This book studies the situation where unexpected circumstances render the performance of a contract much more difficult or onerous and those which frustrate the purpose of the transaction. It includes a comparative analysis of European and Latin American jurisdictions as well as American contract law.

This book is about one of the most controversial dilemmas of contract law: whether or not the unexpected change of circumstances due to the effects of financial crises may under certain conditions be taken into account. Growing interconnectedness of global economies facilitates the spread of the effects of the financial crises. Financial crises cause severe difficulties for persons to fulfill their contractual obligations. During the financial crises, performance of contractual obligations may become excessively onerous or may cause an excessive loss for one of the contracting parties and consequently destroy the contractual equilibrium and legitimate the governmental interventions. Uncomfortable economic climate leads to one of the most controversial dilemmas of the contract law: whether the binding force of the contract is absolute or not. In other words, unstable economic circumstances impose the need to devote special attention to review and perhaps to narrow the binding nature of a contract. Principle of good faith and fair dealing motivate a variety of theoretical bases in order to overcome the legal consequences of financial crises. In this book, all these theoretical bases are analyzed with special focus on the available remedies, namely renegotiation, rescission or revision and the circumstances which enables the revocation of these remedies. The book collects the 19 national reports and the general report originally presented in the session regarding the Effects of Financial Crises on the Binding Force of Contracts: Renegotiation, Rescission or Revision during the XIXth congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, held in Vienna, July 2014.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

This new edition continues to provide a critical introduction to the legal regulation of consumer markets, situating it within the context of broader debates about rationales for regulation, the role of the state and the growth of neo-liberalism. It draws on interdisciplinary sources, assessing, for example, the increased influence of behavioural economics on consumer law. It analyses the Europeanisation of consumer law and the tensions between neo-liberalism and the social market, consumer protection and consumer choice, in the establishment of the single market ground rules. The book also assesses national, regional and international responses to the world financial crisis as reflected in the regulation of consumer credit markets. This edition incorporates recent legislative and judicial developments of the law, blending substantial extracts from primary UK, EU and international legal materials.

International commercial gas sale agreements are often characterised by a duration of twenty years or more. Consequently, when unforeseen events alter market conditions the contractual equilibrium originally found by the parties is disrupted, giving rise to the necessity to renegotiate and adapt the agreement. If negotiation fails, the parties in most cases submit the matter to arbitration. This comprehensive analysis of what can happen under such circumstances proceeds from an in-depth consideration of the power of arbitrators to intervene on the agreement in the light of arbitrability and procedural law. The author fully explains the complex special nature of gas pricing and contract clauses, and takes into account such features as the following, especially in the wake of the 2009 crisis as it affected the gas sector: - take or pay clauses; - mechanisms for gas price calculation; - price review and price re-opener clauses; - hardship provisions; - problems arising from the absence of a specific clause providing for adaptation/adjustment; - effect on contracts of the emergence and development of spot or traded gas markets; and - trend toward introducing spot-market elements into an oil-indexed price formula. The analysis draws on interviews with lawyers and arbitrators who have been involved in recent proceedings regarding gas sale contract adaptations, and also considers court decisions issued in setting aside or enforcing arbitration awards handed down in energy disputes. A central discussion throughout this book is the possible responses to the question of whether it is possible to determine a principle of law justifying the arbitrator’s power to intervene in contract adaptation. All professionals involved in the production, wholesaling, or distribution of gas will find this book indispensable. It will also be of special value to practitioners, policymakers, and regulators in the fields of energy law and environmental law.

Force Majeure and Hardship are commonly invoked in international trade when unforeseen events occur making performance impossible or impracticable. Most national legislators provide rules to deal with these issues, but the specifi c solutions adopted in domestic laws vary substantially from one country to another. In recent years the growing complexity of trade in a globalized world has greatly increased the number of situations where a party can invoke force majeure or hardship. Parties need to be able to analyse the nature and characteristics of force majeure and hardship and look for contractual clauses which can regulate these issues in conformity with their needs. Written by international practitioners, this dossier explores the evolution of the rules on hardship, the ICC Clause on Hardship and the perspectives of contract adaptation by arbitrators. The section on Force Majeure includes an overview of recent arbitral case law (impediment beyond sphere of control and risk of the obligor; foreseeability; causation; notice requirement), analysis of the ICC 2003 Force Majeure Clause and an update on its revision. Two other important themes are included: the relationship between force majeure and applicable law, general principles of law and trade usages as well as the impact of economic sanctions.

This collection of essays provides a rich and contemporary discussion of the principle of pacta sunt servanda. This principle, which requires that valid agreements are to be honoured, is a cornerstone of contract law. Focusing on contributions from Asia, this book shows that, despite its natural and universal appeal, the pacta sunt servanda principle is neither absolute nor immutable. Exceptions to the binding force of contract must be available in limited circumstances to avoid hardship and unfairness. This book offers readers new comparative perspectives on the appropriate balance between contractual certainty and flexibility in an era of social instability. Expert authors, mostly from East and Southeast Asia, explore when their domestic legal systems allow exceptions from the binding force of contracts. Doctrines discussed include impossibility, frustration, change of circumstance, force majeure, illegality as well as rights of withdrawal. Other chapters consider the importance of the pacta principle in international law. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic feature strongly in the majority of contributions.