Abstract: The limitation of actions, or as it is known in the continental civil law, the extinctive prescription, is one of the most important juridical institutions, with applicability in every branch of the law, from Contract Law, Law of Tort, to Criminal and International Law. The article focuses on the common aspects that are found in Romanian legal system and the Common-law-based juridical system of the United States of America, but also on the distinctions that arise when the subject of the extinctive prescription is dealt with in these two conceptions. The paper lays emphasis on multiple precedents and cases solved by the US Courts, that highlight the nature of the statute of limitations, the applicability of the statutes, the cases of tolling, the period when the prescription begins to run and, of the course, the doctrine of laches, based on the principles of equity.    

Keywords: limits of actions, US law