Why all the Sturm and Drang Over Force Majuere?

Recently, thanks to COVID-19, there has been much talk about the otherwise generally obscure civil law concept of force majeure. Our dear friend, the incomparable Eric Posner, tells us how this concept tends to play out in the US context and why every major law firm in the country seems to be writing client memos on it. Of greatest interest to us is the question of whether sovereign debtors can invoke the international law version (at least a close cousin) of it – the doctrine of economic necessity – to obtain temporary relief from their debt obligations today so as to divert resources to fight the pandemic. Eric kindly engages in a discussion of the complexities that would be involved.

Producer: Leanna Doty