We have written previously about force majeure clauses in the
context of market disruption events that have occurred or were
anticipated (See previous alerts,
11-027,
11-007,
10-189 and
09-005, on force majeure). Lawyers spend a great deal of time
analysing the impact of such events on their clients'
contractual arrangements. This article seeks to suggest some ways
in which in-house legal and business teams might treat force
majeure as a moving issue that merits regular evaluation of what a
contract should say, in anticipation of the unanticipated. In
particular, it seeks to identify some guidance points as to what a
review of a force majeure regime should focus on, including factors
relating to the parties themselves, the nature of the trade and the
jurisdiction that will determine its application. We focus here on
the laws commonly chosen to govern transactions made in three key
trading centres namely London/Geneva, Singapore and Houston.
