COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS: FORCE MAJEURE AND IMPOSSIBILITY

Mihajlo Cvetković

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME210917067C
First page
1147
Last page
1162

Abstract


In every country touched by Covid-19, contractual performance is affected. Leg­islation enforcing lockdowns has made many contracts illegal to perform. Excessively unbalanced contracts become major issue due to health emergencies. In order to re­lease the debtor, the force majeure must be unpredictable. However, the world has been warned of a looming epidemic and its consequences onto unprepared world. The paper examines if the Serbian Act on Obligations and its rules on impossibility protect the debtors in the circumstances of Covid-19, by comparing domestic solutions with European, transnational and Common law. Despite numerous provisions, traditional solutions were not adequate, so emergency regulations have been adopted, usually in­compatible with the private law regime.


Keywords

Force-majeure; Impossibility; Contract Frustration; Covid-19; obligation termination.

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME210917067C

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