The writer is the China managing partner of the international law firm Dechert
The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, one of central China’s most important industrial cities, has so far resulted in the quarantine of hundreds of millions of people and more than 2,600 deaths worldwide. Countries are closing their borders or tightening checks on travellers from China, Italy, Iran and South Korea, which have been hit hardest by the illness. But so far the World Health Organization has said it is not a pandemic.
That has left companies and their lawyers wondering whether this outbreak counts as a force majeure event that would allow them to cancel particular contracts. This apparently arcane issue is well on its way to becoming a billion-dollar question.