Before 1623, there were no statutory limitation periods. A land ‘owner’ could not be certain that their occupancy of the land could not be challenged by someone alleging that they had better title because of events going back very many decades, if not more. This instability and economic uncertainty in land ownership which was at the centre of the country’s economic system had to be dealt with, and resulted in the first Limitation Act in 1623. The detailed history of this legislation, and an extensive review of other common law jurisdictions, is set out at [41] to [109] in the recent Supreme Court judgment of THG plc v Zedra Trust Company (Jersey) Ltd [2026] UKSC 6. This decision is a good example of what the Supreme Court can produce that has much wider ramifications than the instant case.
Limitations are not an esoteric area of law. The subject is essential to the proper administration of civil justice (and
