| The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (CAL) has launched an online petition to boost its campaign to urge the government to change the law on limitation periods.
ACAL wants the government to introduce changes recommended by the Law Commission in 2001, Law Commission Report No 270, which would abolish the six-year time limit for bringing a claim for assault and replace it with the same time limit for negligence actions – i.e. three years from the date of the event or the date of majority, but extendable to a much later date in certain circumstances. Child abuse lawyers say the current limits are unfair for the victims of rape who find it too painful to take their case to court until much later in life.
Peter Garsden, Vice President of ACAL and a partner at Abney Garsden McDonald in Cheshire, commented that his firm had acted for more than 900 victims in the last 10 years, but that because of the limitation restraints at least 25% of them have been disappointed. “This repeats the abuse they have suffered,” he said.
Although the government has announced its acceptance in principle of the Law Commission’s recommendations, “extensive inter-departmental consultation” has so far delayed any further progress on a draft Bill.
However, a Department for Constitutional Affairs spokesman said the government would seek an opportunity to reform the law but that this would be “subject to the availability of parliamentary time and the competing pressures for its use”.
The petition can be signed online at www.childabuselaywers.com.
NEW LAW JOURNAL
18 November 2005......read
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