BUSINESS CONTRACT IN ERA COVID-19. ARE THESE CIRCUMSTANCE TEMPORARY.

BUSINESS CONTRACTS IN COVID-19 PERIOD,

ARE THESE CIRCUMSTANCES TEMPORARY ?

By :

I MADE SARJANA

Email: made_sarjana@unud.ac.id

The existence of COVID-19 is truly globalized almost indefinitely, almost all countries in the world are affected by a deadly virus that has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. Indonesia as one of the countries that has continued to experience positive cases of the virus and there is no certainty on how long the virus development can be overcome and ended.

The impact of COVID-19 is very widespread and massive, not only does it affect the public health sector it also impacts other sectors such as the tourism, education, economy, transportation, politics, culture, labor, social, tradition, religion, and even the legal sector. The sector that has the most impact on the national level is the economic sector which causes our economy to plummet. In this case the government is made dizzy because it makes the economic sector stagnate, not moving let alone thinking about economic growth. Related to the impact of COVID-19 on the legal sector also extends in all areas of law, such as criminal law, administrative law, tax law, economic law, labor law, procedural law practices and so on, which in this case briefly highlights the field of business contracts. A business contract is a legal act that has a business perspective is one that drives the wheels of a country's economy. Business activity is a part that cannot be ignored, even without business activities a country's economic growth cannot develop rapidly. Therefore, to discuss economic development, business activities must also be saved. Thereby discussing business activities will impact on his legal actions. Contracts made to protect business activities to prevent unintended legal consequences.

Business contracts are a part of business law, because business cannot be separated from the law. Ordinary people often assume and underestimate the existence of the law, they considered a business will not have any effect or be related to law. Whether we realized or not, the law always coexists with all activities carried out by every person or business entity (company) as a business actor. For example, selling a bicycle, at first glance does not seem to be related to the law, but selling a bicycle is a legal act of buying and selling which rules are in the contract law (Burgerlijke Wetboek). We realize that the sale and purchase of bicycles is a simple legal act in which if disputes occur, it can be resolved by discussion and amicably. Another example for comparison is leasing. Leasing in practice that often happens is someone doing a car leasing at a store, the car is used to transport guests to the tourist area. At present there are no guests looking for vehicles for traveling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so it can be ascertained that there are difficulties in fulfilling one's obligation to pay the leasing contract to the car owner. In such a case the car tenant cannot fulfill his achievements to make payments in accordance with the contents of his contract, which is called wanprestasi because in a state of force majeure. Likewise, franchises issued abroad as can be found in the corners of cities such as KFC, Dunkin's Donuts, Bread Talk, Burger King, Mc Donald and all related matters are business contracts.

It is different if the business activities are large scale or high volume, high value, especially between islands, regional and even national scale. The scale and the value greatly influence the legal protection. Any company and anyone would not want their business activities to experience obstacles, let alone losses. The business activities of a company certainly require a large profit, can compete with other companies, still exist and always be a struggle as befitting a star in the eyes of consumers. Every company does not only think about big profits, but they must think from the legal aspect. None of the companies wants their business transactions to experience obstacles or even fail. Every company wants its transactions to run smoothly. Every company doesn’t want significant obstacles with its transaction partners so that they can fulfill all their obligations in accordance with the contents of the contract agreed in advance.

The fact is that there are often obstacles in carrying out the contract that have been agreed upon, and even there is a failure of the transaction either intentionally or unintentionally. If the failure of the transaction as a result of intentionality of the counterparty to contract, then it can be resolved by the process in accordance with the legislation. Whereas failure to transact as a result of inadvertence can be resolved legally if it is the result of negligence on the part of the opponent. However, if the contracting party does not carry out its obligations due to a disaster that falls into the category of force majeure / over macht, the party that is unable to fulfill these obligations cannot be legally accounted for.

The existence of COVID-19 by the government based on Keputusan Presiden No. 12 Tahun 2020 tentang Penetapan Bencana Non Alam penyebaran COVID-19 as a national disaster, because its existence has spread throughout Indonesia. In that case the government has also implemented health protocols, social distancing, physical distancing as well as large-scale social restrictions whose legal basis is Peraturan Pemerintah No. 20 Tahun 2020 tentang Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar (PSBB). Whatever is mentioned by the government has a significant impact on business activities, especially on business contracts. It is undeniable that the COVID-19 disaster resulted in the inability of the contents of the contract to be carried out in accordance with its contents, because the COVID-19 pandemic was a force majeure / over macht condition which was used as a justification for not carrying out the contents of the business contract. Quite a lot of business contracts cannot be carried out during COVID-19, for example shipping of goods cannot be carried out, production of goods is reduced due to the number of employees being housed, payment delays occur due to reduced income from production. All business activities are related to the agreement as outlined in the agreement / contract. Actually, non-fulfillment of obligations by contracting parties is neglectful. These obligations can also be implemented but are flawed with legal problems so disputes often occur and must be resolved by law. The legal settlement can be in the form of cancellation of contracts, requests for compensation, termination of contracts, payment of interest, rescheduling of contracts and so on. However, in the period of COVID-19 parties who neglected to carry out their obligations, were legally a violation of the contract, however those who cannot carry out their obligations in accordance with the contents of the contract have legal justification reasons because they are in a state of compulsion namely the existence of COVID-19 is categorized as a disaster which makes it harder for the contracting parties to carry out their obligations, although the virus disaster is temporary, there is no certainty about the temporary nature of the disaster.

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