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Force Majeure? - To be, or not to be, that is the question!
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Since the outbreak of the new coronary pneumonia, mainland China has initiated a public health emergency. Local governments generally required companies not to resume work earlier than 9 February 2020, of which Hubei Province even required companies not to resume work earlier than 13 February 2020.It is not difficult to imagine that the outbreak of NCP (including relevant measures taken by the government, collectively referred to as the outbreak of “NCP”)), seriously affected the performance of many civil and commercial contracts.
自发生新型冠状病毒感染的肺炎（“新冠肺炎”）疫情以来，中国内地启动了突发公共卫生事件一级响应。各省市一般要求企业不得早于2020年2月9日复工，其中湖北省要求省内企业不早于2020年2月13日复工。不难想象，此次突发的“新冠肺炎”疫情（包括政府为控制疫情而采取的相关防控措施）必然会严重影响当前许多民商事合同的履行。
那， 问题来了，新冠肺炎疫情及相关防控措施（在此统称” 新冠肺炎疫情”）是否构成“不可抗力”事件?
On 31 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of NCP a "public health emergency of international concern" ("PHEIC"). In accordance with the provisions of the International Health Regulations, "public health emergency of international concern" means an unusual event that constitutes a public health hazard to other countries through the international spread of a disease and may require a coordinated international response.2020年1月31日，世界卫生组织宣布将“新冠肺炎”疫情列为“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”。根据《国际卫生条例》的规定，“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”系指通过疾病的国际传播构成对其他国家的公共卫生危害，并可能需要采取协调一致的国际应对措施的不同寻常的事件。
On 20 January 2020, the National Health Commission of the PRC classified NCP a class B infectious diseases as stipulated in the “Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases”, and adopted prevention and control measures akin to a Class A infectious diseases, please check our previous article “China Classifies Coronavirus as Category B Infectious Disease” for details. This is similar to the situation in 2003 when "SARS" broke out. Which means, although NCP and SARS are class B infectious diseases, prevention and control measures are implemented and adopted in accordance with the elevated standards of a Class A infectious disease.
2020年1月20日，国家卫生健康委员会将“新冠肺炎”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。这与2003年的“非典”情况一样，即虽然“新冠肺炎”与“非典”都属于乙类传染病，但均按照甲类传染病的标准来预防和控制。
To answer our question, let's have a look at the definition of force majeure in Chinese law. According to Article 180 of the General Principles of Civil Law: "Force majeure refers to an objective situation that is unforeseeable, unavoidable and is not able to be overcome."为了回答这个问题， 我们来看一下中国相关法律对不可抗力的定义。《民法总则》第180条明确规定：“不可抗力是指不能预见、不能避免且不能克服的客观情况。”
我们认为，考虑到“新冠肺炎”疫情与2003年“非典”疫情的相似性，目前对于“新冠肺炎”疫情法律性质的认定及导致的相关合同纠纷的处理可参考最高人民法院的意见：《最高人民法院关于在防治传染性非典型肺炎期间依法做好人民法院相关审判、执行工作的通知》（法[2003]72号）即，最高院明确了，因“非典”疫情导致合同不能履行或致使合同当事人根本不能履行的，即可视之为“不可抗力”
2. Not all defaults are exempt from performance liabilityHowever, although the outbreak of NCP can be characterized as an event of "force majeure", whether it will be recognized as force majeure in a specific contractual dispute and thus constitutes a statutory exemption from liability for breach of contract, still needs to be determined in combination with the fundamental purpose of each individual contract and its performance obligation in light of other factors. As a matter of fact, many disputes occur in the existence of a causal relationship between the force majeure event and the failure of contractual performance.
In addition, in accordance with the provisions of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, the party experiencing a force majeure event is liable for timely notice to the other party, reducing or controlling losses and providing proof within a reasonable period of time. In the event that a party fails to mitigate the losses that may have been inflicted upon the other party in a timely manner, they shall still be liable for so-called “extended” losses. Furthermore, if force majeure occurs after the party already delayed performance (!), liability for breach of contract cannot be exempted.
In our next post, we'll study selected cases to make sure our audience is familiar with China’s judicial perspective on “force majeure” and similar cases.
2. 不是所有违约都会免于承担履约责任然而，尽管“新冠肺炎”疫情可以被认定为“不可抗力”，但其在具体合同关系中是否会被认定为不可抗力从而构成法定免责事由，仍需要结合具体合同的根本目的、合同的履行情况等因素来加以判定。在审判实践中，很多争议发生在不可抗力事件与合同履行不能之间是否存在因果关系。同时，根据《中华人民共和国合同法》的有关规定，遭遇不可抗力的一方仍然要承担及时通知、减少损失以及在合理期限内提供证明的义务；如果他们没有及时减轻可能给对方造成的损失，他们仍要为扩大的损失承担责任。。此外，如果当事人迟延履行后发生不可抗力的，不能免除责任。下一篇文章中，我们会介绍一些不同的案例，让大家更好地理解法院对这些案件的思路。
Related provisions in Contract Law of the PRC:Article 117. Where it is not possible to perform a contract due to force majeure, then, depending on the extent of the force majeure, the performing party shall be partially or wholly excused from liability, except where laws provide otherwise. Where force majeure occurs after a party has already been late in performing an obligation, the said party will not be excused from liability.In this Law, "force majeure" means a situation which, on an objective view, is unforeseeable, unavoidable and is not able to be overcome.Article 118. Where one of the parties is unable to perform the contract due to force majeure, the said party shall immediately notify the other party in order to reduce the potential losses sustained by the other party, and the said party shall also provide evidence of the force majeure within a reasonable time.《合同法》相关规定：
第一百一十七条 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。
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。第一百一十八条 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。