and Actions under the Fatal Accidents Act

Actions in respect of Latent Damage not Involving Personal Injuries

Actions to Recover Land and Rent

Actions to Recover Money Secured by a Mortgage or Charge or to Recover Proceeds of the Sale of Land

Actions in respect of Trust Property or the Personal Estate of Deceased Persons and Actions for an Account

PART III
EXTENSION OF LIMITATION PERIODS IN CASE OF DISABILITY, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT,
PART PAYMENT, FRAUD AND MISTAKE

Acknowledgement and Part Payment

Fraud, Mistake and Deliberate Concealment

PART IV
GENERAL

CHAPTER 83

LIMITATION

[Assent 28th March, 1995]
[Commencement 31st August, 1995]

"action" includes any proceedings in a court of law;

"equitable interest" means, in relation to land, any estate, interest or charge in or over land (including a rentcharge but not any other incorporeal hereditament) taking effect in equity;

"foreshore" means the shore and bed of the sea of any tidal water, below the line of the medium high tide between the spring tides and the neap tides;

"land" includes incorporeal hereditaments, rentcharges and any legal or equitable estate or interest therein, including an interest in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale, but save as aforesaid does not include any incorporeal hereditament;

"legal estate" means, in relation to land, any estate, interest or charge in or over land (including a rentcharge but not any other incorporeal hereditament) subsisting at law;

"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 and "injury" and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

"rent" includes a rentcharge and a rentservice;

"rentcharge" means any annuity or periodical sum of money charged upon or payable out of land, except a rentservice or interest on a mortgage or on any other charge on land;

"submission" has the same meaning as in section 25 of the Arbitration Act;

"trust" and "trustee" extend to implied and constructive trusts including cases where the trustee has a beneficial interest in the trust property and where the context so admits, the words include a personal representative and the duties incident to that office but "trust" does not include the duties incident to an estate conveyed by way of mortgage.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed to be under a disability while that person is an infant or of unsound mind.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), but without prejudice to the generality thereof, a person shall conclusively presumed to be of unsound mind-

(4) A person shall be deemed to claim through another person if the person become entitled by, through under or by the act of that other person to the right claimed and any person whose estate or interest might have been barred by a person entitled to an entailed estate of interest in possession shall be deemed to claim through the person so entitled:

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 appointor.

(2) References in this Act to the possession of land shall, in the case of rentcharges, be construed as references to the receipt of the rent, and references to the date of dispossession or discontinuance of possession of land shall, in the case of rentcharges, be construed as references to the date of the last receipt of rent.

(3) In Part III of this Act and in section 47 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 the 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 reference to the date of the accrual of a right of action shall-

(2) An action upon an instrument under seal shall not be brought after the expiry 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.

(3) An action shall not be brought upon any judgment after the expiry of six 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 expiry of six years from the date on which the interest became due.

(4) This section shall not apply to any claim for specific performance of a contract or for an 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 the corresponding written law repealed by this Act has heretofore been applied.

(5) This section shall not apply to any action to which section 9 or 12 applies or to an action under the Fatal Accidents Act.

(2) Where in any such case an 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 that person has not during that period recovered possession of the chattel, the title of that person to the chattel shall be extinguished.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to any conversion related to the stealing of a chattel as it applies to the stealing of a chattel and, except as provided below, every conversion following the stealing of a chattel before the person from whom it is stolen recovers possession of it shall be regarded for the purposes of this section as related to the stealing, but if anyone purchases the stolen chattel in good faith neither the purchase nor any conversion following it shall be regarded as related to the stealing.

(3) Any cause of action accruing in respect of the stealing or any conversion related to the stealing of a chattel to any person from whom the chattel is stolen shall be disregarded for the purpose of applying subsection (1) or (2) of section 6 to his case.

(4) Where in any action brought in respect of the conversion of a chattel it is proved that the chattel was stolen from the plaintiff or anyone through whom the plaintiff claims, it shall be presumed that any conversion following the stealing is related to the stealing unless the contrary is shown.

(5) In this section "stealing" includes-

and references in this section to a chattel being "stolen" shall be construed accordingly.

