24
2020 Mar
Could COVID-19 Constitute an Excusable Event Under UAE Law?
作者：沈静、李炳涛、Ashraf El Motei
The growing increase in international travel and trade has led to a parallel emergence of global threats such as disease and other health risks. The Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) have also raised questions regarding fulfillment of contractual obligations in domestic and international contracts. PHEIC have only been implemented five times in the last 15 years. More specifically, for SWINE FLU (2009); POLIO (2014); ZIKA (2016); EBOLA (2014 and 2019) and now for COVID-19 (Coronavirus).国际旅行和贸易的增长给全球带来了疾病和其他健康风险。国际关注的突发公共卫生事件（简称“PHEIC”）也带来了国内、国际合同义务履行的问题。在过去15年，宣布过5次PHEIC，具体来讲就是：2009年猪流感、2014年脊髓灰质炎、2016年塞卡病毒、2014年和2019年的埃博拉病毒，以及当下的COVID-19新冠状病毒。Most countries are announcing, almost, daily new serious concerns and worries about the rapid widespread of the virus resulting in full or partial lockdowns which, undoubtedly, have caused severe disruptions to both inbound and outbound travel and trade. This has led to severe business and operational chaos on a global scale.大部分国家几乎每天都在公布对病毒快速传播的严重担忧，并导致了全部或部分的封锁。毫无疑问，也严重影响了国际、国内的旅行和贸易。这导致了全球范围内经济和运营的严重混乱。Now, the question is: which party should bear the burden of the risk of loss, especially, when officially characterized by WHO on 11 March 2020 as a pandemic? This is where ‘Force Majeure’ comes into play.目前，有一个问题是：应由哪一方来承担损失风险，尤其是WHO在2020年3月11日正式宣布为全球疫情以后？那么，现在就要考虑不可抗力的情况了。
This article describes the impact of public health crisis on cross border transactions and contracts while examining the rights of the parties to invoke the ‘Force Majeure’ event.本篇文章论述公共卫生危机对跨境贸易和合同的影响，探讨双方主张不可抗力事件的权利。
‘Force Majeure’ is a French term and literally translates to mean a ‘superior or greater force’. This concept is derived from the ‘French’ civil law system (the civil law system, e.g. France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Egypt, UAE) and is not fully recognized under English common law system (the common law system, e.g. UK, US, Hong Kong, Singapore, India).“不可抗力”来源于法语词汇，本意是：超级或强大的力量。这个概念来自法国民法系（也称大陆法系，例如：法国、德国、意大利、希腊、西班牙、埃及、阿联酋等），但并非完全被英美法系（也称普通法系，例如：英国、美国、香港、新加坡、印度等）认可。Civil law clearly defines and regulates ‘Force Majeure’ events which may be invoked without any express provision in the contract. Under common law, no ‘Force Majeure’ event will be implied in the absence of an express written provision in the contract which must specifically list thethe debtor of all liability for non-performance of its obligations and without any compensation.大陆法系明确规定，在合同中没有条款表明的情况下，不可抗力是可以援引适用的。在普通法系下，如果在合同条款中没有明文特别约定债务人不履行合同的责任和免于赔偿，则不可适用不可抗力。
When the event is considered a ‘Force Majeure’ under the UAE Civil Code? Article 273 (1) reads "In contracts binding on both parties, if force majeure supervenes which makes the performance of the contract impossible, the corresponding obligation shall cease, and the contract shall be automatically cancelled."第273（1）条规定：“在对双方有约束力的合同中，如果不可抗力的发生造成合同履行成为不可能，那么相应的义务应当中止，并且合同应自动解除。”
Accordingly, an event of ‘Force Majeure’ automatically cancels a contract provided that the event was unforeseeable at the time of contracting, cannot be prevented and rendering the contract impossible to perform.因此，如果在合同签订时，该事件是不可预见、不可避免，并致使合同履行成为不可能的，那么不可抗力事件将自动导致合同解除。In this respect, the Dubai Court of Cassation has ruled “… if an event of force majeure has been established according to Article 273 (1), the obligation will be terminated in its entirety without any compensation for damage resulting from such non-performance, …” (49/2014, real estate cassation – Dubai Court). 就这一点来说，迪拜再审法院在2014/49的一个房地产再审案件中认为：如果根据第273（1）条，不可抗力已经发生，合同义务将全部终止，而无需对未履行造成的损失进行赔偿。However, another equally important question would be raised: what if the performance becomes excessively onerous but not impossible?与此同时，存在另外一个同样重要的问题：如果合同履行变得异常艰难，但尚未达到不可能的程度，在这种情况将如何处理？This is where the principal of ‘exceptional circumstances’ comes into play.
