On 11 March 2020, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus,
COVID-19 has been declared by the Director-General of the World
Health Organisation to be a pandemic in view of its global spread
and severity. There is no doubt that this ongoing pandemic is
posing significant issues and challenges for businesses. As the
restrictions on movement and international travel in Malta tighten,
it may be the case that certain businesses may start struggling to
perform obligations under certain contracts and may consider
invoking a 'force majeure' event.
This decision to claim 'force majeure' may be
motivated by several reasons, depending on the specific contractual
terms, which would have been agreed by the parties at inception of
their agreement. The most common reasons, however, why a
non-performing party may decide to claim 'force
majeure' include the following: (i) to render their
non-performance as excusable, (ii) to possibly avoid incurring
liability in damages for
