Amity Law School, Amity University Haryana organized a Webinar on ‘Force Majeure in Times of COVID-19’ and theGuest to deliver the lecture was Ms. Shriya Maini, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India. She is an award-winning Lawyer practicing at the Supreme Court of India, the Delhi High Court, District Courts and Tribunals. She has been awarded Dr. (Mrs.) Ambruti Salve Scholar in 2014-15 and Oxford Global Justice Award Scholar for the year 2015-16. She specializes in Dispute Settlement (Civil, Criminal, and Matrimonial) and hasnumerous publications to her credit. Ms. Maini post graduated in Law from the University of Oxford, U.K. and worked at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, The Hague, The Netherlands.
While addressing the Participants, Ms. Maini dealt with several concerns such as nature, meaning, and scope of Force Majeure Clause in a Contract, the significance of this clause and the application of Force Majeure Clause in the present situation wherein the Corona Virus infection has brought the world to a standstill. She also discussed various Sections of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 that basically concern with Force Majeure, Doctrine of Frustration, and Restitution of Contractual Obligations. She mentioned certain important points to be added to a Contract for application of the Force Majeure Clause, such as:
- Enumerate all the events that could come under Force Majeure.
- Add ‘any other acts’ to reduce ambiguity.
- Add an applicable Notice period.
- Enlist the consequences.
- Describe mitigation of losses etc.
Touching upon several subjects such as Insurance Policies, Rent Agreements, Bank Moratorium etc., she clarified a large number of queries asked by the Participants during the Webinar.The Webinar was attended by 18 Faculty Members and around 130 Students from Amity Law School.