Commercial Contracts Balance Restoring After Coronavirus Pandemic and Its Variants

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic, as reported by the Asian Development Bank, has globally impacted economic sectors, causing losses over $4 trillion. The rapid spread led to widespread disruptions in fulfilling contractual obligations, prompting legal actions by creditors for compensation or delay fines due to debtors' inability to meet obligations. Some individuals posit that the virus or its variants represent an emergent circumstance causing contractual imbalance, necessitating judicial intervention to rectify obligations if the criteria of the emergency circumstances theory are met. Conversely, there are dissenting opinions rejecting this assertion, extending their scepticism to viruses or novel phenomena. The anticipation of future viruses sharing similar characteristics is acknowledged. Within the scope of our investigation, we will explore the feasibility of categorizing the current virus as an emergency circumstance. This examination involves scrutinizing the theoretical framework and evaluating its applicability to the virus, necessitating potential judicial intervention to reinstate equilibrium within commercial contracts. The research is structured into two segments: the first delineates the definition of the emergency circumstances theory, while the second delves into the pertinent legal provisions governing it.