金鹏研究 | 新冠疫情下的不可抗力适用 Application of Force Majeure - 2019-nCoV

Application of Force Majeure - 2019-nCoV

Reading time: 8 Minutes

● I  Background

The spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China during the past few weeks has caused national and local governments to take many serious measures such as strict traffic control, compulsory postponement in returning to work, and so on. On Jan 31,the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the situation as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC）.

Many enterprises in China (including WFOE) may be heavily impacted on the production, logistic, after-sale service, and other aspects of their operations, which may result in delays or failure to fulfil their contractual obligations. To these impacted ones, how to deal with such a situation? Can Force Majeure be claimed for the exemption of the delay or failure performance? 

In this article, we will answer the questions above according to Chinese laws and suggest what measures should be taken to deal with these contract performance issues.

● II  What is Force Majeure?

1. Definition

“Force majeure as used herein means objective situations which cannot be foreseen, avoided and overcome.” - Provision 2, Article 117 of the Contract Law of the PRC & Provision 2, Article 180 of the General Provisions of the Civil Law of the PRC.

2. Application

“The parties may dissolve the contract under any of the following circumstances:(1) the aim of the contract cannot be attained because of force majeure;……” - Article 94 of the Contract Law.

“If a contract cannot be fulfilled due to force majeure, the obligations may be exempted in whole or in part depending on the impact of the force majeure, unless laws provide otherwise. If the force majeure occurs after a delayed fulfillment, the obligations of the party concerned may not be exempted.” - Provision 1, Article 117 of the Contract Law.

“Either party that is unable to fulfill the contract due to force majeure shall notify the other party in time in order to reduce losses possibly inflicted to the other party, and shall provide evidence thereof within a reasonable period of time.” - Article 118 of the Contract Law:

3. Conclusion:

Either contractor is entitled to claim all or part of the exemption due to the force majeure that has caused the failure to fulfill (completely or partly) the contract obligations;

However, any necessary measure SHALL be taken to minimize the loss as much as possible and the failure mentioned above SHALL be notified in a timely manner by the contractor.

● III  2019-nCoV & Force Majeure

Judging from the outbreak time and speed of this 2019-nCoV, the 2019-nCoV is an emergency event that cannot be foreseen by any parties; and

There is no effective medical treatment and other methods for treatment so far, apart from some self-protection measures to avoid the infection. Therefore, there is no method for any commercial transactions to avoid the impact caused by the 2019-nCoV. Besides, the segregation of homes throughout the country, the blockade of traffic and even to an entire city, and other compulsory administrative command also have reflected that this situation cannot be avoided and overcome.

As a result, the 2019-nCoV shall be identified as the force majeure according to the Chinese law: an objective situation which cannot be foreseen, avoided and overcome.

● IV  May the Exemption Be Claimed Due To the 2019-nCoV?

1. Liability Exemption Conditions:

Some people believe that part or all of the debtor's liability will be exempted as long as the 2019-nCoV is identified as the force majeure.This is NOT correct!

To claim that the force majeure shall exempt (fully or partly) the liability of the contract, there are some necessary conditions according to the law. 

After all, not all the performance of EVERY contract was impacted by the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV.

To claim the 2019-nCoV as a force majeure for the liability exemption, evidence shall be provided to prove that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV has produced a significant and substantial impact on the contract performance, i.e., a causal relation shall exist between the epidemic situation and the inability to perform the contract.

If there is no such a causation, but the contract cannot be partly or fully performed due to the contractor’s own or any other reason, the 2019-nCoV shall not be used to relieve the liability for breach of contract.

2. How to prove?

Comprehensive consideration should be given to: the spread, the prevention and control of the 2019-nCoV where the contract is performed, the relevant measures and mandatory regulations adopted by the local government, and the direct impact on contract performance.

For example: Production is delayed due to the mandatory postponement of returning to work where the contract is performed, blockage of the road or/and cities leads to inability to deliver, or the contractor is not able to perform due to his/her infection and hospitalization, and so on。

● V Solutions

1. To notify the other party in time

The debtor is obliged to notify the other party of the fact that the force majeure occurred. Note: the content of the notice here is not a simple briefing or just the reason, but it should be clearly pointed out that: (1) the epidemic situation has constituted a force majeure, (2) what kind of substantial impact on the performance of the contract. It would be best to attach all the relevant evidence.

2. Evidence shall be provided about that the 2019-nCoV constitutes the force majeure to the contract performance.

If the contract cannot be performed due to the implementation of the local government's orders to prevent and/or control the epidemic situation, the debtor shall provide all the relevant evidence.

For example: media reports on the 2019-nCoV, the "Notice of the General Office of the State Council on the Extension of the Spring Festival Holiday of 2020", the notices and orders from local governments to postpone the returning of work, the mandatory blockage of the road or/and cities, and etc.

3. Take immediate and effective measures to avoid further losses to the other party

The debtor should take actions to minimize or avoid any further loss. The debtor shall bear the liability for the breach of the contract to any further loss which could originally be avoided by the debtor’s action.

4. Communicate & Negotiate with the other party, to propose any alternative solution.

5. Obtain the certificate to the fact related to force majeure (applying to international trade contracts only)

For those who delay or fail to perform the international trade contracts due to the 2019-nCoV, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) created an online certification platform (http://www.rzccpit.com/) to provide the proof of facts related to force majeure. 

