Legally binding timeframes have been suspended as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
A legal notice that has just been published refers to time periods such as the one-year term within which to file a libel suit or the two-year time window to file a claim for damages, which have now been suspended.
The notice gives legal strength to an order issued by the Superintendent for Public Health for all court sittings and tribunals to be closed.
The minister for justice is empowered by law to issue regulations relating to the suspension or interruption of legal timeframes when the Superintendent of Public Health issues an order for the closure of certain premises under the Public Health Act. Legal experts explained that the new provisions were needed since there were legal timeframes that could not be ignored.
People have a limited time window to file appeals in the criminal and civil court, so such a measure would freeze this period until the court registry opens again. There are 15 working days for criminal appeals and 20 running days for civil cases.
The legal notice published on Friday. Scroll to the right to see more pages.
“This basically freezes everything so that no one loses their right to appeal or file cases.
“The government had no option but to issue these legal documents as it would have had far worse problems to face once everything returns to normal. It provides legal clarity and peace of mind,” one legal expert said.
The legal notice also automatically extends promise of sale agreements, mainly over real estate.
Another expert in the legal field, however, expressed concern that the law as enacted was too generic and could give rise to human rights issues in the future.
He said the law spoke about the legal period and could be taken to include the 48-hour arrest period allowable according to law.
“Does this law extend this and allow the police to detain someone for more than 48 hours? According to law, someone awaiting trial must have a Bill of Indictment issued within 20 months or else be granted bail automatically. Is the law freezing this too?” he asked.
“The law also speaks of a sitting every 15 days but with the law courts closed, this cannot happen. Are these frozen too? These issues are bound to raise human rights problems in the future,” he added.
He said the people worst hit by this were those in jail pending trial or pending an appeal.