The common
Law Maxim All actions in the world are limited within
certain periods. (Bract. 52 page 8 Maxims of Law
by Charles A. Weisman) is applicable to all courts.
Usucapio constituta est ut aliquis litium finis esset
Prescription was instituted that there might be some
end to litigation. (Black’s Law Dictionary 6th
Edition page 1544) Praescriptio est titulus ex usu et
tempore substantiam capiens ab auctoritate legis
Prescription is a title by authority of law, deriving its
force from use and time. (See Black’s Law Dictionary 6th
Edition page 1174) The Code of Canon Law
speaks of “Praescriptio” as a means of
acquiring property or rights and of freeing one’s self from
an obligation. (Codex Iuris Canonici Pii X Pontificis
Maximi iussu digestus Benedicti Papae XV auctoritate
promulgatus, Romae: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1917.
Reimpressio, 1930, hereinafter cited , canon 1508)(See also
Adverse Possession, Prescription and Limitations of Actions.
The Canonical “Praescriptio” A Commentary On
Canon 1508 by Thomas O. Martin, Ph.D., The Catholic
University of America Press Washington, D.C. 1944)
The
Limitation of Time to Commence an Action (Statute of
Limitation) is a jurisdictional issue and is protected under
the Due Process Clause in the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendments of the Constitution of the United States.
