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Since the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (i.e., “COVID-2019” named by WHO), as of February 16, 2020, nearly 70,000 confirmed cases have been reported in China.  Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Henan, Heilongjiang and many other provinces and cities have successively issued notices of delayed resumption of work and delayed opening of schools.  The outbreak has impacts on the production and operation activities of many enterprises, such as delayed resumption of work, logistics obstacles, which can cause difficulties in contract performance and lead to a series of complex performance disputes.  This article mainly focuses on the sales contract with reference to the relevant legal provisions and judicial cases during SARS in 2003, aiming to study how the principle of Force Majeure can be applied to relieve or reduce breach liabilities under such circumstances, and on this basis to give enterprises suggested countermeasures.

自2019新型冠狀病毒肺炎爆發以來，截至2020年2月16日，中國境內累計報告確診病例已經接近7萬例；中國內地31個省市均已啟動突發公共衛生事件一級響應；國務院宣布延長春節假期，上海、廣東、浙江、重慶、河南、黑龍江等多個省市陸續發布企業延遲復工和學校延遲開學的通知。此次疫情對眾多企業的生產經營活動產生了影響，如延遲復工、物流障礙等均可能給合同履行造成困難，由此可能引發一系列紛繁復雜的履約糾紛。本文主要針對買賣合同這一類型展開法律分析，參考借鑒2003年非典期間的相關規定和案例，研究在此情況下如何適用不可抗力原則來免除或減輕責任，并在此基礎上給予企業應對策略。

We have seen precedents in our country's legal practice regarding the contract performance barrier caused by novel infectious disease and the relevant liability sharing. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, the Supreme People's Court issued the Notice on the Conduct of the Relevant Trials and Implementation of the People's Court in accordance with the Law during the Prevention and Control of Infectious Atypical Pneumonia (Law [2003] No. 72), which provides: "Due to the the cause of SARS's outbreak, in cases of contract disputes in which the performance of the original contract has a significant impact on the rights and interests of a party, may be dealt with based upon the specific circumstances and the principle of fairness shall apply.  Disputes arising from administrative measures taken by the government and its relevant departments to prevent and control the SARS epidemic directly resulting in the non-performance of a contract, or disputes arising from the total non-performance of the contracting parties due to the impact of the SARS epidemic shall be properly handled in accordance with the provisions of Articles 117 and 118 of the PRC Contract Law. "

因新型傳染病疫情引起的合同履行障礙及其責任承擔問題，在我國法律實務中已有先例。2003年“非典”疫情期間，最高人民法院印發的《關于在防治傳染性非典型肺炎期間依法做好人民法院相關審判、執行工作的通知》（法〔2003〕72號）指出：“由于‘非典’疫情原因，按原合同履行對一方當事人的權益有重大影響的合同糾紛案件，可以根據具體情況，適用公平原則處理。因政府及有關部門為防治‘非典’疫情而采取行政措施直接導致合同不能履行，或者由于‘非典’疫情的影響致使合同當事人根本不能履行而引起的糾紛，按照《中華人民共和國合同法》第一百一十七條和第一百一十八條的規定妥善處理。”

It can be seen from above that the Supreme Court defines two types of performance barriers: one is caused by the government measures to prevent and control the epidemic, such as administrative notices on delaying resumption of work, site expropriation, and etc., and the other one is the performance barrier caused by the epidemic itself, such as large-scale infection in factory employees.

由上可見，最高法將履行障礙分為兩種類型：一是由于政府為防治疫情所采取的措施，如延遲復工通知、場地征用等行政行為；二是疫情本身的導致的履約障礙，如工廠員工出現規模性傳染。

In order to control the spread of the COVID-2019, the State Council announced the extension of the Spring Festival holiday, and a number of provincial and municipal governments also issued notices for delaying the resumption of work.  These notices, as abstract administrative actions taken by the competent administrative organs in response to the epidemic, shall have general binding force on unspecified targets located within the administrative area covered by such notices.  In addition, due to the shortage of medical supplies, the production and sales of essential medical supplies such as masks and alcohol are to be arranged collectively by government.  Some towels and underwear manufacturing factories are required by the government to manufacture medical equipment such as masks and protective clothing.  These are all administrative actions (i.e., government measures) that could affect the performance of contract.