新冠疫情下的不可抗力适用

一、背景介绍

2020年1月20日，国家卫健委2020年1号文将新型冠状病毒感染的肺炎纳入《中华人民共和国传染病防治法》规定的乙类传染病，并采取甲类传染病的预防、控制措施。同时，各省政府纷纷启动疫情一级响应措施，包括交通管制、要求企业延迟复工等。

日内瓦时间1月30日21:00（北京时间1月31日04:00）左右，世界卫生组织（WHO）召开记者会宣布：新型冠状病毒疫情2019-nCoV被列为“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”（Public Health Emergency of International Concern，即PHEIC），足见其严重性和突发性。

基于本次疫情，各地采取的应急措施可能会导致债务人无法履行合同，包括迟延履行、部分履行或全部不履行。债务人应该如何应对？是否可以以法律上的“不可抗力”规定而免责？

二、什么是不可抗力？

1. 定义

《民法总则》第一百八十条第二款规定，不可抗力是指不能预见、不能避免且不能克服的客观情况。《合同法》第一百一十七条第二款规定，本法所称不可抗力，是指不能预见、不能避免并不能克服的客观情况。

2. 适用

《合同法》第九十四条规定，有下列情形之一的，当事人可以解除合同，（一）因不可抗力致使不能实现合同目的；……。

《合同法》第一百一十七条第一款规定，因不可抗力不能履行合同的，根据不可抗力的影响，部分或者全部免除责任，但法律另有规定的除外。当事人迟延履行后发生不可抗力的，不能免除责任。

《合同法》第一百一十八条规定，当事人一方因不可抗力不能履行合同的，应当及时通知对方，以减轻可能给对方造成的损失，并应当在合理期限内提供证明。

也就是说，因为不可抗力导致合同的解除或不履行，债务人可以主张全部或部分免责；但要采取措施尽可能减轻损失，并及时通知对方。

三、新冠疫情2019-nCov是不是不可抗力？

从此次新型冠状病毒疫情的爆发时间和传播速度来看，本次疫情是一种突发事件，被确认前并不能为当事人所预见，且并没有有效的药物治疗等方法进行治疗，当事人除了做一些避免被感染的自我防护措施外，对于商事交易等方面并没有可避免的方法。全国上下的居家隔离，部分城市和道路封锁，就体现了这种不能避免并不能克服的客观性。

综上，2019-nCov符合“不可预见”、“不能避免”、“不能克服”的三要素，应属于法律规定的不可抗力事件。

四、违约方是否可以以新冠疫情为不可抗力事件而免责？

1. 免责条件：

有人认为：一旦疫情构成了不可抗力，就要部分或全部地免除债务人的所有责任。这是不正确的！不可抗力免责是有条件的。

疫情并非对所有合同的履行都有影响。主张疫情作为不可抗力免责事由的，应提供证据证明疫情对合同正常履行造成重大、实质性影响，即疫情与合同无法履行之间存在因果关系。如果不存在这样的因果关系，而是由于当事人本身的原因导致合同不能履行等，不得以疫情为由来免除违约责任。

2. 如何证明？

要结合疫情本身在合同履行地的传播及防控情况、当地政府采取的相关措施及强制性规定、对合同履行的直接影响等方面来综合考量，尤其是考量疫情在当地的发生是否对合同义务方产生了足以阻却合同履行的实质性影响。如：合同履行地强制延迟复工造成迟延交货、城市或道路的封锁造成了交货不能、合同当事人因感染住院造成无法履约等。

五、债务人采取的应对措施

1. 及时通知对方

债务人有义务，应及时将不可抗力发生的事实通知对方。注意，此处的通知内容不是简单的情况通报或理由，而应该明确指出此次疫情已构成不可抗力事件且对合同履行造成了何种实际影响，最好能一并提供相关证据。

2. 提供疫情构成不可抗力的证据

因执行政府防控疫情命令或因相关疫情防控政策措施而导致合同不能履行的，债务人需要提供相关证据。比如：权威媒体对新冠疫情的报道、《国务院办公厅关于延长2020年春节假期的通知》、各地政府要求企业延迟复工的通知、各地政府封锁城市、交通的通知等。

3. 采取合理措施，避免损失扩大

债务人应采取积极措施尽量减少或避免损失的扩大。如果能采取措施而不采取，导致合同无法履行的损失扩大，则债务人可能会被推定为有过错，并需根据其过错程度而承担相应的责任。

4. 积极沟通协商，提供替代解决方案

5. 如果是国际贸易合同，企业还可以向“中国国际贸易促进委员会”申请出具不可抗力的事实性证明，通过中国贸促会商事认证中心的线上认证平台（http://www.rzccpit.com/），按照要求在线上提交材料申请即可。

The author

Lawyer:Kaying Li 

李咔瑛 律师

Kaying Li is a practicing lawyer at Kingpound Law Firm and she specializes in business law including general corporate affairs consulting and litigation. Kaying Li has a master degree in Civil Procedure Law from East China University of Political Science and Law and a 14-year working experience.

李咔瑛是金鹏律师事务所的一名执业律师，执业领域为商事法律（包括公司法律事务咨询和诉讼）。李咔瑛律师拥有华东政法大学的诉讼法硕士学位和14年的丰富工作经验。

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