Force Majeure and Hardship: A Commercial Approach to Contract Adaptability

April 08, 2026


Dates
Wednesday, April 08, 2026

Time
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM GMT

Early Bird Discount Deadline

Wednesday, April 08, 2026

Registration Deadline
Wednesday, April 08, 2026

Location

Event Photo

Managing uncertainty, risk, and behaviour through force majeure and hardship

Force majeure and hardship clauses are often approached as defensive legal protections. In practice, they are critical tools for managing uncertainty, allocating risk, and preserving commercial relationships in volatile operating environments.

This workshop  examines when adaptability through force majeure and hardship provisions is commercially justified, and how far that adaptability should extend. Participants will explore how uncertainty, volatility, dependency, and power dynamics influence the need for adaptive mechanisms, and whether flexibility should be structured as a unilateral or bilateral right.

The session also focuses on negotiation strategy, integrating commercial objectives, internal stakeholder interests, risk appetite, and governance constraints into a coherent approach to drafting and negotiating adaptive terms. Finally, the workshop looks beyond contract signature to consider how force majeure and hardship mechanisms influence counterparty behaviour over time, shaping incentives, conduct, and relationship dynamics across the contract lifecycle.

In this session, we’ll:

  • Judge when adaptability through force majeure and hardship is commercially justified
  • Determine whether adaptability should be unilateral or bilateral
  • Develop a coherent negotiation strategy for adaptive terms
  • Position force majeure and hardship provisions to influence behaviour over time

Designed for WorldCC’s commercial and contract management audience, this workshop provides a practical framework for using force majeure and hardship clauses to balance resilience, flexibility, and commercial control.


All upcoming sessions:

Force majeure and hardship

08 April 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (GMT)

Change control

15 April 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (GMT)

Pricing adjustment and indexation

29 April 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (GMT)

Data sharing, transparency and audit

22 April 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (BST)

Governance and escalation

14 May 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (BST)

Intellectual property, adaptive rights design

20 May 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (BST)

Suspension, step in, and continuity

3 June 2026 | 2 pm – 4 pm (BST)

 

 

 

Event Times 

  • 6:00 AM – Seattle / Vancouver
  • 7:00 AM – Denver / Edmonton
  • 8:00 AM – Chicago / Winnipeg / Mexico City
  • 9:00 AM – New York / Ottawa
  • 2:00 PM – London / Lisbon
  • 3:00 PM – Paris
  • 4:00 PM – Helsinki / Amman
  • 5:00 PM – Moscow / Doha
  • 6:00 PM – Dubai
  • 7:30 PM – Mumbai / New Delhi 
Your registration for this event entitles you to free guest membership to World Commerce & Contracting, allowing you access to some of the free resources we have on offer. Look out for an email from us with information on how to access your account. 
 
Your registration for this event is subject to WorldCC Terms & Conditions and any data we collect will be subject to WorldCC privacy policy. 

Registration Fees

Member
Early Standard Late
$99.00
Non-Member
Early Standard Late
$119.00

Agenda

Speakers

Name Organization
Tim Cummins
World Commerce & Contracting
Sally Guyer
World Commerce & Contracting

CPD

Hotel

085022