(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 section referred to as "the relevant date") is as follows-

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.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), an action to which this section applies shall not be brought after the expiry of three years from-

(3) If the person injured dies before the expiry of the period prescribed by subsection (2), the period as regards the cause of action surviving for the benefit of the estate of the deceased shall be three years from-

whichever is the later.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "personal representative" includes any person who is or has been a personal representative of the deceased and regard shall be had to any knowledge acquired by any such person while a personal representative or previously.

(5) If there is more than one personal representative and their dates of knowledge are different, subsection (3) shall be read as referring to the earliest of those dates.

(6) This section shall not apply to an action to which section 12 applies or to an action under the Fatal Accidents Act.

and knowledge that any acts or omissions did or did not, as a matter of law, involve negligence, nuisance or breach of duty is irrelevant.

(2) For the purposes of this section, an injury is significant if the plaintiff would reasonably have considered it sufficiently serious to justify the institution of proceedings against a defendant who did not dispute liability and was able to satisfy a judgment.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person's knowledge includes knowledge which such person might reasonably be expected to acquire-

but there shall not be attributed to a person by virtue of this subsection knowledge of a fact ascertainable only with the help of expert advice so long as the person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain (and where appropriate to act on) that advice.

(2) An action under the Fatal Accidents Act shall not be brought after the expiry of three years from the date of death of the deceased.

(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply to an action for which a period of limitation is prescribed by or under any written law other than this Act.

(4) Section 36 shall apply to an action under the Fatal Accidents Act but otherwise Part III and Part IV shall not apply to such an action.

(2) The action, prosecution or proceeding shall not lie or be instituted unless it is commenced within twelve months next after the act, neglect or default complained of or in the case of a continuance of injury or damage within twelve months next after the ceasing thereof.

(2) Section 5 shall not apply to an action founded on tort to which this section applies.

(3) An action to which this section applies shall not be brought after the expiry of the period applicable in accordance with subsection (4).

(4) Such period as aforesaid is either-

(5) For the purposes of this section, the starting date for reckoning the period of limitation under subsection (4)(b) is the earliest date on which the plaintiff or any person in whom the cause of action had earlier vested had both the knowledge required for bringing an action for damages in respect of the relevant damage and a right to bring such an action.

(6) In subsection (5), "the knowledge required for bringing an action for damages in respect of the relevant damage" means knowledge both-

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6)(a), the material facts about the damage are such facts about the damage as would lead a reasonable person who had suffered such damage to consider it sufficiently serious to justify the institution of proceedings for damages against a defendant who did not dispute liability and was able to satisfy a judgment.

(8) The other facts referred to in subsection (6)(b) are-

(9) Knowledge that any acts or omissions did or did not, as a matter of law, involve negligence is irrelevant for the purposes of subsection (5).

(10) For the purposes of this section and section 15, a person's knowledge includes knowledge which such person might reasonably have been expected to acquire-

but a person shall not be taken by virtue of this subsection to have knowledge of a fact ascertainable only with the help of expert advice so long as that person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain (and, where appropriate, to act on) that advice.

(2) This section bars the right of action in a case to which subsection (1) applies notwithstanding that-

before the end of the period of limitation prescribed by this section.

a fresh cause of action in respect of that negligence shall accrue to that other person on the date on which that other person acquires his interest in the property.

(2) A cause of action accruing to any person by virtue of subsection (1)-

(3) Section 36 shall not apply in relation to any such cause of action.

(4) Subsection (1) shall not apply in any case where the person acquiring an interest in the damaged property is either-

(5) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) the material facts about the damage are such facts about the damage as would lead a reasonable person who has an interest in the damaged property at the time when those facts became known to that person to consider it sufficiently serious to justify the institution of proceedings for damages against a defendant who did not dispute liability and was able to satisfy a judgment.

(6) This section shall bind the Crown, but as regards the Crown's liability in tort shall not bind the Crown further than the Crown is made liable in tort by the Crown Proceedings Act.

