Clifford Chance
Coronavirus: Impact on Commercial Contracts in Turkey
25 March 2020
Following the outbreak and spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), we expect to see a flow of force majeure or similar claims in various types of commercial contracts, ranging from supply to sales and from construction to regular service contracts.
The term "force majeure" is not explicitly defined under Turkish legislation, and parties often contractually agree on a force majeure clause in their contracts typically as a part of a standard boiler plate. Where companies do not have such explicit contractual protection, the Turkish Code of Obligations may still provide certain relief for parties' performance of their obligations. Nonetheless, to evaluate and manage the impact of Coronavirus on commercial contracts, companies should consider carrying out an internal assessment of their existing contracts, and also adopting a strategy to negotiate the contractual terms of any future transactions.
Clifford Chance works in cooperation with Yegin Ciftci Attorney Partnership on Turkish law matters.
