Overview

概述

A first draft of the BIMCO Force Majeure Clause will be presented for review at the BIMCO Documentary Committee meeting 25-26 January 2021.

BIMCO不可抗力条款初稿将于2021年1月25日至26日提交BIMCO文件委员会审议。

BIMCO’s new Force Majeure Clause is advancing and will provide a high threshold for invoking it in order to avoid abuse. The party seeking to rely on the clause must have been prevented from performing an obligation under the contract and will have to prove that:

BIMCO不可抗力条款正在推进,并将为援引该条款设置一个高门槛,以避免滥用。需要援引本条款的当事方,一定是已经履约不能,并且必须证明:

- the force majeure event was beyond its control;

- it could not have foreseen the force majeure event at the time of the contract; and

- it could not have avoided or overcome the effects of the force majeure event.

- 不可抗力事件不可控;

- 在签订合同时,不可抗力事件不可预见;

- 无法避免或克服不可抗力事件的影响。

The list of what counts as a force majeure event is quite comprehensive and includes both the traditional types of event such as natural disasters, explosions and strikes, and more modern and topical events such as cyber-attacks and pandemics.

不可抗力事件的清单十分全面,既包括自然灾害、爆炸和罢工等传统类型的事件,也包括网络攻击和流行病等更现代和热门事件。

A number of requirements on the affected party are set out during the various phases of force majeure. This is to enable the party receiving the force majeure notice to better plan its next steps. There is also a “soft” provision included to encourage the parties to cooperate and discuss alternative ways to perform the contract.

在不可抗力的各个阶段,对受阻方提出了一些要求。这是为了使收到不可抗力通知的一方更好地计划下一步行动。还有一个“软”条款,鼓励当事方合作并讨论履行合同的其他方式。

The main remedy under the clause is non-liability for damages for breach of its contractual obligations. Under English law, the affected party would have been in breach for not performing without a force majeure clause to rely on.

该条款规定的主要补救措施是对违反合同义务造成的损害不负赔偿责任。在英国法下,如果没有不可抗力条款,受阻方将构成违约。
 Termination should be seen as the very last resort and is only available:

终止合同应被视为最后的手段,仅在以下情形下可适用:

- if force majeure renders performance of the contract impossible, illegal or radically different from what was intended at the time of the contract, or

- after an agreed amount of days from the notice and if the force majeure substantially affects the performance of the contract as a whole.

- 如果不可抗力使合同的履行变得不可能、不合法或与合同签订时的预期完全不同,或

- 如果自一方收到另一方通知之日起已经超过约定的天数,且不可抗力对整个合同的履行产生实质性影响。

The first test for termination largely mirrors the test for frustration under English law. However, if a party can bring itself within this provision, it will be able to terminate immediately without having to wait for a certain amount of time. The second test provides a long-stop number of days for termination.

终止合同的第一个情形很大程度上反映了英国法律规定的合同受阻情形。但是,如果一方当事人能够符合该情形,合同将得以立即终止,而不必等待一定时间。第二个情形提供了一个较长等待天数。

 If the clause is incorporated into a voyage charter party, laytime and demurrage will not be affected and will continue to run. Other payment obligations will also be intact if not directly affected by force majeure.

如果将该条款纳入航次租船合同,装卸时间和滞期费将不受影响并持续计算。如果没有受到不可抗力事件的直接影响,其他付款义务也将维持不变。

The drafting team is now exploring the possibilities of developing an additional, bolt-on, provision to cater for where there is cargo on board the vessel when force majeure is declared.

起草小组目前正在探讨是否有可能制定一项附加条款,以满足在宣告不可抗力时船上有货物的情况。

The aim is to publish the new BIMCO Force Majeure Clause during the first half of 2021.

BIMCO计划于2021年上半年公布BIMCO不可抗力条款。