Proclamation under the Limitation Amendment Act 2017 (TAS)

The proclamation was issued by the Governor of Tasmania, C. Warner, on behalf of the Executive Council, under section 2 of the Limitation Amendment Act 2017. The primary purpose of this proclamation was to establish the commencement date of the Limitation Amendment Act 2017, which was set to be 1 July 2018. This date was to be the day from which the Act would take effect and begin to regulate the limitation periods for certain civil actions in Tasmania.

The key legal issue before the court was whether the Governor, acting on the advice of the Executive Council, had the authority to set the commencement date of the Limitation Amendment Act 2017. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether the proclamation was validly made under the authority granted by the Limitation Amendment Act 2017 and whether it complied with the necessary legislative and procedural requirements.

The court examined the provisions of the Limitation Amendment Act 2017, particularly section 2, which explicitly allows the Governor to fix the commencement date of the Act by proclamation. The court found that the proclamation was made in accordance with the legislative mandate and that the Governor had the requisite authority to issue it. Furthermore, the court confirmed that the proclamation met all necessary procedural requirements, including proper notification as per the Rules Publication Act 1953. Consequently, the court upheld the validity of the proclamation, confirming that 1 July 2018 was the lawful commencement date for the Limitation Amendment Act 2017.