Topic: Force Majeure: The Impacts Of The Covid 19 Pandemic On Nigerian Contracts

Abstract

The general principle of law is that parties are bound by their obligations in a contract. However, there are certain legally recognized situations that can make a party or parties to not fulfil their obligations, of which discharge by frustration is a part of them. Discharge by frustration occurs when parties are discharged of their obligations in a contract, as a result of the fact that an event(s) occurred which the parties didn't plan for during the formation of a contract which then makes it difficult to enforce such contract. This events led to the establishment of the doctrine of "Force Majeure". Force Majeure is a French term meaning "superior force". In the Legal sense, force majeure is a clause put in contracts to remove liability for unforeseeable and unavoidable events that prevent participants from fulfilling obligations. Force Majeure has largely been used in contracts , however before the advent of the corona virus, force majeure in contracts weren't widely used except in oil and gas industries because of natural disasters. However the pandemic has made lots of impacts on Nigerian contracts as well as the Nigerian Legal system at large, as it has led to the wide use of Force Majeure into contracts. This is why this paper seeks to look into the impact of COVID on Nigerian contracts with a major focus on incorporation of Force Majeure into contracts and its legal developments.