The Issue Implemented and Interpreted Civil law on the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation as Force Majeure: Focus on Thai Construction Business
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Abstract
One of the most significant threats that might have an effect on the obligations of the parties to a contract in the construction industry is force majeure. The concept of “force majeure” is fundamentally a civil law phrase, and it may be found in the civil codes of most civil law regimes. However, common law does not recognize it with the same wide meaning and application as civil law does. The law prohibits one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations for reasons that are beyond their control and expectation, the occurrence of a force majeure event has the potential to have a major influence on the performance of the contract. According to the COVID-19 outbreak, COVID-19 scenario and the government anti-pandemic measures deemed or interpreted as force majeure in Thailand construction contract. Thus, it is essential for construction contracts to provide a force majeure clause that has been carefully drafted. This will enable the aggrieved party to delay further execution of the contract’s obligations until the triggering event has passed or, in some instances, to terminate the contract altogether. This paper aims to provide a comparative law analysis of force majeure under the civil law and common law framework of the UK, the US, and Thailand in order to understand the legal implementations in Thailand. Then the duties of the parties to the contract will continue to be a cause of dispute in the future. Therefore, in order to reduce disputes
that usually arise in terms of building contracts, analysis of force majeure in construction contracts in Thailand and other countries will be required.
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