Journal Article: Sanctions-Based Impossibility by Richard Kilpatrick Jr

Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly has published CML Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Richard Kilpatrick Jr’s article, ‘Sanctions-Based Impossibility’ where he discussed the US federal appellate court decision in Siemens Energy Inc v Petróleos de Venezuela SA.

In Siemens Energy Inc v Petróleos de Venezuela SA, a US federal appellate court in New York recently decided whether a defendant could avoid its contractual obligations because economic sanctions obstructed the ability to perform them. Running parallel to recent decisions in England and elsewhere, the decision by the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals adds a new American voice to the rapidly compounding body of case law examining when and whether commercial actors may terminate, suspend or modify contractual duties due to sanctions-related barriers. The judgment suggests that the party seeking to avoid performance must overcome a high burden in proving that disruption from sanctions has crossed into the realm of impossibility. It also provides insight on how a defendant’s direct consultation with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) might inform such assessments.

For the full article click here. (Subscription required).

Richard Kilpatrick Jr is Associate Professor in Business law at College of Charleston (South Carolina, United States), and Senior Visiting Research Fellow from October-December 2023 at the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) at NUS Law. To connect with Richard visit his linkedin here.