vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt
Meaning. The law helps those who are watchful of their rights, not those who sleep on them.
This maxim explains the law of limitation and the equitable defence of delay and laches. A person who does not enforce a right within the time fixed by law loses the remedy, even though the right itself may survive (except in cases such as adverse possession, where Section 27 of the Limitation Act extinguishes the right to property).
Courts apply the same idea in writ jurisdiction: a petition filed after unexplained delay may be refused even though no fixed limitation applies. Delay may be condoned on sufficient cause under Section 5 of the Limitation Act for appeals and applications.
Example
The suit, filed eleven years after the cause of action arose, was barred by limitation; vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt.
In Indian law
- Sections 3, 5 and 27, Limitation Act, 1963