Leistungshindernisse

When an impediment prevents a party from performing its contractual obligations, the law must answer two different questions, depending on whether the impediment can be overcome or not. When it cannot, the question is whether or not the debtor shall be liable in damages for non-performance. When the impediment can be overcome, the additional question arises of how much effort the debtor must expend in order to make performance possible. Ivo Bach investigates how German and European sales laws answer these questions.