Coronavirus and its effects on commercial contracts in Italy

International law firm Giambrone hosts a webinar in conjunction with The British Chamber of Commerce for Italy (“BCCI”) on the Coronavirus COVID-19 and its effects on commercial contracts in Italy.

The webinar covered the client questions that we are routinely asked and the advice we give when supply-chain disruption occurs - focusing on the contractual issues and the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. During the seminar, we have reviewed a variety of legal (and practical) issues all businesses should consider and explained the legal doctrines of frustration and force majeure, including the extent to which they can be avoided/mitigated; and our experts have also considered both suppliers and customer perspectives, recognising that, in many supply chains, businesses are often both a supplier and a customer.

The firm’s Managing Partner, Gabriele Giambrone, discussed the possible consequences of the Coronavirus outbreak in relation to commercial contracts regulated by Italian law. At the same time, Mr. Giambrone gave an insight on a comparative analysis between the “force majeur” doctrine under civil law principles and the “frustration” doctrine under English law.

Vincenzo Senatore, Senior Partner of the firm’s London office, provided an outline summary of the potential issues that employers and business may face as a result of the smart working initiatives across Italy as well as the GDPR and compliance issues which all businesses need to be aware of. Annah Cheatham, a senior associate in the Litigation team, analysed the current UK response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The webinar was the first one of this kind organised by the BCCI. “Giambrone has set the bar very high for all future BCCI seminars – says Aaron Pugliesi, Secretary General & CEO of the BCCI – I am very happy that so many of our members attended as the event was a total success”.

If you require further information or assistance, please complete the online enquiry form here or email us: london@giambronelaw.com.