Coronavirus belong to Force Majeure ?

On March 6, 2020, Guangdong provincial high court issued the guidelines on several issues concerning the trial of commercial cases related to the COVID-19 epidemic and clarification of the judgment principles.

2020年3月6日，广东省高院印发了《关于审理涉新冠肺炎疫情商事案件若干问题的指引》，明确了涉及新冠肺炎疫情商事案件时的裁判原则.

SOLUTIONS law consulting team has summarized the main points for your convenience which are as follow:

斯路森法律团队为大家解读指引的重点内容如下：

The court divided the commercial cases effected by the epidemic situation into 3 cases and informed the various course of actions.

将疫情对合同履行分为三种情况，分别采取不同的处理方式

1. If the contract cannot be performed due to the impact of the epidemic, the affected party shall bring the case to the court which shall make a judgment based on the actual situation and whether the parties have performed the corresponding procedures.

受其影响导致合同履行不能的，当事人主张免责的，应结合实际情况及当事人是否完全丧失履行能力予以判断，即是否能够适用不可抗力条款。

2. If fulfillment of the contract is impacted by the epidemic and one of the parties request to change or terminate the contract, the court shall decide whether to change or terminate the contract according to the principle of fairness and the actual situation.

受其影响导致继续履行合同明显不公平或不能实现合同目的的，当事人请求变更或解除合同的，应根据公平原则并结合实际情况确定是否变更或解除，即是否能够适用情形变更条款。

3.The court shall not support the party's request to cancel the contract, change the contract or release responsibility under circumstances that do not actually affect the performance of the contract.

对合同履行不构成实质影响的，当事人请求解除合同、变更合同或免责的，不予支持。

Force Majeure: Unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract.

The definition of the force majeure time period:

不可抗力的起止时间

1. If the epidemic situation is deemed as force majeure, the court can generally determine the starting and ending time of the force majeure according to the response time of the provincial people's government. 

将疫情认定为不可抗力的，一般可以依据对合同履行产生实质影响的省级人民政府启动和终止重大突发公共卫生事件响应的时间来确定不可抗力的起止时间。

*Note: people's government of Guangdong has initiated level 1 response to major public health emergencies on 23rd January. Adjusted to level 2 on 24th February.  (For Reference Only – Not provided by the court)

2. The time of occurrence of the force majeure event which is claimed by the parties to be exempted from liability again is before the conclusion of the contract or after the delay in performance, and the court generally does not support it.

不可抗力事由在合同订立前发生或迟延履行后发生的，当事人再主张免责的，一般不予支持。

For example: If one contract is signed after 23rd January,2020, any of the parties ask for changing, determining the contract because of the COVID-19, the court will not support it.

When a party claims force majeure, it shall perform the obligations of giving notice and proof.

当事人主张不可抗力的通知及证明义务

1. The obligor shall promptly notify the obligee and submit proof of the occurrence of force majeure within a reasonable time.

根据《合同法》第一百一十八条，债务人负有及时通知债权人的义务，并在合理期限内提交关于不可抗力的相关证据。

2. The court will also examine the extent to which the outbreak and containment measures have affected the failure to meet contractual obligations.

除明确规定了当事人主张不可抗力不能履行合同时具有法定的通知和证明义务外，还重点要求各级法院审查疫情及防控措施对无法履行合同义务的影响程度。

Opinions of the court on the trial of various disputes

关于审理各类纠纷的意见

1. Contract disputes on products and raw materials used for epidemic prevention and control .

以疫情防控物资或其原材料为交易标的的合同纠纷。

 a. If the seller claims to apply force majeure or change of circumstances due to failure of performing the contract, the evidence shall be strictly proved, or the court may not support it.

出卖人主张适用不可抗力或情势变更不履行合同或免责的，应严格举证证明，否则有可能不被支持；

 b. If the buyer claims that the payment cannot be made in accordance with the contract due to the impact, the buyer may obtain support from the court if he requests to be exempted from the liability for delayed payment.

买受人主张受影响无法依约付款的，请求免除其延迟付款责任的，可获支持。

2. Contract dispute on shipments belonging to the key epidemic areas 

出发地或目的地为重点疫区的货物运输合同纠纷

If the contract cannot be performed due to the outbreak of an epidemic, the parties may request termination of the contract.

因疫情影响导致合同无法履行的，当事人可请求解除合同。

3. Guarantee contract dispute

担保合同纠纷

If the principal debt is deemed as force majeure or the situation changes due to the epidemic situation, the principal debtor may be exempted from liability according to law, and the guarantor shall also be exempted from guarantee liability within this scope.

主债务因疫情影响被认定为不可抗力或情势变更，主债务人依法可免责的，担保人亦在该范围内免除担保责任。

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