為控制本次疫情的擴散，國務院宣布延長春節假期，多個省市政府發布通知要求延期復工，該等通知作為有權行政機關針對疫情作出的抽象行政行為，在所轄行政區域內對不特定的管轄對象具有普遍的約束力。此外，由于醫療物資的緊缺，口罩、酒精等必需用品的生產銷售由政府統一調配，部分毛巾、內衣工廠被政府要求轉產口罩、防護服等醫療設備，均屬于對合同履行產生影響的行政性行為/政府措施。

Talking about the impact of the epidemic itself, due to the wide spread of the COVID-2019, there is a chance that a large number of employees of an enterprise may get sick or isolated from work, which will lead to insufficient production capacity to such enterprise even without the impact of administrative action intervention.  Due to the rise of the costs of logistics and production, some enterprises may not be able to maintain its normal production.  Further, products manufactured in some specific areas with severe epidemic outbreak may even get discriminatory treatment and rejection.

就疫情本身產生的影響而言，由于本次新型冠形病毒肺炎傳染性強傳播范圍廣，即使沒有行政行為的干預影響，也可能存在大量員工患病或者隔離無法復工，進而導致生產企業產量不足的情況；或者由于物流成本、安全生產成本的上升，企業無法正常生產；甚至某些疫情嚴重地區的產品受到歧視性對待被拒收等情況。

We refer to the judicial practice during the SARS epidemic in 2003, in which some courts identified the SARS epidemic as a Force Majeure event, some courts identified it as a change of circumstances, and some other courts considered it to be a commercial risk (rather than a Force Majeure event or change of circumstances) that the parties should bear by themselves.  Application of the principle of Force Majeure and change of circumstances in this epidemic will be analyzed below.

參考2003年非典疫情，司法實踐中，有的法院將“非典”疫情認定為不可抗力，有的則認定為情勢變更，還有的認為屬于當事人應自行承擔的商業風險，并不構成不可抗力或情勢變更。下文將對本次疫情中不可抗力和情勢變更的適用情況展開分析。

(1) Recognition of a Force Majeure event

不可抗力的認定

Article 180 of the PRC General Principles of Civil Law and Article 117 of the PRC Contract Law both define Force Majeure as “an objective situation that is unforeseeable, unavoidable, and insurmountable”.  Further, according to the Interpretation of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, “unforeseeable” shall mean that an event cannot be predicted generally based upon the current level of technology; “unavoidable” and “insurmountable” shall mean that, although the contracting party has done its best and has taken all the measures that can be taken, such party still cannot avoid the occurrence of the event and cannot overcome the consequences of the event.  After the epidemic outbreak, the National Health Commission declared the COVID-2019 as a Class B infectious disease under the PRC Law of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.  The World Health Organization has classified the COVID-2019 as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”, which shows that the epidemic was unpredictable before it occurred.  At the same time, its exact source of infection and treatment methods have not yet been clarified, and the epidemic is still spreading.  Therefore, this epidemic could constitute a Force Majeure event.  Correspondingly, the administrative actions taken by the relevant government departments in response to the epidemic are also unpredictable and mandatory, which could constitute an objective Force Majeure event.

《民法總則》第一百八十條和《合同法》第一百一十七條條均將不可抗力定義為“不能預見、不能避免并不能克服的客觀情況”。根據《中華人民共和國民法總則釋義》：不可預見是指“根據現有的技術水平，一般對某事件發生沒有預知能力”；不能避免且不能克服，是指“當事人已經盡到最大努力和采取一切可以采取的措施，仍不能避免某種事件的發生并不能克服事件所造成的后果”。本次疫情發生后，國家衛生健康委員會將“新冠肺炎”納入《中華人民共和國傳染病防治法》規定的乙類傳染病，世界衛生組織將“新冠肺炎”疫情列為“國際關注的突發公共衛生事件”，可見本次疫情在發生前具有不可預見性。同時，其確切的傳染源、和治療方法至今尚未明確，目前疫情仍在傳播擴散，故本次疫情可以構成不可抗力。相應的，有關政府部門針對本次疫情采取的行政行為也具有不可預見性和強制性的特征，可以構成不可抗力這一客觀事實。

It should be noted that the predictability, preventability and controllability of this epidemic will change with the passage of time and the development of medical technology.  The knowledge level of the contracting parties may be different in certain specific cases.  Additionally, the actual impact on the contract performance in different cases are also different.  Under such circumstances, this epidemic should not be regarded as a Force Majeure in all time and all cases.

