PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTS AND SOCIAL CRISIS – A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FRENCH AND GERMAN LEGAL SYSTEMS REGARDING UNEXPECTED CHANGES

Abstract

This article examines, through a comparative legal approach, the manners by which French and German legal systems deal with unexpected changes of circumstances after the conclusion of a contract in a context of social crisis, taking COVID-19 as occasion. Accordingly, statutory provisions for impossibility and hardship in the respective systems are analysed, as well as their applicability to the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, a spotlight is placed on the so-called emergency legislation enacted during the crisis. This article is not only intended to explain the existing legal solutions, but also to give an opinion on them.