Features regulation of force majeure in private international lawin the covid era

Abstract

This article analyzes the regulation of relations to release from the fulfillment of cross — border obligations due to the onset of force majeure, namely the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The issue of practical difficulties in obtaining certificates of force majeure circumstances in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia is discussed, and problems of using certificates to prove these circumstances in judicial practice. At the international public level, an interesting decision was analyzed, which was rendered in France by the Colmar Court of Appeal. In the field of private international law, the following international acts were analyzed: Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980, Principles of International Commercial Contracts UNIDROIT, rev. 2016, New ICC Model Clauses 2020. This article reveals the need for the mandatory use of a force majeure clause in a cross-border commercial contract. This article analyzes a new 2020 documents «Note on the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and the COVID-19 health crisis», whichexplained the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance and non-performance of international commercial contracts.