Editing Statute of limitations (section)

==Prescription==
{{expand section|date=June 2015}}
{{See also|Extinctive prescription}}
In [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] countries, almost all lawsuits must be brought within a legally-determined period at the end of which the right of action is extinguished. This is known as liberative or extinctive prescription. Under Italian<ref>{{cite web|title=La prescrizione del reato dopo la ex-Cirielli|url=http://www.diritto-penale.it/la-prescrizione-del-reato.htm|work=Diritto Penale|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> and Romanian law,<ref>{{cite web|title=Codul Penal, Articolul 180 – Prescripția|url=http://legeaz.net/cod-penal-actualizat-2011/art-122-cpen|access-date=9 October 2013}}</ref> criminal trials must be ended within a time limit.

In criminal cases, the public prosecutor must lay charges within a time limit which varies by jurisdiction and varies based on the nature of the charge, whose directives vary from country to country. Over the last decade of the 20th century, many United States jurisdictions significantly lengthened the statute of limitations for sex offenses, particularly against children, as a response to research and popular belief that a variety of causes can delay the recognition and reporting of crimes of this nature.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

Common triggers for suspending the prescription include a defendant's fugitive status or the commission of a new crime. In some jurisdictions, a criminal may be convicted [[trial in absentia|''in absentia'']].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ridley|first1=Yvonne|title=Bush Convicted of War Crimes in Absentia|url=http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/05/12/bush-convicted-of-war-crimes-in-absentia/|website=www.foreignpolicyjournal.com|publisher=Foreign Policy Journal|access-date=12 October 2014|date=12 May 2012}}</ref> Prescription should not be confused with the need to prosecute within "[[Laches (equity)|a reasonable delay]]" as obligated by the [[European Court of Human Rights]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-01 |title=Archived copy|url=https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-STD(2007)044-e |access-date=2022-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901085559/https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-STD(2007)044-e |archive-date=1 September 2022 }}</ref>