COVID-19 (Coronavirus), which was detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019, in a short time including our country.
It has spread to many countries and has reached the whole world. This global negative situation
In addition to posing a significant threat to health, it also brings with it certain social, economic, commercial and
It also brought legal problems.
Considering the measures taken/restrictions introduced in our country, the economic and
One of the important issues that come to the agenda in close connection with commercial problems is that the coronavirus is a
whether it will be considered as a force majeure event and, depending on this assessment,
It is about how the effect will be on the performance of contractual acts.
First of all, it should be noted that the definition of which is not clearly included in the legislation, but the jurisprudence and doctrine of the Supreme Court.
The concept of force majeure, which is shaped by
events that cannot be prevented as a result of
can be defined. In this context, it can be mentioned that force majeure has some main elements;
these (i) the force majeure did not result from a fault caused by the party claiming the force majeure, and
occurred outside of its control, (ii) the force majeure event was unpredictable, and (iii) all
It is impossible to resist force majeure despite precautions being taken. Besides these
In addition, the Court of Cassation, whether the event alleged to constitute force majeure was effective throughout the country, similar
It is seen that it also evaluates criteria such as its effect on legal relations and whether the parties are merchants.
To be specific, the decision of the General Assembly of the Supreme Court of Appeals on 27.06.2018
Force majeure in the decision numbered 2017/1190 and Decision No. 2018/1259; “…the activity of the responsible or debtor
Absolute and absolute violation of a general norm of behavior or obligation occurring outside the
an extraordinary, unpredictable and irresistible
event.” events such as earthquakes, floods, fires, epidemics will be considered as force majeure.
specified.
It should be noted right away that in any concrete event, a dispute arising from the coronavirus
As far as is known, it has not yet been brought to a court and therefore the effects of the coronavirus are force majeure.
No decision was found regarding the qualification as a reason. However, the Supreme Court’s
In the light of its concrete expressions and the definitions accepted in the teaching, the coronavirus is rapidly spreading around the world.
Considering that it is a disease that spreads and serious / comprehensive measures are started to be taken, a
It seems possible to evaluate it as an epidemic disease within the scope of force majeure.