需要注意的是，本次疫情的可預見性和可防可控性會隨著時間的推移和醫療技術的發展而改變，具體到個案上亦存在當事人認識水平的不同，對合同履行的實際影響不同，故不可一概將其認定為不可抗力。

First, the conclusion may be different on whether this epidemic could constitute a Force Majeure event at different stages.  During the outbreak of this epidemic, its development could be divided into different stages: the first case of detection, the declaration of human-to-human infection, the initiation of a major public health emergency first-level response, the extension of the Spring Festival holidays, the delay of the resumption of business work, etc.  Different contracting parties may be able to foresee the impact of the epidemic outbreak on contract performance based upon different milestone events.

首先，疫情在不同階段能否構成不可抗力存在差異。在本次疫情中，存在漸進發展的不同階段：如發現首例患者、宣布存在人傳人情況、啟動重大突發公共衛生事件一級響應、春節假期延長、企業延遲復工等。這些階段性事件對當事人能否預見疫情對合同履行的影響明顯不同。

For example, if two parties signed a contract before the official announcement of “human-to-human transmission”, the parties should generally be considered unable to foresee the severity of the epidemic.  However, after the lockdown of Wuhan and the extension of the Spring Festival holidays, the parties are supposed to have foresights for the corresponding obstacles to performances.  In this case, if they still choose to enter into a contract, the epidemic can no longer be regarded as Force Majeure.   In practice, Liaoning Shenyang Intermediate Court held in (2005) Shen (2) Fang Zhong Zi No. 736 that, when the contract was signed, the SARS epidemic has already broken out, real estate developers should foresee the outbreak of SARS may have an impact on its normal construction and delivery of housing, but the real estate developers still agreed in the contract to deliver the commodity houses at the end of September 2003, so the court did not support the real estate developer’s claim that SARS epidemic constituted Force Majeure.

例如，當事人在官方首次宣布“存在人傳人現象”前訂立合同，一般應認定當事人無力預見疫情可能的嚴重性；但是，在武漢“封城”乃至延長春節假期之后，當事人對相應的履行障礙應該具有一定的預見性，故如其仍選擇訂立合同，原則上不得再將疫情認定為不可抗力。實踐中，遼寧沈陽中院（2005）沈（2）房終字第736號判決就認為，房屋買賣合同簽訂時，“非典”疫情已經爆發，開發商應預見“非典”疫情可能對其正常施工和交房造成影響，但仍在合同中約定2003年9月底交付房屋，故未支持開發商主張“非典”疫情構成不可抗力的主張。

Second, the actual obstacles to contract performance caused by the epidemic are different.  It is controversy on whether the epidemic itself can constitute an obstacle to contract performance in judicial practice.  After the SARS epidemic, many courts believed that the epidemic itself was not enough to constitute obstacles to contract performance, it required administrative interventions as well.  For example, Shanxi High People’s Court (2017) Jin Min Zhong No. 93 held that during the SARS period, traffic was not blocked and cargo transactions were not restricted, so the SARS epidemic itself did not constitute an obstacle to fulfillment of supply obligations.  If the epidemic and its prevention and control measures do not constitute a major obstacle to the performance of the contract, the parties cannot claim exemption from the breach of the contract.  For example, sellers can produce and ship in different factories across the country, so they cannot argue that there are obstacles to delivery because some of their factories have lockout due to the epidemic.  Due to the popularity of electronic commerce, the upgrade of automation technology and the perfection of logistics channels, there are more choices on the contract fulfillment methods.  For example, online ordering and automated production can reduce the impact of the epidemic on production and operation.  The performance expenses increased in the above circumstances, such as logistics costs, labor costs shall be settled in accordance with the agreement of the parties or the rules on performance costs under Articles 60, 61, and 110 of the PRC Contract Law.

