- Published
- 30 June 2020
- Chapter
Regulating international contracts in a pandemic: Application of the lex mercatoria and transnational commercial law
- Authors
- Source
- Covid-19, Law and Human Rights : Essex Dialogues
Full text
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic is a significant disruption for the performance of contractual obligations. Contracts often contain a force majeure clause that lays out the circumstances under which a contract can be terminated or suspended. However, not all contracts contain such a clause, or the clause might not cover the current situation. In the absence of a force majeure or similar type clause the applicable law fills that gap.
This paper concentrates on international commercial law contracts and transnational commercial law; it specifically focuses on the Convention for the International Sale of Goods, 1the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts,2 and the principles of the lex mercatoria. This paper analyses how these instruments could be applied if the contractual parties do not meet their obligations because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rights
Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Cite as
Hoekstra, J. 2020, 'Regulating international contracts in a pandemic: Application of the lex mercatoria and transnational commercial law', Covid-19, Law and Human Rights : Essex Dialogues, pp. 117-125. https://doi.org/10.5526/xgeg-xs42_016