for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obliga-
tions, but limit it to cases of force majeure provided
for in the contract. Common to the circumstances of
insuperable force and force majeure is only their ex-
ternal nature of influence on the causal-results chain
of activity of participants in specific legal relations,
that is, these circumstances are beyond the control
of the participants in legal relations” (Supreme Eco-
nomic Court of Ukraine, 2001). Consequently, there
was confusion about the interpretation of the terms
“force majeure” and “insuperable force”.
The concept of “force majeure circumstances (cir-
cumstances of insuperable force)”, that is, already re-
lated to each other, was defined only in 2020 in the
law, which is not directly related to this concept, – the
Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legisla-
tive Acts of Ukraine Aimed at Preventing the Emer-
gence and Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-
19)” (COVID-19, 2020). Due to this law, amend-
ments were made to the Law of Ukraine “On the
Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Ukraine”
(On Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Ukraine,
1998), by 1998. Since 2014, the law states that the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine “con-
firms force majeure circumstances (circumstances of
insuperable force) as well as trade and port customs
adopted in Ukraine upon the request of business en-
tities and natural persons; certifies force majeure cir-
cumstances in accordance with the terms and condi-
tions of agreements upon the requests of business en-
tities engaged in housing construction (customers, de-
velopers)”. And from 17.03.2020, Art. 14-1 of this
Law, defined: “Force majeure circumstances (force
majeure circumstances) are the extraordinary and un-
avoidable circumstances that objectively unable to
fulfil the obligations stipulated in the terms and con-
ditions of the agreement (contract, treaty, etc.), obli-
gations under the legislative and other regulatory acts,
namely: the threat of war, armed conflict or a serious
threat of such conflict, including but not limited to en-
emy attacks, blockades, military embargoes, actions
of a foreign enemy, general military mobilisation,
military actions, declared and undeclared war, actions
of a public enemy, indignation, acts of terrorism, sab-
otage, piracy, riots, invasion, blockade, revolution,
mutiny, insurrection, mass riots, curfew, quarantine
established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine,
expropriation, forced seizure, seizure of enterprises,
requisition, public demonstration, blockade, strike,
accident, illegal actions of third parties, fire, explo-
sion, long breaks in transport operation, regulated by
the terms of relevant decisions and acts of state au-
thorities, the closure of sea straits, embargo, ban (re-
strictions) of export/import, etc. as well as caused
by the exceptional weather conditions and natural
disasters, namely: epidemic, strong storm, cyclone,
hurricane, tornado, hurricane, flood, snow accumula-
tion, ice, hail, frost, freezing of the sea, straits, ports,
passes, earthquake, lightning, fire, drought, subsi-
dence and landslide, other natural disasters, etc.”.
In principle, such a definition has the power to
stop all insurance activities in Ukraine, because it
classifies almost all insurance incidents related to so-
cial, natural or man-made emergencies as force ma-
jeure circumstances.
In international practice, force majeure circum-
stances are determined in accordance with Article 79
of the UN Convention on Contracts for the Interna-
tional Sale of Goods (UN, 1980), according to which
“A party shall not be liable for non-fulfillment of any
of its obligations if it proves that it was caused by an
obstacle beyond its control and that it was unreason-
able to expect this obstacle to be taken into account
when concluding a contract or to avoid or overcome
this obstacle or its consequences”.
In the international courts’ practices regarding the
definition of “force majeure” the question often de-
pends on which system of law is applied – precedent
(Anglo-American) or constitutional (Roman, conti-
nental). For example, “English law distinguishes
between two main means of protection by a party
that has committed non-performance of the contract
due to insuperable force. These circumstances, al-
though they result in the release of a party from lia-
bility, are fundamentally different from force majeure
in that they are non-contractual instruments, while
force majeure is introduced by the contract” (Kurylo,
2019). That is, no “non-contractual means of pro-
tection against liability for improper performance of
the contract due to insuperable force under English
law do not work if the parties include a force majeure
clause in the contract”.
Thus, insurance requires the most clear definition
of force majeure in insurance contracts to develop
a single consolidated position of the insurer, policy-
holder and reinsurer (if necessary).
Contra Anglo-American law in the continental
law, force majeure exempts from liability for improper
performance of a contract only temporarily: “French
civil law, which follows Roman law, professes the
principle of liability for violation of a contractual
obligation in the presence of guilt (with certain ex-
ceptions). Reference to force majeure is not required
if the non-fulfillment of the contract occurred in the
absence of guilt on the part of the party to the con-
tract that violated it” (Kurylo, 2019). That is, from
the side of insurance companies, non-fulfillment of
the contract becomes possible only for a certain pe-
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