Lawyers involved in international commercial transactions know well that that unforeseen events affecting the performance of a party often arise. Not surprisingly, exemptions for non-performance are dealt with in a significant number of arbitral awards. This very useful book thoroughly analyzes contemporary approaches, particularly as manifested in case law, to the scope and content of the principles of exemption for non-performance which are commonly referred to as A force majeure A| and A hardship. A| The author shows that the A general principles of law A| approach addresses this concern most effectively. Generally accepted and understood by the business world at large, this approach encompasses principles of international commercial contracts derived from a variety of legal codes. Its most important A restatements A| are found in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and two A soft law A| codifications of international commercial contract law: the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and the European Principles of Contract Law (PECL).Establishing specific standards and A case groups A| for the exemptions under review, the analysis treats such recurring elements and claims as the following:A { impossibility of performance;A { frustration of contract;A { impracticability;A { interference by the other party;A { contractual risk allocations;A { unforeseeability of an impediment;A { third party responsibility;A { effect of mandatory rules;A { excluded rights;A { threshold tests; andA { irreconcilable differences. The book is a major contribution to the development of the use of general principles of law in international commercial arbitration. In addition, as an insightful investigation into the fundamental question of the borderlines of the principle of sanctity of contracts, this book is sure to capture the attention of business lawyers and interested academics everywhere.