19.3 MINIMISING DELAY AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF FORCE MAJEURE
By clause 19.3, the party affected must at all times make all reasonable efforts
to minimise any delay in the performance of the contract as result of the force
majeure, and must give notice to the other party when it is no longer affected.
But if the Contractor:
●
is prevented from performing any of his obligations by force majeure;
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has given the required notice to the Employer; and
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suffers delay or additional cost as a result of the force majeure; then
●
subject to giving his clause 20.1 notice,
he will (clause 19.4) be entitled to an extension of time. Depending on the type
of force majeure event and where it occurred, he may also be entitled to any
costs he incurred.
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The formula for assessing the entitlement to costs under Clause 19.4 is a little complicated
in the two Books. If the force majeure is an event or circumstance falling within one of the
listed categories in clause 19.1 other than a natural catastrophe, then the Contractor can
recover his costs incurred, except that, where the force majeure falls under the second to fourth
categories listed, the event or circumstance must have occurred or existed within the country
where the works are or are to be carried out. The net effect seems to be that natural catastrophes
are excluded, but the Contractor can get his costs for everything else on the list provided that
the riots, etc, occurred in the country where the works were being executed (save for war, hos-
tilities, invasion and act of foreign enemies, where these need not occur in that country).