CIVIL LAW (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read, 4.46 p.m.

The Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This is a very short Bill but it nevertheless introduces a welcome and useful change in the law concerning proceedings in tort which are maintainable against the estate of a deceased person. Under the existing subsection (3) of section 8 of the Civil Law Act, no such proceedings shall be maintainable unless either (a) the proceedings were pending against the tort-feasor at the date of his death or (b) the proceedings are instituted within six months of the personal representative of the deceased tortfeasor taking out representation. Thus, unless proceedings were instituted before the death of the tortfeasor, a person who has a claim in tort against his estate has a very short period of six months after the grant of representation to commence proceedings. That this six-month time limit can give rise to considerable hardship and injustice, especially in personal injury cases, has been recognised in the UK where the law has been changed by abrogating this rule, thus leaving claims against the estates of deceased tortfeasors to be governed by the general law of limitation. The normal limitation period for an action in respect of personal injuries is three years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

This Bill seeks to delete section 8(3) of the Civil Law Act so as to remove the restrictive effect of that subsection with regard to the institution of proceedings in tort against the estate of a deceased person. With the deletion of that subsection, the normal limitation period would apply to such proceedings. This change would be particularly beneficial to persons injured in road accidents who, through no fault of their own, may be unaware that the tortfeasor has died.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Prof S. Jayakumar].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.