What is force majeure?

The concept of force majeure supposes the existence of a fact that makes it impossible for one of the parties to comply with their contractual obligations.

To do so, the affected party must prove that:

1. The fact was out of his control
2. That he could not have foreseen the event at the time the contract was entered into
3. That such events could not have been avoided on his part even by applying the greatest diligence and care
4. That the fact prevented the fulfillment of the contract directly and causally

Therefore, to determine if an event is force majeure or not, two requirements must be met:

• unpredictability
• the inevitability

Some examples of events that can be considered force majeure are: earthquakes, floods, fires, wars, strikes, epidemics, etc.

Related concepts

• Excessive hardship
• Force majeure clause
• Excessive hardship clause
• Rebus Sic Stantibus Clause
• What are the differences between force majeure and excessive hardship?
• What is the difference between the force majeure clause, excessive hardship and the Rebus Sic Stantibus?