| Abstract [eng] |
Master's thesis presents the concept of crisis and the classification of crises, while also discussing the consequences of the global economic crisis and the global COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the fulfillment of contractual obligations. Both global crises, which have affected many areas of business, have led to non-performance of contracts, which presupposes the importance of an analysis of the institutes justifying non-performanceof contracts. Accordingly, the paper reveals the concept of the institute of force majeure, stating that circumstances which the party could not reasonably foresee at the time of concluding the contract could not control and prevent them and did not assume the risk of their occurrence are recognized as force majeure. The analysis of the concept further seeks to determine whether the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic and their consequences can be considered as force majeure. Based on the legal framework and case law, after the assessment of the compliance of the conditions of force majeure, it is presented the concept of the institute of fundamentally changed circumstances, as well as evaluating the possibility of compliance of the changed circumstances in the context of the economic crisis and COVID-19 pandemic. The study suggests that the economic crisis and pandemic are not in themselves considered to justify non-performance, as it must be demonstrated in each case that it was this crisis or its consequences that led to the non-performance. On the other hand, the analysis reveals that, more often than not, the above-mentioned crises or their consequences lead to the complexity rather than the impossibility of performing the contract, which presupposes the application of the institute of fundamentally changed circumstances rather than force majeure. On the other hand, such statement cannot be assessed in absolute terms, since each situation must be evaluated individually. The master's thesis discusses the procedural aspects of force majeure and fundamentally changed circumstances and the legal consequences of recognizing that an economic crisis or a COVID-19 pandemic is a force majeure or substantial constraint in a particular situation. Finally, in the context of the recent case law of the court of cassation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of the relationship between the two institutes and the possibility of demarcation is assessed. |
