The territory's top legal body has called for the government to repeal a piece of legislation it said effectively shielded police accused of wrongdoing from accountability.
"Section 435 operates as a significant barrier to justice," ACT Bar Council president Brodie Buckland said on Monday in a statement.
"Its arbitrary timeframe and onerous procedural requirements disadvantage victims, particularly the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community."
The provision in question is section 435 of the territory's Crimes Act.
It requires any action against a person for "anything done, or reasonably supposed to have been done" under the Act, including a police officer using its powers to arrest, must be "commenced within six months after the fact committed".
Notice of that action, for example suing an officer for wrongful arrest or using excessive force, must also be given at least one month before being launched.
The half-year time limitation, the ACT Bar Association said, can deny victims their right to justice.
In a letter sent to several politicians and the ACT chief police officer, Mr Taylor described the provision as "unjust, arbitrary and draconian".
"Its continued existence in the statute book is simply a result of oversight and inadvertence by the ACT Legislative Assembly," Mr Taylor wrote.
"To give the section continued force is in my view unconscionable."
At the time, Mr Taylor was considering civil action against an AFP officer accused of punching a 13-year-old girl in custody.
The lawyer told this masthead he had limited time left to commence proceedings for his young client before the legislated six-month period was up but that he was yet to receive crucial evidence like CCTV and body-worn camera footage.
Mr Taylor noted several restrictions to launching civil action so soon after an incident, including people giving up the right to silence to disclose evidence while possible criminal action was also being pursued against them.
The legislation has come under renewed scrutiny after a civil case against alleged police abuse failed in December last year partly because the claims were started outside the six-month window.
The allegations were therefore "statute-barred by s 435".
Justice David Mossop found the entry of police officers into the plaintiff's home in that case was not justified by the Crimes Act or common law but was still "within the scope of the protective provision in s 435".
The NSW equivalent of the territory provision was repealed in that state in 1977.
On Monday, the association said the NSW commission which recommended the legislation be repealed nearly 50 years ago highlighted systemic biases favouring public authorities over private citizens.
"We urge legislators to recognise that Section 435 does not align with the values of fairness, equality, and human rights upheld in the ACT," Mr Buckland said.
"Repealing this provision is a crucial step towards ensuring that victims of tortious [wrongful] acts can be properly compensated and that justice is accessible to all."
An ACT Government spokesperson said: "Having received these representations, we have asked the JACs Directorate to examine the impact and operation of this provision to support the government's consideration of the request for its repeal."
