The COVID-19 pandemic has not yet reached its peak from a medical point of view, but the economic consequences are already taking effect. First of all, most affected are suppliers from the PRC and the Chinese domestic market, but also the inability to fulfill obligations due to the suspension of traffic and the reduced of movement of people and goods at the international and domestic levels has taken consequences.
The Government of the People’s Republic of China has already taken appropriate measures to counteract the economic consequences and has secured the issuance of a “force majeure certificate” by the Chinese Council for the Advancement of International Trade (CCPIT) to provide written proof of the force majeure of companies based in the People’s Republic of China , which are predominantly suppliers to the foreign market.
Force majeure by nature, by it’s definition, is some external event that could not be predicted or eliminated. As the consequences of force majeure in a business relationship are generally borne by one party, resorting to force majeure clauses defining the extraordinary rights to terminate the contract for the benefit of one or both parties. In the absence of such provisions, the fate of the contract depends on the rights that apply to it, so it is necessary to determine which law is relevant to that business relationship and to clarify in the light of the relevant legislation the consequences for the business relationship.
Whether you are in business with suppliers from the PRC, other COVID-19 affected countries, or within the Republic of Serbia, causing your business relationship to be disrupted and goods not delivered or services not delivered, or some other obligation that cannot be fulfilled from your contract causing one or both parties to suffer damage, it is imperative that you know the path by which you can exercise your rights. Also, if you have a manufacturing facility in the PRC, you should carefully apply for a force majeure certificate, and not without first analyzing the consequences.
Although standard vis maior clauses are used in contracts, it is very important that each contract is individually reviewed so that the consequences can be interpreted properly, so if you have doubts about the inability to fulfill contractual obligations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please contact our resolution team disputes, lawyers Miloš Milosević and Ivan Ljubisavljević, respectively email office@zslaw.rs.
Uticaj COVID-19 na ugovorne odnose, neispunjenja obaveza usled više sile i otklanjanje štetnih posledica
Pandemija COVID-19 još uvek nije dostigla svoj vrhunac sa medicinskog stanoviša, ali ekonomske posledice su već uveliko vidljive. Pre svega dobavljača iz NR Kine i kineskog unutrašnjeg tržišta, ali i nemogućnost ispunjenja obaveza usled obustave sabraćaja i smanjenog obima kretanja ljudi i robe na međunarodnom i unutrašnjem nivou.
Vlada NR Kine je već donela odgovarajuće mere za suzbijanje ekonomskih posledica, te je u tu shvru obezbedila izdavanje „sertifikata više sile“ od strane Kineskog saveta za unapređenje međunarodne trgovine (CCPIT), čime bi obezbedili pismeni dokaz više sile kompanija sa sedištem u NR Kini, koje su pretežno dobavljači za ino tržište.
Viša sila po prirodi predstavlja neki spoljašnji događaj koji se nije mogao predvideti niti odkloniti. Kako posledice više sile u poslovnim odnosima uglavnom snosi jedna ugovorna strana, pribegava se ugovaranju klauzula više sile koje definišu vanredna prava raskida ugovora u korist jedne ili obe strane. Ukoliko takvih odredbi nema, sudbina ugovora zavisi od prava koje se na njega primenjuje, pa je neophodno ustanoviti koje je pravo relevantno za taj poslovni odnos, te u svetlu relevantnog zakonodavstva razjasniti posledice po poslovni odnos.
Bilo da ste u poslovnom odnosu sa dobavljačima iz NR Kine, neke druge zemlje pogođene COVID-19, ili unutar Republike Srbije, zbog čega je vaš poslovni odnos poremećen te roba nije isporučena ili usluga nije pužena, ili kakva druga obaveza ne može da se ispuni iz vašeg ugovora usled čega jedna ili obe strane trpe štetu, nepohodno je da znate put kojim možete ostvariti svoja prava. Takođe, ukoliko imate proizvodni pogon u NR Kini obazrivo treba pristupiti zahtevu za zdavanje sertifikata više sile, bez prethodne analize posledica.
Iako se u ugovorima koriste standardizovane „vis maior“ klauzule, veoma je važno svaki ugovor ponaosob sagledati kako bi posledice mogle biti pravilno tumačene, zbog toga, ukoliko imate nedoumice oko nemogućnosti ispunjenja ugovornih obaveza usled pandemije COVID-19, obratite se našem timu za rešavanje sporova, advokatima Milošu Miloševiću i Ivanu Ljubisavljeviću, odnosno na email office@zslaw.rs.