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  5. Comparison of the concepts of «force majeure» and «circumstances of insuperable force» as grounds for exemption from contractual liability

Almanac of law. Issue 15 (2024), pages 487–493.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2024-15-487-493

Bohdanova V. V.
Comparison of the concepts of «force majeure» and «circumstances of insuperable force» as grounds for exemption from contractual liability

The article is devoted to research and analysis of the definitions of «force majeure» and «circumstances of insuperable force» as grounds for exemption from contractual liability. The legislative formulation of the grounds for exemption from civil and commercial liability differs, because the rules of civil legislation refer to such grounds as accident and force majeure, while commercial legislation operates with definitions of «acts of insuperable force», which are characterized by signs of emergency and inevitability. However, the common thing is that non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the corresponding duty is impossible due to circumstances of insuperable force. That is, the following is characteristic of the category of «force majeure» and «circumstances of insuperable force»: 1) the parties are unable to foresee/expect them in the ordinary course of civil affairs; 2) the impossibility of avoiding the consequences, that is, their inevitability; 3) «paralysis» of the fulfillment of obligations regardless of the taking of appropriate measures by the parties.Аfter researching foreign law enforcement experience, domestic legislation, relevant judicial practice, one can come to the conclusion that the concepts of «force majeure» and «circumstances of insuperable force» are terms identical in meaning, the identity of which is due to the peculiarity of the translation from a foreign language; the specified circumstances are characterized by unpredictability, do not depend on the will of the parties to the contract, under which it is impossible to fulfill the obligations imposed on them. By itself, the existence of the specified circumstances does not belong to the category of «force majeure» («circumstances of insuperable force»). Acquiring the status of a ground for release from contractual liability occurs as a result of proving by the counterparty (the burden of proof is placed on the debtor), the impossibility of fulfilling the obligations provided for in the terms of the contract, precisely because of the specified circumstances, a cause-andeffect relationship between the obligations that the party cannot perform, and the circumstances (their result), which the party refers to as the basis for the impossibility of fulfilling obligations and as a result of certification of the specified circumstances by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Key words: institution of exemption from liability, grounds for exemption from contractual liability, force majeure, circumstances of insuperable force.

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Valeria Volodymyrivna Bogdanova,
Postgraduate Student at the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law, NAS of Ukraine
ORCID: 0009-0002-1956-7632

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