其次，疫情對合同履行造成的實質障礙不同。對于疫情本身能否構成合同履行障礙，司法實踐一直存在爭議。“非典”疫情后，不少法院認為，疫情本身不足以導致合同履行障礙，還必須有行政干預措施。例如，山西高院（2017）晉民終93號判決認為，“非典”期間并未封鎖交通、貨物交易也沒有受到限制，故“非典”疫情不構成供貨義務的履行障礙。如果疫情及其防控措施對合同履行未構成重大障礙，則合同當事人不能主張免責。例如，出賣人在全國有多個廠區可以生產發貨，不能僅以部分廠區受疫情影響而停產為由主張交貨存在障礙。由于在線交易的普及、自動化技術的升級和物流渠道的完備，許多買賣合同履行方式有了更多的選擇，如通過遠程下單，無人工自動化生產的方式可以減少本次疫情對生產經營的影響。上述情形中增加的履行費用，如物流費、人工費等應按照當事人約定或《合同法》第60條、第61條、第110條等關于履行費用的規則解決。

Therefore, it is believed that the impact of the epidemic situation and its prevention and control measures on the performance of the contract should be evaluated when applying the Force Majeure clause.  Besides, the exact situation of the epidemic and its prevention and control measures in the place of contracting party and place of performance should be examined as well.

因此，筆者認為在適用不可抗力條款時應該評估疫情及其防控措施對合同履行的影響，具體考察合同當事人所在地、合同履行地等地的疫情和防控措施，并結合同地區、同行業的普遍做法進行。

（2）Legal consequences brought by Force Majeure

構成不可抗力后的法律效果

Based on the principle of party autonomy, the parties’ agreement on contract performance and the relevant liabilities should be complied with first on deciding the legal consequences brought by the epidemic.  If the parties have no agreement on this issue or the agreement is unclear, the epidemic may lead to the following legal consequences in the event of Force Majeure which creates obstacles to the actual performance of the contract:

基于意思自治原則，疫情對合同履行、合同責任產生何種法律效果，首先應遵從當事人的約定。如果當事人沒有約定或者約定不明，則疫情在構成不可抗力且導致合同實際履行障礙的情況下，將產生以下法律效果：

Firstly, according to Article 117 of the PRC Contract Law, the Force Majeure may partially or completely exempt the liability for breach of contract.  The scope and extent of the exemption shall be corresponding to the influences of Force Majeure.  First of all, if the Force Majeure only affects the performance of part of contractual obligations, the scope of exemption should be limited to the liability for non-performance of such part of the contractual obligations instead of the entire contract liability.  Secondly, if the Force Majeure only causes the contract performance delayed temporarily, the scope of exemption should be limited to the liability for breach of contract caused by such delayed performance, and the parties cannot be considered to be unable to perform the contract.  For example, Shanghai High Court held in (2005) Hu Gao Min Er (Shang) Zhong Zi No 159 that: “During the SARS period, the respondent received many orders from many government departments in in March, April, and May in 2003, resulting in its failure to meet the demand of many customers including the appellant.  However, the appellee recovered its ability to supply since June 2003.  Therefore, the respondent should be liable for breach of contract for its failure to supply the appellant’s requested quantity of goods in June 2003.”  Last but not least, if the Force Majeure and the debtor’s behavior jointly lead to the failure of the contract performance, the extent of exemption should be determined accordingly.

第一，根據《合同法》第一百一十七條，不可抗力情形可以部分或全部免除違約責任。免責范圍與程度應與不可抗力的影響相適應。首先，如果不可抗力只對部分合同義務的履行產生影響，則免責范圍一般應限于該部分合同未履行而產生的違約責任，而不能籠統地認為可以免除整個合同的違約責任。其次，如果不可抗力僅導致合同一時不能履行，則免責范圍一般應限于遲延履行產生的違約責任，而不能認為當事人可以不再履行合同。例如，上海市高院（2005）滬高民二（商）終字第159號判決認為：“被上訴人在2003年“非典”期間根據政府要求，在3月、4月、5月受到了很多國家機關提出的供貨要求，導致其未能滿足包括上訴人在內很多客戶的要貨需求。由此，本院認為未按上要貨數量供貨系受“非典”事件影響并無不妥。但是，被上訴人在原審和二審中認為其在2003年6月具備供貨能力，因此，被上訴人應該對其在2003年6月未按上訴人要貨數量供貨的行為承擔違約賠償責任。”最后，如果不可抗力和債務人原因共同導致合同不能履行，應按照原因大小確定部分免責的程度。

