The COVID-19 Pandemic and Commercial Contracts
“To stop the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic governments closed ports and ‘non-essential businesses’, restricted travel and imposed ‘lockdowns’ or ‘stay-at-home’ orders. In cases where the COVID-19 pandemic or government measures disrupt commercial contracts, it is necessary to carefully analyze the state of affairs to determine the appropriate remedy. A considerable number of articles have already been written on contracts affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it is time to summarize the legal situation for commercial contracts in the most important jurisdictions in a nutshell. This article therefore addresses legal remedies for commercial contracts affected by COVID-19, under the laws of common law countries (UK, Hong Kong and Singapore), Germany, France, Switzerland, United States and the CISG, which are commonly applicable to commercial contracts,” details Franz Kaps from DLA Piper.