In these unprecedented times, where the world is grappling with
the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across the globe are
witnessing their worst losses. Some even staring at bankruptcies.
The magnitude of uncertainty surrounding supply chains owing to the
COVID-19 has shifted the focus back on the historical expression
known as force majeure. Parties who seek to save themselves from
consequences over which they have no control will need to revisit
the force majeure clauses in their contracts or shield themselves
under the statutory bulwark, if at all. As per the Black's Law
Dictionary, force majeure is an event or effect that can be neither
anticipated nor controlled. The term includes both acts of nature
(for instance, floods and hurricanes) and acts of people (for
instance, riots, strikes, and wars). The Supreme Court of India has
observed that the expression force majeure is not a mere French
version of the Latin expression 'Vis major'. It is a term
of
