In Chile, a fortuitous event is a concept defined by law in article 45 of the Civil Code, which relieves the obligor from liability for delay or impossible performance. In this context, each country's law on fortuitous events or force majeure and termination due to supervening hardship, also known as unforeseen circumstances, takes on an especially important role, and needs to be analyzed by the courts in order to resolve the disputes which have been, and will continue to be, brought before them. Latin America has been no exception, and although many differences have been resolved through direct negotiations between the parties, a significant increase has been noted in the number of judicial proceedings on these matters as a consequence of the pandemic.

Recently, however, due to COVID-19 and its consequences, every jurisdiction has seen interruptions or delays to contracts, or contracts being rendered directly impossible to perform, along with the ensuing disputes between obligees, who demand unqualified observance of the stipulated terms, and obligors, who try to seek relief by claiming factors beyond their control which have precluded or obstructed performance.ДЄlthough the effects have been seen in many areas, a few types of contracts have been particularly impacted by disputes, such as real estate lease agreements and construction contracts, among others. Those circumstances are usually local so their effects are confined to the country or region in question. From time to time, events beyond the parties' control occur which have a general effect on all contracts and make us reassess certain legal concepts and the way they operate.

What does unforeseen circumstances mean