Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978

3For section 10 of the Statute of Limitations (Northern Ireland) 1958 there shall be substituted the following section—

“10Time-limit for claiming contribution.

(1)Where under section 1 of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 any person becomes entitled to a right to recover contribution in respect of any damage from any other person, no action to recover contribution by virtue of that right shall be brought after the end of the period of two years from the date on which that right accrued.

(2)For the purposes of this Act the date on which a right to recover contribution in respect of any damage accrues to any person (in this subsection referred to as " the relevant date ") shall be ascertained as follows, that is to say—

(a)if the person in question is held liable in respect of that damage by a judgment given in any civil proceedings, or an award made on any arbitration, the relevant date shall be the date on which the judgment is given, or the date of the award, as the case may be ;

(b)if, in any case not falling within the preceding paragraph, the person in question makes or agrees to make any payment to one or more persons in compensation for that damage (whether he admits any liability in respect of the damage or not), the relevant date shall be the earliest date on which the amount to be paid by him is agreed between him (or his representative) and the person (or each of the persons, as the case may be) to whom the payment is to be made ;

and for the purposes of this subsection no account shall be taken of any judgment or award given or made on appeal in so far as it varies the amount of damages awarded against the person in question.”