Local knowledge, global reach

The idea for this guide came from a webinar on force majeure which we recently gave to the “working at home” Hong Kong legal team of an international bank. The bank’s business is spread across Asia and questions were raised by the participants about the treatment of force majeure in other countries. The assumption behind these questions was that to rely on force majeure you need to have an express force majeure clause in a contract.

As you will discover in this guide there is a wide range of approaches to the treatment of, what are broadly referred to as, force majeure events across Asian jurisdictions; some countries require an express clause to rely on a defence of force majeure, others do not require this and recognise by law a defence of force majeure. Some countries by their laws recognise a concept of “change of circumstances” which allows the party claiming it to seek different relief to what can generally be claimed where there is a force majeure event. The authorities in some countries, such as the PRC, issue force majeure certificates.

I hope you find this guide helpful. It is intended to be a quick reference and so if you need clarification I would encourage you to contact the authors of the particular entries.

I would like to say a very big thank you to all those firms from the Eversheds Sutherland Asia Pacific Alliance who have contributed to this guide particularly in the very difficult times we are experiencing.