Provided that the time for bringing an action to which the provisions of this section apply in respect of a cause of action which has accrued before the commencement of this Act, shall, if it has not then already expired, expire at the time when it would have expired apart from those provisions:

Provided further that the time when the cause of action would have expired as aforesaid shall not exceed thirty years from the date of commencement of this Act.

(2) An action to recover foreshore may be brought by the Crown at any time before the expiry of sixty years from the date of the accrual of the right of action, or of thirty years from the date when the land ceased to be foreshore, whichever period first expires.

(3) No action shall be brought by any person to recover any land after the expiry of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to such person or, if it first accrued to some other person through whom such person claims, to that person:

Provided that, if the right of action first accrued to the Crown and the person bringing the action claims through the Crown, the action may be brought at any time before the expiry of the period during which the action could have been brought by the Crown or of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to some person other than the Crown, whichever period first expires.

(2) Where any person brings an action to recover any land of a deceased person, whether under a will or on an intestacy, and the deceased person was on the date of the death in possession of the land or; in the case of a rentcharge created by will or taking effect upon the death, in possession of the land charged, and was the last person entitled to the land to be in possession thereof, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the death.

(3) Where any person brings an action to recover land, being an estate or interest in possession assured otherwise than by will to such person, or to some person through whom such person claims, and the person making the assurance was on the date when the assurance took effect in possession of the land or, in the case of a rentcharge created by the assurance, in possession of the land charged and no person has been in possession of the land by virtue of the assurance, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date when the assurance took effect.

(2) If the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, not being a leasehold term, was not in possession of the land on the date of the determination thereof, no action shall be brought by the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest after the expiry of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, or six years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest, whichever period last expires:

Provided that, where the Crown is entitled to the succeeding estate or interest, the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall have effect with the substitution for the reference to twelve years of a reference to thirty years, and for the reference to six years of a reference of twelve years.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply to any estate or interest which falls into possession on the determination of an entailed estate or interest and which might have been barred by the person entitled to the entailed estate or interest.

(4) No person shall bring an action to recover any estate or interest in land under an assurance taking effect after the right of action to recover the land had accrued to the person by whom the assurance was made or some person through whom that person claimed or some person entitled to a preceding estate or interest, unless the action is brought within the period during which the person by whom the assurance was made could have brought such an action.

(5) Where any person is entitled to any estate or interest in land in possession and, while so entitled, is also entitled to any future estate or interest in that land, and that person's right to recover the estate or interest in possession is barred under this Act, no action shall be brought by that person or by any person claiming through that person, in respect of the future estate or interest, unless in the meantime possession of the land has been recovered by a person entitled to an intermediate estate or interest.

(2) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 25 and section 26 shall apply in relation to a leasehold estate vesting under subsection (1) as they apply in relation to a leasehold estate vesting under subsection (1) of section 25 and for that purpose the references in the said subsection (2) of section 25 and in section 26 to subsection (1) of section 25 shall be construed as references to subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Where any land is held upon trust, including a trust for sale, an action to recover the land may be brought by the trustees on behalf of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in possession in the land or in the proceeds of the sale whose right of action has nor been barred by this Act, notwithstanding that the right of action of the trustees would apart from this provision have been so barred.

(4) Where any land held upon a trust for sale is in the possession of a person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale, not being a person solely and absolutely entitled thereto, no right of action to recover the land shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to accrue during such possession to any person in whom the land is vested as trustee or to any other person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale.

(2) If a right of action to recover land by virtue of a forfeiture or breach of condition has accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest in reversion or remainder and the land has not been recovered by virtue of the forfeiture or breach of condition, the right of action to recover land shall be deemed to have accrued on the date when the estate or interest fell into possession as if the forfeiture or breach of condition had never occurred.

Provided that, where any rent has subsequently been received in respect of the tenancy, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the last receipt of rent.

(2) Where any person is in possession of land by virtue of a lease in writing by which a rent of not less than fifty dollars a year is reserved, and the rent is received by some person wrongfully claiming to be entitled to the land in reversion immediately expectant on the determination of the lease, and no rent is subsequently received by the person rightfully so entitled, the right of action of the last-named person to recover the land shall be deemed to have accrued at the date when the rent was first received by the person wrongfully claiming as aforesaid and not at the date of the determination of the lease:

Provided that in the case of a lease granted before the commencement of this Act, this section shall have effect as if for the words "fifty dollars" there were substituted the words "five dollars".

