Interruption of the limitation period

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The interruption is a legal term . If a ( limitation ) period is interrupted , it begins anew.

Germany

civil right

The term "interruption" has been replaced within the framework of the new regulation of the statute of limitations by the modernization of the law of obligations by the more appropriate term of the restart of the statute of limitations (see § 212 BGB ). Accordingly, the statute of limitations begins again if a judicial or official enforcement act is carried out or applied for or if the debtor acknowledges the claim against the obligee. The acknowledgment of guilt must be given after the start of the limitation period and before it ends.

In contrast to the regular limitation period, in this case the period starts again from the end of the day on which one of the criteria occurs.

Public law

Public law knows provisions about the statute of limitations and the "interruption" z. B. in Section 20 (1) of the Administrative Costs Act.

Criminal law

In criminal law, the interruption of the statute of limitations is regulated in § 78c StGB .

Switzerland

Private law

The interruption of the statute of limitations for Swiss private law is regulated in Art. 135 ff. OR :

If there is a so-called reason for interruption , the limitation period according to Art. 137 Para. 1 OR begins again. According to Art. 135 OR, reasons for interruption are, on the one hand, recognition of the debt by the debtor and , on the other hand, a qualified assertion of the claim by the obligee .

Public law

The public law knows no provisions on the statute of limitations . Nevertheless, it is almost undisputed that statute of limitations under public law can also be interrupted. Most authors call for an analogous application of the private law provisions on interruptions (Art. 135 ff. OR, see above). In order to take into account the special character of public law claims to which an individual is entitled vis-à-vis the state , it is argued that in public law any unequivocal communication by the private creditor to the administration that he wishes to maintain his claim is an interruption of the statute of limitations entail.

Criminal law

According to the new statute of limitations in criminal law , the period for the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution can no longer be interrupted (cf. Art. 97 f. StGB ). The statute of limitations of a suspended sentence is interrupted by the enforcement and by each act of enforcement by the authority that is responsible for enforcement ( Art. 99 et seq. StGB ).

Dogmatic meaning

Since limitation periods can be interrupted in contrast to forfeiture periods (referred to as preclusive periods in Austria) , the answer to the question whether a certain period can be interrupted or not can be used to determine whether the period in question is a limitation period or a is a forfeiture period. In public law, the interruption is the only practical difference between the two types of time limit.

literature

  • Stephen V. Berti Art. 127-142 OR (Zurich Commentary), 3rd edition Zurich 2002, ISBN 3725543372 .
  • André Pierre Holzer: Limitation and forfeiture of benefit claims in social insurance law, Diss. Friborg, Zurich / Basel / Geneva 2005, ISBN 3725549907 .
  • Karl Spiro: The limitation of private rights by limitation, forfeiture and fatal periods, 2 volumes, Bern 1975.