Contracts and obligations · Legal glossary
Force majeureIn Arabic: القوة القاهرة
Definition
An external event that could neither be foreseen nor prevented and that makes performance of an obligation impossible, so that the obligation is extinguished or the contract is dissolved.
Force majeure, hardship and dissolution
Hardship is an exceptional, general event that makes performance onerous rather than impossible. Automatic dissolution is the case where performance has become impossible. Each has its own entry.
Hardship (الظروف الطارئة)Automatic dissolution (انفساخ العقد)How it varies across the GCC
Saudi Civil Transactions Law deals with impossibility in article 110, with an external cause as a defence in article 125, and with the debtor’s exemption where the harm is due to an external cause in article 174. Oman’s Civil Transactions Law does so in articles 172 and 177, and Bahrain’s Civil Code in article 165. Hardship, where performance stays possible but becomes onerous, and automatic dissolution, where it has become impossible, each have their own entry.
The rules that apply to a specific matter depend on the state, any free zone involved and the current text of the law, so check the official source before relying on them.
Sources
Official texts for the points on this page. General information, not legal advice. An article number is cited only where it was verified.
- Saudi Civil Transactions Law, art. 110, 125, 174https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/655fdb42-8c96-422b-b8c4-b04f0095c94c/1
- Oman Civil Transactions Law, Royal Decree 29/2013 (text on qanoon.om), art. 172, 177https://qanoon.om/p/2013/rd2013029/
- Bahrain Civil Code, Decree-Law No. 19 of 2001, art. 165https://www.lloc.gov.bh/Legislation/HTM/L1901