Türkçe
While the negative effects of the Coronavirus (COVID19) epidemic continues especially in international trade, it gains importance to prove such effects of the epidemic on bilateral trade relations. In that respect; force majeure certificates are frequently used in practice.
What are Force Majeure Certificates in Different Jurisdictions?
The People’s Republic of China, which has been significantly affected by the COVID19 epidemic, is one of the countries that widely use force majeure certificates. China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) issues “force majeure certificates” in order to constitute a basis for the disputes between companies dealing with foreign trade. Although these certificates are not legally binding and not qualified as official documents, they provide an opportunity for the parties to review the terms of the contract, since they prove the existence of force majeure situation.
In the announcement made by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade on 27/03/2020, it was stated that a total of 5637 force majeure certificates were issued until March 11, 2020, and the total value of the contracts covered by these certificates was 503.5 billion Yuan.
Similarly, the Russian Federation issues force majeure certificates. Although the application in question has existed in Russia since 1993, its effectiveness has increased due to the recent pandemic process. Similar to the force majeure certificates issued by China, force majeure certificates issued by the Russian Chamber of Industry and Commerce merely aims to prove the existence of current force majeure situation and are not official documents and not binding before courts.
On the other hand, Italian government recently issued a circular on March 25, 2020 and acknowledged that, upon request of the companies, force majeure certificates will be issued to prove the existence of force majeure situation within the scope of the health measures taken for COVID19 epidemic in Italy. Since the certificates in question are issued based on the declaration of the requesting companies, they are not different from the certificates issued by other countries in terms of their legal nature and bindingness.
As can be seen; companies which are engaged in international commercial activities with many countries affected by the COVID19 epidemic, especially China, Russia and Italy, and unable to fulfill their contractual commitments due to the epidemic, can request for the issuance of a force majeure certificate by making an application to the relevant institutions in those countries.
What are Force Majeure Certificates in Turkey?
In Turkey, force majeure certificates are issued by different chambers of industry and commerce in accordance with 26th Article of the Law of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges. These certificates, which have a more limited purpose compared to the force majeure certificates provided in other countries, are documents issued to extend the duration of stay in the country of goods that are imported for a certain period but cannot be exported within such period.
The said force majeure certificates are regulated under 26th Article of the Law of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges and issued by the related chambers of industry and commerce upon request pursuant to Article 27 of the Chamber Procedure Bylaw.
Force Majeure Certificates are described under Article 29 of the Exchanges Procedure Bylaw as follows: “A force majeure certificate is issued upon request and following an examination to be conducted by experts, in case a general norm of act or the performance of a debt became impossible to be performed due to the reasons which are beyond the control of the debtor or his activity and which cannot be predicted, avoided or eliminated”.
The documents required to apply for a force majeure certificate from the relevant Chamber of Industry and Commerce are Application Petition, Customs Entry Declaration, Temporary Import Regime Permit Form and Invoice. However, such documents may differ depending on the current practices of the related chambers.
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