Secondly, when it becomes impossible to achieve the purpose of the contract due to Force Majeure event, the contract can be terminated.  According to Article 94 of the PRC Contract Law, the contract can be terminated when the Force Majeure has reached the extent that the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved.  For example, Fujian Putian Intermediate Court once ruled in (2019) Min 03 Min Zhong No. 2606 that after the “African Swine Fever” epidemic, all pigs were subject to harmless treatment, and the government also quarantined the epidemic area, and the tenant confirmed that it could not continue the pig business.  Therefore, the purpose of the lease contract could not be achieved, so the court supported the lessee’s request to terminate the contract.  It should be noted that the standards for triggerring Force Majeure clause to terminate a contract are generally strict in judicial practice.  If the Force Majeure event does not render the purpose of the contract impossible, the parties are not entitled to terminate the contract.  For example, the Liaoning Provincial High Court ruled in (2013) Liao Shen Er Min Kang Zi No. 14 that the SARS epidemic and the relevant government’s notices to suspend wildlife trading business only affected some of the business activities of Zhengdian Company, and it was not enough to cause the lease contract with Pengcheng Company to be impossible to perform, so the Force Majeure clause should not be applied.

第二，不可抗力致使合同目的不能實現時，可以解除合同。根據《合同法》九十四條，當不可抗力的影響程度達到合同目的不能實現時，可以解除合同。例如，福建莆田中院（2019）閩03民終2606號判決認為，在“非洲豬瘟”疫情發生之后，生豬被全部無害化處理，政府也對疫區進行封鎖，承租人確認無法繼續養殖生豬，導致租賃合同目的無法實現，故判決支持承租人解除合同的請求。應當注意的是，司法實踐中，法院對援引不可抗力請求解除合同的審查標準普遍比較嚴格，如果不可抗力沒有達到致使合同目的不能實現的程度，則當事人無權解除合同。比如，遼寧省高院（2013）遼審二民抗字第14號認為，因“非典”疫情和政府有關部門因此而下發的停止野生動物經營的通知，只是對正典公司的部分經營活動造成影響，尚不足以導致其與鵬程公司之間的租賃合同“直接”或“根本”不能履行，故本案不能據此認定為雙方合同的解除系不可抗力的原因所致。

(1)  Review and assess risks for contracts being performed and to be performed

盡快對正在履行中及將要履行的合同進行審查并評估風險

As the COVID-2019 is still developing, it is advisable that companies should ask their legal departments to review the contracts that are being performed and to be performed to determine whether the performance of such contracts is being or will be affected by the epidemic, i.e., whether the company can deliver the commodities on time, whether the company’s production capacity can meet the demand of the contract, whether the physical distribution channels are blocked, and etc.  For the contracts that may be affected, the “Force Majeure” clauses in the contract should be reviewed to see whether the contract includes “Force Majeure” clauses, whether the “infectious diseases” or “plagues” are clearly stated as cases of Force Majeure, whether the relevant clauses explicitly exclude the application of Force Majeure clause, and etc.  For contracts that may be at risk, the company should explain the situation to counterparties in a timely manner and try to negotiate how to resolve the problems together.

由于本次疫情目前仍在持續發展，建議企業應對要求其法務部門對正在履行中及將要履行的合同進行審查，以判斷合同的履行是否會受到此次疫情的影響，比如能否按照合同約定按期交貨、企業產量是否滿足需求、物流渠道是否通暢；對履行可能受到影響的合同，進一步審查合同中的“不可抗力”條款，如合同中是否包括“不可抗力”條款，“不可抗力”條款是否將“傳染性疾病”或“瘟疫”作為不可抗力的情形明確列明，相關條款是否明確排除了不可抗力條款的適用；對可能存在風險的合同應當及時與對方說明情況，共同協商解決履行障礙事宜。

(2) The parties who have been already affected by Force Majeure shall notify the other party and provide proof promptly

