Official blog of Swansea University's IISTL, where we keep you up to date with the latest maritime and commercial legal news.
Spain says ‘manana’ to time limits for the duration of its lockdown
On the 14th March 2020, the Spanish legislature published Royal Decree 463/2020 declaring a state of alarm throughout Spain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the exceptional measures under the Fourth Additional Provision was the suspension of the time periods for the application of the statute of limitations and expiration of actions and rights.
This continues until 24 May unless the Spanish Parliament approves a further lockdown extension. At this date, the time limits will be revived for the equivalent time that was left to run prior to the 14th March. Where the time limit was due to expire after 24 May (or any later end to lockdownt) the majority view of legal experts is that it will be extended by the duration of the lockdown.
The Spanish Government is currently seeking to extend the lockdown for a further month.
Professor Simon Baughen was appointed as Professor of Shipping Law in September 2013 (previously Reader at the University of Bristol Law School). Simon Baughen studied law at Oxford and practised in maritime law for several years before joining academia. His research interests lie mainly in the field of shipping law, but also include the law of trusts and the environmental law implications of the activities of multinational corporations in the developing world. Simon's book on Shipping Law, has run to seven editions (soon to be eight) and is already well-known to academics and students alike as by far the most learned and approachable work on the subject. Furthermore, he is now the author of the very well-established practitioner's work Summerskill on Laytime. He has an extensive list of publications to his name, including International Trade and the Protection of the Environment, and Human Rights and Corporate Wrongs - Closing the Governance Gap. He has also written and taught extensively on commercial law, trusts and environmental law. Simon is a member of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, a University Research Centre within the School of Law, and he currently teaches at Swansea on the LLM in:Carriage of Goods by Sea, Land and Air; Charterparties Law and Practice; International Corporate Governance.
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