COVID-19 : THE APPLICATION ARTICLE 79 OF THE CISG

OVID-19 has effectively brought global business to a halt and thrown contract agreements into great confusion. If a sudden, unforeseen disaster such as COVID-19 makes it impossible to perform of obligation, who should compensate the damage? Many are wondering if the parties to the contract are exempt from the performance of the contract under the concept of “Act of God” and the provisions of “force majeure” during the COVID-19 crisis. Due to COVID-19, the situation continues that the core components needed for production cannot be procured and some factories shut down. In some areas, aircraft take-off was interrupted. International transactions have more complex legal relations than domestic transactions. The various effects caused by COVID-19 will inevitably affect the performance under contracts for the international sale of goods. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods(CISG) regulates in Article 79 as an exemption from liability for damages. There will be many cases in the future that address whether COVID-19 applies to CISG and the legal principles will continue to develop. In this study, The author preemptively reviews “the applicability of CISG Article 79 to the COVID-19 outbreak”.