The extinctive prescription in a context of reforms. Validity and lags

Abstract

Few institutions enjoy and treasure in Law the spell of the extinctive or liberatory prescription. From the promulgation of the Civil Code it has not undergone many modifications. Nevertheless, it has been the subject of innumerable interpretations and positions, above all, dogmatic. Today as yesterday the question to be asked is whether the legal regulation of the institution is rational, as well as efficient. At certain points we can not deny that the prescriptive institution is mixed with a manifest irrationality, and at the same time arbitrary regulation, especially when deciding what is the term for the prescription as well as its different terms depending on the contractual or extracontractual scope. Thus, what is the ratio, if any, to determine the duration of the different terms? Why are different deadlines lacking in harmony, instead of opting for holistic and unique deadlines, as is the trend now in principled standards and frames of reference at both the European and Unidroit levels?