Kavitha Gupta's blog

Commercial contracts often include Force Majeure or hardship clauses setting out requirements for establishing the existence of a Force Majeure or hardship event that prevents or impedes a party’s performance of its contractual duties. The ICC Force Majeure Clause combines the predictability of listed force majeure events with a general force majeure formula which is intended to catch circumstances which fall outside the listed events. The model Hardship Clause provides several options for amendment or termination of the contract when circumstances make performance of a contract untenably onerous.  The ICC Force Majeure and Hardship Clauses balance business people’s legitimate expectations of performance with the harsh reality that circumstances do change to make performance so hard that the contracts simply must change. The new 2020 clauses update the 2003 versions, reflecting the need for simpler presentation and expanded options to suit various companies’ needs. Major inno...

Novel Coronavirus, shipping and international trade Stephenson Harwood LLP next China ,  European Union ,  Global ,  Hong Kong ,  United Kingdom   January 31 2020 While little is known about the novel coronavirus, what is clear is that the global shipping industry will inevitably be affected as the virus spreads globally at alarming speed. It has been reported that cruise holidays have been affected and that cases of suspected novel coronavirus have been reported in commercial crew. The World Health Organisation has now declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. We are already instructed in a matter where the suspension of a sales contract has resulted in the premature termination of shipping contracts. We are dealing with disputes over drafting of loan documentation to reflect the current situation, and we are seeing notices of force majeure that have been precipitated by the outbreak. The shipping and internationa...

Foreign Trade Policy 2015 - 2020 Khaitan & Co The Government of India has released the Foreign Trade Policy (Policy) for the 5 year period between 2015 and 2020 on 1 April 2015. The Policy is aimed simplifying the procedure for doing business in India and facilitating import into and export out of India. The export promotion schemes have been simplified and export obligations against duty free import has been reduced by 25% to promote the “Make in India” initiative of the Government of India. A reconciliatory dispute resolution process has also been introduced to amicably settle disputes between importers and exporters in a time bound manner relating to quality complaints and trade disputes on commercial dealings.  The central theme of the Policy is to make India a significant player in world trade by the year 2020. The Policy, together with the proposed introduction of the goods and service tax in 2016, is expected to increase the ease of doing business in India and ac...