Issues arising in contractual matters
Due to the health and economic crises caused by the Covid-19 virus, which affect a major part of the world, contractual relations will be put to the test. Indeed, this unprecedented health crisis will have significant consequences on the contractual obligations of many economic players, leading to multiple consequences, namely: delays, interruptions, renegotiations and even contractual cancellations. At the heart of these considerations is the notion of force majeure (or Act of God in the Common Law system), which we will deal with, in this article.
The essential question that arises in the present circumstances is whether, as a result of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the economic actors affected by the consequences of this virus could invoke the force majeure in order to withdraw from their obligations or to suspend its effects, either temporarily or definitively.