Force Majeure or Frustration of Contract – what’s the difference?

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen a sharp increase in commercial contract cases involving issues around force majeure and frustration.

Sophia Harrison and Roddy Cairns from our English Disputes team discuss these in this video blog.

They discuss the questions every supplier or purchaser can ask themselves to see if their contract is subject to a force majeure clause or has been frustrated including:

• How to identify a force majeure clause
• If there is a force majeure clause, how do you activate it?
• Is it always a good idea to rely on a force majeure clause?
• What happens if a force majeure clause isn’t mentioned in a contract?
• When do you need to consider frustration?
• What does it really mean when a contract is frustrated?
• What do you need to take into consideration when deciding if you can rely on the doctrine of frustration?
• What are the consequences of frustration?