A Study on "ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003" in International Sales Contract -Focused on comparison with the related provisions under CISG, PICC, PECL and the force majeure clause in Model International Sale Contract

ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003에 관한 연구 -계약관련 국제무역법규 및 ICC 국제모델매매계약상의 관련조항과의 비교를 중심으로-

A party to a contract is bound to perform its contractual duties. But outside events may make performance impossible, physically or legally. In such a situation a party may wish to plead "force majeure" as an excuse for failure to perform. The laws of most countries have provisions which dealt with force majeure. These provisions, however, vary from country to country and may not meet the parties' requirement in international contracts. Therefore, parties to international contracts are frequently in need of contract clauses on force majeure. There are many force majeure clauses in standard forms or individually negotiated. The ICC has drawn up provisions which aim at providing assistance for parties when they are making contracts. The force majeure clause grants relief from contractual sanctions and includes provisions for suspension and termination of contract. The purpose of this study is to examine "ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003" in the international sales contract. For this purpose, firstly this study deals with the major contents of the ICC Force Majeure Clause 1985 and 2003. Secondly this study considers the related provisions under CISG, PICC, PECL and the force majeure clause in Model International Sale Contract. Thirdly this study compares ICC Force Majeure Clause 2003 with the relative provisions under CISG, PICC, PECL and the force majeure clause in Model International Sale Contract. It should be noted that the parties often need to adapt the content of this clause so as to take account of the particular circumstances of the individual contract. This paper contributes to help the parties to a contract to draft the meaningful "Force Majeure Clause" containing more precise and elaborate provisions.