Force Majeure ako okolnosť vylučujúca protiprávnosť v medzinárodnom investičnom práve.

Force Majeure as a Circumstance Excluding Wrongfulness in International Investment Law.

Doc. JUDr. Katarína Chovancová, PhD., LL.M., MCIArb, Institute of State and Law of Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i.

Právny obzor, 105, 2022, No. 3, pp. 191 – 204.

Published online: 20.6.2022

https://doi.org/10.31577/pravnyobzor.2022.3.02

Abstract. Force Majeure as a Circumstance Excluding Wrongfulness in International Investment Law. Force majeure is today accepted as a fairly classical topic and the circumstance, excluding wrongfulness of the state doing in majority of the world legal systems. Within the realm of international investment law, it belongs to the most frequently applied circumstances excluding wrongfulness with the level of its use, increased considerably in the last decade. The coronavirus pandemic has enlivened the concept of force majeure in many areas of law, including international investment law. It also proved to be a good source of an ongoing debate on importance of force majeure for international investment and commercial community. This article is an attempt to inform this debate. Except for introducing force majeure in international law and its purpose, this study presents a brief account of international disputes, in which the force majeure clause is applied very often. It examines the historical development of force majeure in international law and introduces its codified version. As the story develops, it makes three intertwined observations. The universal, one size fits all force majeure is an illusion. Today we may distinguish three its variations already in international law. First, when applied as a circumstance, excluding the wrongfulness under the ILC Articles, it excuses an internationally illegal and involuntary act of the state. Second, it may be applied as a circumstance, claimed in connection with reviewing due diligence, and finally as the force majeure clause in international agreements, tailored according to its common law perception. Without hesitation, it is exactly the second permutation of force majeure, which has a strong potential to be the most reliable for the host states, defending themselves against foreign investors, especially when force majeure is applied in the event of armed conflict.

Key words: force majeure, international public law, international investment law, circumstances excluding wrongfulness, state responsibility

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ISSN 2729-9228
(online)

ISSN 0032-6984
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THEORETICAL REVIEW FOR ISSUES OF STATE AND LAW.

Právny obzor is peer-reviewed journal and is indexed in SCOPUS and HeinOnline database (INDEX TO FOREIGN LEGAL PERIODICALS).

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