Give Notice, If Necessary. Many clauses require the parties to give notice of a force majeure declaration a specific number of days before the event or within a certain time frame once the event is triggered. Make sure you're following terms and promptly give notice.
Commonly referred to as “acts of God”, force majeure events are unforeseeable, exceptional or out with the control of contracting parties. Examples include natural disaster, terrorism, industrial strike action, fire and pandemic/epidemic events such as Covid-19.
A "force majeure" clause (French for "superior force") is a contract provision that relieves the parties from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise, making performance inadvisable, commercially impracticable, illegal, or impossible.
In the construction industry, force majeure is a term used to describe insurmountable problems that can affect the completion of your project and the terms of the contract. Another way you may have heard of this is “Acts of God” or “Natural Disasters” when it comes to different types of insurance.
In Clause 19 of the FIDIC 1999 Red2, Yellow3 and Silver4 Books, the term "Force Majeure" is principally identified as being an "exceptional" event or circumstance, beyond the Party's control, and something that it could not have reasonably provided against before entering into the Contract.
Exhaustive, of examples of force majeure events. Force majeure events generally can be divided into two basic groups: natural events and political events. These may include earthquakes, floods, fire, plague, Acts of God (as defined in the contract or in applicable law) and other natural disasters.
Typically, the clause will define the specific events or circumstances that qualify as force majeure, providing a non-exhaustive list of examples. These examples often encompass natural disasters, acts of God, riots, embargoes, or any other events that are considered extraordinary and beyond the control of the parties.
If a contract is silent on force majeure or if the event does not meet the definition of force majeure under the parties' contract, a party's performance may still be excused in certain circumstances under the doctrine of commercial impracticability.
It is understood and agreed by the Parties hereto that the following will not constitute event(s) of force majeure: the loss of Buyer's markets, not otherwise due to an event of force majeure; Buyer's inability economically to use or resell Gas purchased hereunder,hereunder; increases or decreases in Gas supply due to ...