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Home > ICC eBooks > ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 and ICC Hardship Clause 2003 eBook
ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 and ICC Hardship Clause 2003 eBook
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ICC Publication No.: 650 eBook
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THIS IS AN eBOOK. AFTER COMPLETING THE ORDER PROCESS, AN EMAIL WITH DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE SENT TO YOU. Thank you!
ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 and ICC Hardship Clause 2003
First revision since 1995
ICC No. 650 eBook
2003 Edition
24 pages
Businesses typically want their contracts to succeed, making a good profit for a good product or service. Events, however, frequently frustrate the best business intentions and a party may find itself in the position of having to default because of events beyond its reasonable control.
In the ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 and in the ICC Hardship Clause 2003, the ICC seeks to provide international traders with ready-made, off the peg, model clauses which parties to international contracts may incorporate into their contracts.
The ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 combines the predictability of listed force majeure events with a general force majeure formula which is intended to catch circumstances which fall outside the listed events.
The ICC Hardship Clause 2003 balances businessmen's legitimate expectations of performance with the harsh reality that circumstances do change to make performance so hard that the contract simply must change.
Foreword
By Maria Livanos Cattaui, Secretary General of ICC
Force Majeure literally means "greater force". Force Majeure clauses excuse a party from liability if some unforseen event beyond the control of that party prevents it from performing its obligations under the contract.
A hardship clause, on the other hand, requests re-negotiation of the contract if the continued performance of one party's contractual duties has become excessively onerous due to an unforseen event beyond the control of that party .
Negotiating force majeure and hardship clauses means operating at the very core of the contract. It is important that the clauses are balanced and apply equally to all parties to the agreement. ICC has designed the ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 and the ICC Hardship Clause 2003 to faciliate the drafting process both for companies and for their lawyers.
These clauses follow extensive discussion within ICC's Commission on Commercial Law and Practice, and particularly within the Task Force on Force Majeure and Hardship, chaired by Professor Jan Ramberg (Sweden). Draftsman-in-chief was Professor Charles Debattista(UK), and other task force members were Professor Filip de Ly (Netherlands), Alexis Mourre (France), Rene von Samson-Himmelstjerna (Germany), Fabian von Schlabrendorff (Germany), and Peter Delargy (France).
Table of Contents
ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003
Introductory Note on the Application and General Structure of the Clause
Notes
a) The general Force Majeure formula in paragraph 1
b) Force Majeure and sub-contractors: paragraph 2
c) Force Majeure and existing impediments
d) Listed Force Majeure events: paragraph 3
e) Events in the list
f) Self-induced Force Majeure
g) Force Majeure and freedom of contract
h) The consequences of Force Majeure: paragraphs 4 and 5
i) Force Majeure leading to termination of the contract: paragraphs 8 and 9
j) Force Majeure and notice
ICC Hardship Clause 2003
Introductory Note on the Application of the Clause
Notes
a) Hardship and Force Majeure
b) The origins of the Clause
c) The parties should perform their duties: paragraph 1
d) Hardship and existing impediments
e) Hardship and the duty to negotiate: paragraph 2
For more information about this publication, please read the following ICC Press Release entitled:
Make Sure that Contract Protects You If Disaster Strikes
Press Release
Paris March 1, 2003
Amid mounting international tensions and fears of terrorism, companies negotiating contracts need to be especially careful to allow for unforeseen events beyond their control.
The remedy lies in the wording of the contract, which should contain a watertight force majeure clause that a company can invoke to justify any failure to meet its obligations, thereby avoiding legal penalties.
War, civil war, acts of piracy or sabotage, riots and insurrections can all leave a company powerless to meet its contractual obligation. So can events covered by the legal term "acts of God" - earthquakes, blizzards, tidal waves, electric storms and other natural disasters.
Eminent international lawyers have designed ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 to make it easier for companies and their lawyers to negotiate contracts that are fair to both parties but provide adequate safeguards if disaster strikes.
A companion clause is ICC Hardship Clause 2003, which provides for renegotiation when continued performance of contractual duties has become excessively onerous due to an event beyond the party's reasonable control.
Both clauses, together with explanatory notes that point out pitfalls and legal fine points are available in ICC No. 650, ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 and ICC Hardship Clause 2003.
In a foreword, ICC Secretary General Maria Livanos Cattaui writes: "Negotiating force majeure and hardship clauses means operating at the very core of the contract, and it is important that the clauses are balanced and apply equally to all parties to the agreement."
A task force of the ICC Commission on Commercial Law and Practice, headed by Professor Jan Ramberg of Sweden, drafted the clauses. Draftsman-in-chief was Professor Charles Debattista (United Kingdom). Other members were Professor Filip de Ly (Netherlands), Alexis Moure (France), René von Samson-Himmelstjerna (Germany), Fabian von Schlabrendorf (Germany) and Peter Delargy (France).
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