Statutory limitations (also known as prescriptions or prescriptibility) bar state authorities from investigating and prosecuting a crime after a certain length of time. These limitations are based, in part, on the premise that a fair trial becomes increasingly difficult as time passes following the alleged act. Evidence may be lost or destroyed, memories may become faulty, and proof that might otherwise support a valid defense may become inaccessible. After a certain amount of time has passed, the risk of irremediable harm to the rights of the accused is seen to outweigh the state's interest in prosecuting a crime. Thus, statutory limitations require prosecutors either to start proceedings within a set time or to free a potential accused from the threat of prosecution.

Statutes of limitations are frequently found in civil law or continental legal systems. In common law countries a long delay is more likely to lead to questions...