The force majeure clause is a contract provision that relieves involved parties from performing their contract obligations if extreme circumstances or “major unforeseen events” outside of their control arise that would make performing these obligations impossible, inadvisable, or dangerous.
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.
For events to constitute the use of force majeure, they must be unforeseeable, external to contract parties, and unavoidable. Force majeure means “greater force” and is related to an act of God, an event for which no party can be held accountable.
Templates. “Force Majeure: Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of any obligations under this Agreement, except for the obligation to make payments, if such failure or delay is caused by a Force Majeure event.
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.
Either Party shall be excused from performance and shall not be in default in respect of any obligation hereunder to the extent that the failure to perform such obligation is due to a Natural Force Majeure Event.
(1) Neither Party shall be in breach of its obligations under this Agreement (other than payment obligations) or incur any liability to the other Party for any losses or damages of any nature whatsoever incurred or suffered by that other (otherwise than under any express indemnity in this Agreement) if and to the ...
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.
Force majeure in any given situation is controlled by the law governing the contract, rather than general concepts of force majeure. Contracts often specify what constitutes force majeure via a clause in the agreement. So, the liability is decided per contract and neither by statute nor principles of general law.