What is the principal of ‘exceptional circumstances’? ‘Exceptional circumstances’ is another principal under the civil law system which would allow for either the reduction of the obligation or the suspension of the performance of the contract during such ‘exceptional circumstances’.“特殊情况”是大陆法系下的另一个原则，允许在此种“特殊情况”下，减少合同义务或中止履行合同。In order to invoke the ‘exceptional circumstances’ event, it must be (i) of public nature and not only affecting the debtor or limited group of people; (ii) could not have been foreseen at the time of contracting; (iii) the debtor was unable to avoid the consequences by exercising reasonable efforts; and (iv) even if not impossible, the performance of the contract becomes oppressive so as to threaten the debtor of grave loss.为了援引适用“特殊情况”事件，必须满足：（1）具有公众性质，不仅仅影响义务人或有限的一群人；（2）在合同签订时，为无法预见的；（3）义务人通过合理努力，仍无法避免结果；（4）尽管履行并非不可能，但是合同的履行变得极其艰难，会给债务人带来发生重大损失的风险。
Article 249 (1) of the UAE Civil Code reads “If exceptional circumstances of public nature, which could not have been foreseen, occur as a result of which the performance of the contractual obligation, even if not impossible, becomes oppressive for the debtor so as to threaten him with grave loss, it shall be permissible for the judge, under the circumstances and after weighing up the interests of each party, to reduce the oppressive obligation to a reasonable level if justice so requires, and any agreement to the contrary shall be void.”阿联酋民法典第249（1）条规定：“如果发生了无法预见的、具有公共性质的特殊情况，导致合同义务的履行尽管并非不可能，但履行变得极其艰难，会给债务人带来发生重大损失的风险。在这种情况下，应当允许法官衡量各方利益后，为保证公平，把过重的责任减轻到合理水平，并且其他相反的约定应为无效。”
In this respect, the Dubai Court of Cassation has ruled “… as for the exceptional circumstances of public nature, although it doesn’t make the performance impossible which would justify the automatic cancelation, it becomes burdensome for the debtor that would threaten of grave loss, and requires the interference of the judge to reduce such onerous obligation to reasonable limits, without justifying the cancelation or termination of the contract.” (374/2011, commercial cassation – Dubai Court).在这一方面，2011/374商事再审案件中， 迪拜再审法院认为：具有公众性质的特殊情况虽然没有导致合同履行成为不可能，从而证明合同自动解除的合理性，但它给义务人带来繁重的负担并会给债务人带来发生重大损失的风险，这就需要法官进行干预，把繁重的义务减轻到合理水平，而无需证明解除合同的合理性。
However, in practice, the Courts are reluctant to apply the principle of ‘exceptional circumstances’ in events that generally can be predicted/ foreseen at the time of contracting (e.g. changes in prices, delays in obtaining permits and licenses, market fluctuation, etc.).然而，在实践中，对在合同签订时基本可以预见的事件（例如：价格的变动、在获得许可和执照方面的延误、市场的变动等），法院并不倾向于适用“特殊情况的原则”。
In view of the above, under the circumstances, where manufacturing plants are closing, conferences and events are postponed, travel and hotel bookings are canceled, it is essential to initially establish the following:鉴于以上所述，在制造工厂关闭、会议和活动延期、旅行和酒店预定取消的情况下，首先必须确认下列各点： 1. Understand which legal system (civil/ common) is governing the contract;
2. If the contract is governed by civil law — where there is no requirement for express ‘Force Majeure’ provision in the contract — it is important to distinguish between the principle of ‘Force Majeure’ which makes the performance of the contract impossible and allows for automatic termination with no compensation, and the principle of ‘exceptional circumstances’ which does not make the performance impossible but oppressive and would allow for the revision of the contractual obligations of the parties; and 如果合同由大陆法管辖，那么并不要求在合同里明示不可抗力条款。区分不可抗力原则和特殊情况原则很重要，前者使得合同履行成为不可能，允许合同自动解除，而无需赔偿；后者并非导致合同履行成为不可能，但使得合同履行更为繁重，允许对合同义务进行修改； 3. If the contract is governed by common law — where an express ‘Force Majeure’ provision clearly specifying/listing the events of ‘Force Majeure’ is required — certainly, creative arguments and innovative interpretation of the event in question would be required.如果合同由普通法管辖，需要在合同中明确约定不可抗力条款，或列出不可抗力事件。当然，也需要对有关事件的创造性的论点的创新性解释。I must say, part of the challenge lies with the fact that there is no universal standard definition for ‘Force Majeure’ events which they often vary across diverse types of industries. No doubt, it is expected that much disputes will arise in the coming weeks and months, as some parties would attempt to evade contractual obligations while others would seek performance or recourse.应该说，一部分挑战是因为纵观不同行业，并没有一个通用的、标准的不可抗力定义。在未来几周或几个月，可以预见，因一部分合同方会试图免除合同义务，而另外一部分合同方会要求履行或索赔，此类争议会增加。Do you have any questions?
