How To Deal With The Event Of Force Majeure?

     《聯合國國際貨物銷售合同公約》規定，一方當事人享受的免責權利只對履約障礙存在期間有效，如果合同未經雙方同意宣告無效，則合同關系繼續存在，一國履行障礙消除，雙方當事人仍須繼續履行合同義務。 

Therefore, the consequences arising from force majeure events, the termination of contracts or the delay in performance of contracts should be agreed upon by the two parties in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.

The Convention also stipulates that after a force majeure event occurs, the breaching party must notify the other party in time and provide the necessary proof documents, and shall make suggestions in the notice.

If the other party is injured due to failure to inform in time, it shall be liable for compensation.

China's foreign-related economic contract law also stipulates that "... Should inform the other party in time to mitigate the losses that may be caused to the other party."

Most of the organizations certifying force majeure events are local chambers of Commerce.

In China, it is issued by the China Council for the promotion of international trade (China International Chamber of Commerce).

After receiving the notice and proof of the event of force majeure, the other party shall decide whether to confirm the event of force majeure according to the nature of the incident and notify the other party in time.

The key to handling force majeure events is the identification of events of force majeure. Although the force majeure clause is specified in the contract, on the specific issues, the two sides will be divided on whether the force majeure event is established.

Usually, we should pay attention to the following matters.

Distinguish between business risk and force majeure events.

Business risk is often unpredictable and unavoidable, but the fundamental difference between it and force majeure events is that one party has the ability to fulfill its contractual obligations after assuming a risk loss. Typically, it deals with "category goods", which can be purchased from the market, and the seller can not usually be relieved of the liability for delivery.

        重視“特定標的物”的作用。對于包裝后刷上嘜頭或通過運輸單據等已將貨物確定為某項合同的標的物，稱為“特定標的物”， 此類貨物由于意外事件而滅失，賣方可以確認為不可抗力事件。如果貨物并本特定化，則會造成免責的依據不足、比如三萬米棉布在儲存中由于不可抗力損失了一萬米，若棉布分別售于兩個貨主，而未對棉布作特定化處理，則賣方對兩個買主都無法引用不可抗力條款免責。