10.1. A Party shall not be treated as liable for having failed to perform any of its obligations if it proves that:
Such failure resulted from an impediment beyond its control;
It could not have been reasonably expected at the time when the Contract was entered into that such Party could have taken account of such impediment or its consequences for the performance under the Contract;
Such Party could not have reasonably avoided or overcome such impediment or, at least, its consequences.
10.2. An impediment referred to in clause 10.1. includes but is not limited to the events set out below:
A declared or undeclared war, a civil war, riots and revolutions, acts of piracy, or sabotage;
Natural disasters, hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunami, floods, destruction caused by lightning;
Explosions, fires, destruction of machines, plants or any facilities;
Boycotts, strikes and lockouts in any form, work slowdowns, an occupation of enterprises or their premises, business interruptions occurring at an enterprise of the Party seeking to be released from the liability;
Acts of authorities, whether or not legitimate, except for those posing a risk which the relevant Party has assumed under terms and conditions of the Contract, and those specified below in clause 10.3.
10.3. For the purpose of applying the provisions of clause 10.1 above and since the Contract does not stipulate otherwise, an impediment shall not include cases where no permit, licence or entry visa, or temporary residence permit is available or no approvals are available that are needed for obligations to be performed under the Contract and that are issued by state authorities in the country of the Party claiming to be released from the liability.
10.4. After the Party seeking to be released from the liability has learned of the impediment or its consequences affecting the performance by it of an obligation, such Party shall, as soon as it becomes possible, inform the other Party of the impediment and the effect its consequences have on the first Party"s performance of its obligations. After the ground for releasing such Party from liability ceases to exist, another notice should be sent.
10.5. A ground for the Party to be released from its liability shall be valid from the time when corresponding event occurred or, if no timely notice has been sent, from the time such notice is sent. If it fails to notify the other Party, the defaulting Party shall be held liable for losses that could otherwise have been avoided.
10.6. A ground for the Party to be released from its liability under this provision shall free the defaulting Party from its obligations to compensate for losses, pay fines or have other contractual penalties applied, except for an obligation to pay annual interest on outstanding amounts of money while, and to the extent that, such release from liability is in place.
10.7. Moreover, such ground shall extend the performance deadline for a reasonable period. This shall deprive the other Party of any right it may have to terminate or to cancel the Contract. When determining what a reasonable period means, it shall be taken into account whether the defaulting Party is able to return to performing its obligations and whether the other party is interested in having such obligations performed despite the delay. While waiting for the defaulting Party to perform its obligations, the other Party may suspend performance of its its corresponding obligations.
10.8. If the grounds for releasing a Party from liability continue for more than one month, either of the Parties has the right to withdraw from the Contract having served notice of this fact.