您有什么问题吗？
About the Author
关于作者
Jane Shen lawyer, the founding partner of Zhihe Partners, who has worked for over ten years in legal practice, obtained a bachelor degree from East China University of Political Science and Law and LL.M. of International Business Law from National University of Singapore. She has been engaging in FDI, M&A, international trade and foreign-related dispute resolution. She is the member of Foreign Affairs Committee of Shanghai Lawyers Association, deputy director of the Belt and Road Initiative Professional Research Committee of Shanghai Lawyers Association, and selected into the national talent pool of thousands of foreign-related lawyers of the Ministry of Justice.沈静律师，上海至合律师事务所创始合伙人，先后获得华东政法大学学士和新加坡国立大学国际商法法学硕士学位，执业超过十年，长期从事外商投资、外资并购、国际贸易及涉外争议解决。上海市律师协会外事委员会委员、上海市律师协会一带一路专业研究委员会副主任、入选司法部全国千名涉外律师人才库。
Bingtao Li lawyer is the head of American offices of Zhihe Partners. He graduated from Renmin University of China and Shanghai university respectively. Later, he majored in criminal justice at the University of Maryland and completed leadership and management course at Yale University. He engaged in foreign investment, overseas operation of enterprises, management of foreign-funded enterprises and intellectual property protection for a long time. Previous professional experience includes working in the American company as regional general counsel for around 15 years. He also served in a reputable international intellectual property law firm and performed the duty in Police Criminal investigation system (Public Security Bureau) around six years.李炳涛律师，上海至合律师事务所美国办公室负责人。李律师先后毕业于中国人民大学和上海大学，后于美国马里兰大学主修刑事司法专业、完成耶鲁大学的商业领导力商业管理课程。其长期从事外商投资、企业海外运营、外资公司管理和知识产权保护工作。既往的职业经历包括在美国公司担任了约15年的大中华区法律总监,还曾就职于一家知名的国际知识产权律师事务所工作、在公安刑事侦查系统履职6年。
Ashraf El Motei lawyer is an international arbitration counsel and litigation lawyer of Motei & Associates. Throughout his 22 years working experience in the UAE, he has developed unique ‘on the ground’ experience with deep knowledge of the UAE’s legal system. His practice covers a wide range of civil, commercial, construction and employment contentious matters with particular focus on real estate disputes. He is admitted before the Supreme Court in Egypt, registered legal consultant at the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, and has the right of audience before the DIFC Courts. He handles cases in Arabic, English and French with equal proficiency.
Ashraf EI Motei律师是Motei & Associates律所的一名国际仲裁和诉讼律师。在阿联酋有22年的工作经验，对阿联酋的法律体系有深厚的理解，其执业领域包括民事、商事、建筑、雇佣关系，擅长解决房地产争议。他拥有埃及最高法院的许可，为迪拜法律事务部注册法律顾问，具有在迪拜国际金融中心法院听证的权利。其精通阿拉伯语、英语和法语。
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