Shailendra's Sphere

Will COVID-19 trigger Force Majeure? I got this question in the last couple of days from a few of my friends, colleagues and ex-colleagues. I would say there cannot be a straight answer in YES or NO. The answer to the triggering or applicability of Force Majeure lies in what manner and/or circumstances the force majeure clause of an agreement has been drafted. Let’s understand this in detail. Force Majeure and vis-Major (i.e. act of god) are the part of  inevitable accidents . Inevitable accidents are defined, as any accidents that could not have been foreseen or prevented by due care and diligence of any human being involved in it, or which could not by any possibility is prevented from happening by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and skill. Force Majeure means “superior force”  which include  war, riots, explosions or other disasters, energy blackouts, unexpected legislation, lockouts, slowdowns, and strikes, epidemic or pandemic diseases, other specified factors or eve

COVID-19 and its impact on the Economy : The novel coronavirus, that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year and has since caused severe loss to humanity and been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The virus has spread to more than 165 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to the journal Nature Medicine. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses ranging widely in severity. The first known severe illness caused by a coronavirus emerged in the year 2003 in China with the name Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic. The other important outbreak of severe illness began in the year 2012 in Saudi Arabia with the name of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The spread of the coronavirus is most importantly a public health emergency, but it’s also a significant economic threat. The COVID-19 shock will cause a recession in some countries and collectively depress the growth of this year to below 2.