The doctrine of changed circumstances enables adjustment or termination of contracts in case of unexpected and unavoidable events that occur after the conclusion of the contract and render the performance significantly more difficult for one of the contracting parties or due to which the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved. The purpose of the doctrine is to limit the sometimes too strict binding force of contracts and to allow the distribution of risks, benefits and losses associated with the change of circumstances between the contracting parties. Different legal systems take different approaches to regulation of changed circumstances and prescribe preconditions, such as the events must be subsequent, unpredictable, extraordinary, unavoidable and independent of the contracting parties, etc. It is not possible to prima facie confirm or exclude the application of the doctrine of changed circumstances for any event, but rather it is necessary to determine the fulfilment of preconditions in each specific case. Different legal systems also prescribe different legal consequences for the successful application of changed circumstances, such as exemption from liability for damages, (non)compulsory renegotiation, judicial adjustment or termination, etc. The Slovenian regulation of changed circumstances allows only for judicial termination of contracts and does not acknowledge judicial adjustment or compulsory renegotiations. It seems reasonable for the possibility of judicial adjustment to be introduced into the Slovenian legal system, but on the other hand, it seems less reasonable to introduce compulsory renegotiations.
|
