Almanac of law. Issue 17 (2026), pages 220–225.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2026-17-220-225

Armash N. A.
Implementation of civil law norms in the context of a significant change in the circumstances of contract performance

The article provides a doctrinal analysis of the implementation of civil law norms and civil liability under the conditions of martial law, where traditional mechanisms of private-law regulation are profoundly affected by extraordinary and long-term crisis factors. It is substantiated that war, as a systemic socio-economic phenomenon, does not formally suspend the validity of civil law norms, yet radically transforms the factual environment in which they are implemented. This transformation exposes the limits of a purely formalistic approach to the performance of obligations and the application of civil liability.

The study demonstrates that the implementation of civil law norms in wartime cannot be reduced to mechanical compliance with statutory provisions or the literal performance of contractual terms. Large-scale disruption of logistics, destruction of infrastructure, shortages of resources, instability of energy supply, and permanent risks to life and security form a new reality in which the original normative model of an obligation often loses its ability to ensure the legal and economic result envisaged by the law. In such circumstances, the implementation of civil law norms acquires a material dimension and must be assessed through the prism of achieving a fair balance of interests between the parties rather than through formal conformity alone.

Special attention is paid to the doctrine of a fundamental change of circumstances as a key mechanism for the material implementation of civil law norms during wartime. It is argued that military actions and their consequences do not always fall within the classical concept of force majeure; however, they objectively disrupt the equivalence of reciprocal performances and may impose an excessive and disproportionate burden on one of the parties. Under these conditions, the proper implementation of civil law norms presupposes not the automatic imposition of sanctions, but the adaptation of methods for performing obligations in accordance with the principles of fairness, good faith, and reasonableness.

Civil liability during martial law is analysed not only as a reaction to breach, but also as an instrument for stabilising civil turnover. The article demonstrates that the formal application of the presumption of fault without due consideration of objectively uncontrollable wartime risks may lead to a distortion of private-law regulation and undermine its social legitimacy. Particular critical attention is devoted to liability for the breach of monetary obligations, the automatic application of which in conditions of wartime economic instability does not always correspond to its compensatory purpose.

A separate emphasis is placed on the role of the court as a key institutional actor in the implementation of civil law norms under wartime conditions. Judicial practice in such cases transcends formal law enforcement and acquires the character of legal adaptation aimed at reconciling the stability of civil turnover with the objective instability of factual circumstances. Through judicial interpretation and the application of general principles of civil law, the material implementation of civil law norms is ensured, preserving their regulatory effectiveness.

The article concludes that war functions as a “stress test” for the institution of civil liability and the implementation of civil law norms as a whole. It reveals the necessity of moving from formal-normative models towards materially oriented approaches to private-law regulation, capable of maintaining the stability of private relations and safeguarding legitimate interests in conditions of prolonged crisis.

Keywords: implementation of legal norms; civil law; implementation of civil law norms; fundamental change of circumstances; contractual obligations; material approach; performance of contract; judicial implementation of law; fairness; good faith.

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 02.01.2026
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 09.04.2026
Дата публікації: 30.04.2026