(3) A tenant at will shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be determined at the expiry of a period of one year from the commencement thereof; unless it has previously been determined, and accordingly the right of action of the person entitled to the land subject to the tenancy shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of such determination:

Provided that a mortgagor or beneficiary under a trust in possession of land, the subject of the mortgage or trust, shall not be deemed to be a tenant at will of the mortgagee or trustee for the purposes of this section.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) shall not apply to any lease granted by the Crown.

(2) Where under the foregoing provisions any right of action to recover land is deemed to accrue on a certain date and no person is in adverse possession of the land on that date, the right of action shall not accrue unless the land is thereafter taken into adverse possession, in which case the right of action shall be deemed to accrue at the commencement of the adverse possession.

(3) Where a right of action to recover land has accrued and thereafter, but before the right is barred by this Act, the land ceases to be in adverse possession-

(4) For the purposes of this section-

(5) For the purpose of determining whether a person occupying any land is in adverse possession of the land it shall not be assumed by implication of law that such person's occupation is by permission of the person entitled to the land merely by virtue of the fact that such person's occupation is not inconsistent with the present or future enjoyment of the land by the person entitled.

(6) Subsection (5) shall not be taken as prejudicing a finding to the effect that a person's occupation of any land is by implied permission of the person entitled to the land in any case where such a finding is justified on the actual facts of the case.

(2) Where land is held under a lease and the leasehold estate in part only of the land vests in the person under subsection (1), that person (or anyone claiming through that person) and the lessee of the remainder of the land shall share the cost of paying the rent reserved by the lease and the cost of discharging any other obligation under the lease in such proportions respectively as may be agreed by them and the lessor with respect to the rent or, as the case may be, with respect to the other obligation.

(3) If a dispute arises regarding the apportionment of costs under subsection (2), any of the parties mentioned in that subsection may refer the dispute to the court for decision and the decision of the court shall be final and binding upon all the parties.

(4) This section shall have effect subject to subsections (1) and (2) of section 21.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply in a case where, under the lease, the lessor had before the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (1) of section 25, a right to cause the lease to be forfeited by reason of the fact that the lessee was dispossessed of the land or discontinued his possession thereof.

(2) No foreclosure action in respect of mortgaged personal property shall be brought after the expiry of twelve 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 the mortgagee's possession shall not, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to have accrued until the date on which that possession was 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 insurance 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 the sale of land, or to recover damages in respect of such arrears shall be brought after the expiry of six years from the date on which the interest became due:

Provided that-

(2) Where a trustee who is also a beneficiary under the trust receives or retains trust property or its proceeds as that trustee's share on a distribution of trust property under the trust, that trustee's liability in any action brought by virtue of subsection (1)(b) to recover that property or its proceeds after the expiry of the period of limitation prescribed by this Act for bringing an action to recover trust property shall be limited to the excess over that trustee's proper share.

(3) Subject to subsection (1), 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 expiry of six years from the date on which the right of action accrued; and for this purpose the right of action of a beneficiary entitled to a future interest in trust property shall not be deemed to accrue until the interest falls into possession.

(4) No beneficiary as against whom there would be a good defence under this Act shall derive any greater or other benefit from a judgment or order obtained by any other beneficiary than such beneficiary could have obtained in an action brought by such beneficiary in which this Act had been pleaded in defence.

(2) Subsection (1) shall have effect-

(3) 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.

(4) When a right of action which has accrued to a person under disability accrues, on the death of that person while still under a disability, to another person under a disability, no further extension of time shall be allowed under this section by reason of the disability of the second person.

(5) No action to recover land or money charged on land shall by virtue of this section be brought by any person after the expiry of thirty years from the date on which the right of action accrued to that person or some person through whom that person claims.

(6) This section shall not apply to any action to recover a penalty or forfeiture, or sum by way thereof, by virtue of any written law, except where the action is brought by an aggrieved party.

the action may be brought at any time before the expiration of three years from the date when that person ceased to be under a disability or died (whichever first occurred) notwithstanding that the period mentioned above has expired.

