Coronavirus and the ripple effects of force majeure on contracts globally

In India, the onus lies with the government to bring clarity in the use of the clause for the lockdown period, say experts

As businesses across countries struggle to mitigate the economic after-effects of the pandemic-induced lockdowns, not much-used force majeure (FM) clause in contracts is being widely relied upon for relief. In India, the legal fraternity has already been flooded with queries regarding the use — and abuse — of the clause. “Since the past few weeks, clients have gotten a sense of how their customers and vendors are reacting. They know courts will be overburdened once the lockdown is over and they do not want to be stuck in long-drawn litigation,” says Dhruv Suri, partner, PSA Legal.

The law on FM and