已經受不可抗力影響的當事人應當及時通知對方并提供證明

Article 118 of the PRC Contract Law stipulates that “[I]f a party is unable to perform a contract due to an event of Force Majeure, it shall timely notify the other party so as to mitigate the losses that may be caused to the other party, and shall provide evidence of such event of Force Majeure within a reasonable period.”  Therefore, after being affected by the outbreak of COVID-2019, providing the timely notification and adequate evidence is the key for the parties to reduce liability and losses, which should be noted as follows:

《合同法》第118條規定：“當事人一方因不可抗力不能履行合同的，應當及時通知對方，以減輕可能給對方造成的損失，并應當在合理期限內提供證明。”受到新冠肺炎疫情影響后，及時通知合同相對方和提供證明是當事人減免責任、減小損失的重要條件，對此應注意以下幾點：

Firstly, the notification should be timely.  In principle, the parties should issue the notification within a reasonable period after the outbreak of the COVID-2019 and related administrative actions that have affected their performance of the contract.  Considering that courier services may be suspended or delayed during the Spring Festival and epidemic period, the E-mail and other electronic ways should be taken into consideration.

第一，通知應當“及時”，原則上當事人應當在疫情及相關防控措施對其履行合同造成影響后的盡短時間內發出通知。考慮到郵政、快遞等業務在春節和疫情期間可能出現暫停、延緩等情況，應注意通過電子通訊等手段及時通知。

Secondly, the content of the notice should at least include the occurrence of Force Majeure and its causation to the inability of performance.  In addition, it can also include the future expectations of contract performance, and the willingness to negotiate with the other party to resolve obstacles to contract performance.

第二，通知的內容應包括不可抗力的發生和不可抗力與履行障礙之間的因果關系兩大方面。此外，還可視情況在通知中加入對合同履行的預期、愿與對方協商解決合同履行障礙等方面的內容。

Thirdly, the evidence of Force Majeure shall be provided upon notice to the other party or within a reasonable period thereafter.  The contents of the evidence shall generally include government notices, announcements and provisions to prove that the contract cannot be performed due to the prevention and control measures.  If the party is a natural person and cannot perform the contract due to his suffering from the disease, the relevant diagnosis and treatment documents should be provided to the other party in a timely manner after his healing.

第三，不可抗力證明應在向對方發出通知時，或在此后的合理期限內提供。證明內容一般應包括政府部門通知、公告、命令等，以證明因疫情防控措施導致合同不能履行。如果當事人是自然人，因患病治療無法履行合同，一般應在可以通知或者出院后及時向對方提供相關診療證明文件。

It is noticeable that for international trade contracts that cannot be performed due to the COVID-2019, the parties can apply to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (“CCPIT”) or the council in their province or city for the certificate  (website: http://www.rzccpit.com) to provide evidence to foreign counterparties or prepare for potential disputes.  According to the requirements of the CCPIT, companies applying for Force Majeure-related certificates must submit an announcement or notices issued by the government department at the city level or above; notifications and certifications of delays or cancellations of relevant shipments or flights; relevant information such as export sales contracts, booking agreements, freight agency agreements, customs declarations, etc.  If the debtor or its employee is suffering from the COVID-2019 or a suspected case which is observed in isolation, then the hospitalization certificate, diagnosis certificate and relevant evidence of isolation should be provided.

需特別提示的是，受新冠肺炎疫情不能履行的國際貿易合同，當事人可向中國國際貿易促進委員（“中國貿促委”）會或所在省、市的貿促委申請辦理與不可抗力相關的事實性證明（網址：http://www.rzccpit.com），以提供境外相對方或為應對潛在糾紛準備證據。按照中國貿促會的要求，企業申請“新型冠狀病毒感染的肺炎疫情”影響的不可抗力相關證明，需提交企業所在地市級及以上政府機構出具的公告或證明；海陸空相關延運、延飛、取消等通知或證明；出口貨物買賣合同、貨物訂艙協議、貨運代理協議、報關單等相關資料。若涉及債務人或其員工為“新冠肺炎”患者或者疑似病例被隔離觀察的，應提供住院證明、診斷證明、出院證明及被隔離觀察的相關證明等。

