In our recent article we discussed the legal ramifications of the force majeure clauses to “excuse” parties from performing onerous or impossible contracts in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Whilst it is not uncommon for commercial contracts to incorporate force majeure clauses, there remain circumstances under which a party may also consider to seek to relieve themselves from performing under the common law doctrine of frustration.
The outbreak of COVID-19 novel coronavirus has brought about disruptions to both public life and international business of an unprecedented scale. Not surprisingly, there have already been instances of parties relying on the contractual force majeure clauses to “excuse” themselves from performing onerous or impossible contracts.In this article, partners Nick Gall, Evelyn Chan and Trainee Solicitor Adriel Wong explore whether a force majeure clause applies to COVID-19 and to a party's performance, and the various actions to take if a party considers that it is entitled to invoke a force majeure clause.
Nick Gall and Ashima Sood have contributed the 2020 Hong Kong Chapter on Asset Recovery for Lexology Getting The Deal Through. The publication provides expert summaries of the laws and regulations which have been developed to freeze and repatriate the proceeds of fraud and corruption, and Gall’s Hong Kong chapter explores both civil and criminal asset recovery.
We are delighted to announce that Gall received a “Disputes and Investigations” Deal of the Year award from China Business Law Journal for our work on the arbitration between CVC and Zhang Lan.
Andrea Randall and Joni Wong recently provided updates on their Practical Law Q&A guide to pensions law in Hong Kong for Pensions Global Guide. The Q&A gives a high level overview of the key practical issues including: state pensions; supplementary pensions; funding and solvency requirements; tax on pensions; business transfers; participation in pension schemes; and employer insolvency and overall scheme solvency.
Andrea Randall and Joni Wong recently contributed the Hong Kong chapter to Legal 500's Employee Incentives 2nd Edition Country Comparative Guide where they explored laws and regulations of Employee Incentives practice in Hong Kong including incentive plans, share options, compensation and legal requirements.