(2) An action may not be brought by virtue of subsection (1) after the end of the period of limitation prescribed by section 14.

the right shall be deemed to have accrued on and not before the date of the acknowledgement or payment.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to a right of action to recover land accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest taking effect on the determination of an entailed interest against whom time is running under section 24, and on the making of the acknowledgement that section shall cease to apply to the land.

(3) 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 such mortgagee's possession may be brought at any time before the expiration of twelve years from the date of the payment or acknowledgement.

(4) 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 acknowledgement or the last payment:

Provided that a payment of a part of any rent or interest that is due at any time shall not extend the period for claiming the remainder then due, and any payment of interest shall be treated as a payment in respect of the principal debt.

(5) Subject to the proviso to subsection (4), a current period of limitation may be repeatedly extended under this section by further acknowledgements or payments, but a right of action, once barred by this Act, shall not be revived by any subsequent acknowledgement or payment.

(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, and acknowledgement of the mortgagor's title or equity of redemption by one of the mortgagees shall only bind that mortgagee and that mortgagee's successors and shall not bind any other mortgagees or their successors, and where the mortgagee by whom the acknowledgement 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 acknowledgement shall be deemed to have been made to all the mortgagors.

(5) An acknowledgement of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall bind the acknowledgor and that acknowledgor's successors but not any other person:

Provided that an acknowledgement made after the expiry 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 acknowledgement.

(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 expiry 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 that person's 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 acknowledgement 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 that mortgagee's or that person's 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.

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.

(2) Subject to subsection (4), where in the case of any such action any fact relevant to the plaintiff's right of action has been deliberately concealed from the plaintiff by the defendant, the period of limitation shall not begin to run until the plaintiff has discovered the defendant's concealment of the fact in question or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), deliberate commission of a breach of duty in circumstances in which it is unlikely to be discovered for some time amounts to deliberate concealment of the facts involved in the breach of duty.

(4) Nothing in this section shall enable any action-

to be brought against the purchaser of the property or any person claiming through such purchaser in any case where the property has been purchased for valuable consideration by an innocent third party since the fraud or concealment or, as the case may be, the transaction in which the mistake was made took place.

(5) A purchaser is an innocent third party for the purposes of this section-

(6) References in this section to the defendant include reference to the defendant's agent and to any person through whom the defendant or the defendant's agent claims.

(7) Sections 13 and 14 shall not apply to any action to which subsection (2) applies and accordingly the period of limitation referred to in that subsection, in any case to which either of those sections would otherwise apply is the period applicable under subsection (1) of section 5.

(2) Notwithstanding any term in a submission to the effect that no cause of action shall accrue in respect of any matter required by the submission to be referred until an award is made under the submission, the cause of action shall for the purposes of this Act and any such written law as aforesaid (whether in their 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 submission.

(3) For the purposes of this Act and of any such written law 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 that party or those parties to appoint an arbitrator or to agree to the appointment of an arbitrator, or, where the submission provides that the reference shall be to a person named or designated in the submission, requiring that party or those parties to submit the dispute to the person so named or designated.

(4) Any such notice as aforesaid may be served either-

as well as in any other manner provided in the submission; and where a notice is sent by post in the manner prescribed by paragraph (c), service thereof shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been effected at the time at which the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post.

(5) Where the Supreme Court orders that an award be set aside or orders after the commencement of an arbitration, that the submission 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 written law as aforesaid for the commencement of proceedings (including arbitration) with respect to the dispute referred.

(6) This section shall apply to an arbitration under any Act as well as to an arbitration pursuant to a submission, and subsections (3) and (4) shall have effect in relation to an arbitration under an Act as if for the references to the submission there were substituted references to such of the provisions of the Act or of any order, scheme, rules, regulations or bye-laws made thereunder as relate to the arbitration.

(2) 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 the written laws relating to customs or excise.

(3) For the purposes of this section, proceedings by or against the Crown shall include proceedings instituted by or against an officer or other agent of the Crown in that officer's official capacity.