HL Deb 11 July 1989 vol 510 c239

12.30 a.m.

Lord Lyell rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 11th May be approved.

The noble Lord said: The purpose of the order is to bring together in one place, without any change in the law, the enactments relating to the limitation of time. The Statute of Limitations (Northern Ireland) Act 1958, the principal legislation, has been amended on a number of occasions, notably in 1976, 1982 and 1987.

I should add that the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills has considered the draft order and reported that it is satisfied that it is purely a consolidation measure. I commend the order to your Lordships. I beg to move.

Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 11th May be approved.—(Lord Lyell.)

Lord Prys-Davies

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for introducing the order. He has had a long innings today but is still batting powerfully.

As the noble Lord said, this order is a consolidation measure. No doubt there are good reasons why the limitation should be three years, or six years or nine years, but I shall not ask him to explain why that should be so. I am sure that this order will prove very helpful to the practitioner in Northern Ireland and we welcome it.

On Question, Motion agreed to.