Regarding domestic commercial activities, we have not noticed that any organization can issue documents similar to the aforementioned CCPIT Force Majeure Certificate.  It is believed that the reason why CCPIT issues certificates of Force Majeure is mainly because foreign governments, customs, chambers of commerce, courts or arbitration institutions may not understand or fully believe in the Force Majeure event claimed by Chinese companies.  So, it needs to be supported by credible certifications.  It is believed that it is not necessary to obtain similar certification for domestic commercial activities, because the notices issued by local governments of provinces and municipalities are accessible to the public.  According to Article 10 of the Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Evidence in Civil Proceedings, it is a fact that does not require proof.  Therefore, domestic courts or arbitration agencies should not require the company to provide additional certificate in order to prove the Force Majeure event.

針對國內商事活動，我們尚未注意到有任何權威組織可以出具與類似的證明文件。中國貿促會出具與不可抗力“有關的事實”的證明，主要是因為域外的政府、海關、商會、企業、法院或仲裁機構不一定會了解或完全相信中國企業單方做出的關于不可抗力“有關的事實”的陳述，因而需要輔以相對具有公信力的證明文件。我們認為純粹的國內商事活動應當沒有必要取得類似證明，因為全國各省、市地方政府發布的關于要求企業復工時間推遲的通知均公開可查，根據《最高人民法院關于民事訴訟證據的若干規定》第十條屬于不需要證明的事實。據此，國內法院或仲裁機構應當不需要再根據有關機構出具“有關的事實”的證明，才能認定不可抗力。

(3) Appropriate measures should be taken to prevent the loss from widening.

受不可抗力影響的合同應當采取適當減損措施，防止損失擴大。

According to the relevant law, no matter whether the party is affected by epidemic or not, it should take appropriate derogation measures after the occurrence of the epidemic or its actual knowledge of the difficulty of performing the contract, so as to prevent the loss from widening and avoid aggravating its own responsibility.  The derogation measures can be changing the delivery method, extending the delivery period or timely disposing consumables goods.  At the same time, after the impact of the epidemic has been eliminated, performance of the contract should be resumed as soon as possible.  It is recommended that enterprises pay close attention to the relevant policies and make use of it to deal with the potential legal risks.  Currently, the People’s Bank of China, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and other financial regulatory departments have issued a number of policies to provide support to parties affected by the COVID-2019.  

無論是受到疫情影響的一方，還是不受疫情影響的一方，按照法律規定，均應在發生或知悉合同受疫情影響履行困難后，及時采取適當減損措施（如變更交付方式、延長交付期限、及時處理易損易耗標的物等），防止損失擴大，避免加重自身責任。同時，在疫情影響減輕或消除后，還應根據情況盡快恢復履行。建議企業密切關注政策形勢，及時利用政策便利消減法律風險。目前，人民銀行、銀保監會等金融監管部門和各級政府已出臺多項政策措施，對受疫情影響導致部分金融合同履行困難的當事人提供政策支持。

(4) Take full account of the impact of the epidemic when signing new contracts

新訂立的合同應當充分考慮疫情的影響

Referring to the above-mentioned Liaoning Shenyang Intermediary Court’s ruling, if a new contract is signed after the outbreak of epidemic, the impact of the epidemic on the performance of the contract should be fully considered.  Because when the new contract is concluded, the epidemic and the corresponding government measures could be foreseeable.  So, it may be difficult to be recognized as Force Majeure at that moment.  Therefore, the impact of the COVID-2019 on performance should be fully taken into consideration when signing new contracts.  If there is concern about subsequent performance, the relevant party should make performance clause more flexible, or add a consultative mechanism or even a unilateral termination right in the contract.

參考上述遼寧沈陽中院（2005）沈（2）房終字第736號判決內容，如在疫情爆發后簽訂新合同，則應充分考慮疫情對合同履行的影響。因為在新合同訂立時，疫情及相應的政府管控措施可能會被認定為是可預見的情形，故而后續可能會難以再主張疫情及及相應的政府管控措施為不可抗力。因此，在新合同訂立時，應充分考慮疫情對履約能力的影響。如擔心后續履約能力，則盡量在合同中增加可延期履行的靈活性，或協商機制，甚至單方終止權。