CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

BÁRA MIKA resolution of these potential conflicts or their reflections going forward. To fill in the gaps, the following study looked for such information among the Czech exporters with a focus on the recent turbulent period of 2020-2023. 4.1 Method Summary As preliminary steps, it was necessary to formulate research questions and identify respondents. In order to not start the interviews entirely blind, the author decided to conduct a preliminary interview with JUDr. Jitka Hlaváčková, a legal expert of the Confederation, who was in close contact with a number of the member companies during the Covid years. To summarize this extensive preliminary interview, while Ms. Hlaváčková was not aware of any lawsuit filed by a Czech exporter concerning vis major or hardship situations, she confirmed that the member companies of the Confederation 66 did face both issues in various forms between 2020 and 2023. According to the preliminary interview, the solutions for (potential) contract non-performance were purely commercial. When the seller and the buyer had equal standing, they renegotiated. In cases by larger companies with great market power and choice of suppliers, the sales contracts were not re-opened. A large portion of member companies updated their contracts to reflect their recent experience with vis major and/or hardship situations and focus on these issues when negotiating. The Confederation itself supported that process by providing a template vis major clause. In this regard, the Confederation recommended unified and general wording, covering both the impossibility of performance (permanent or temporary) and hardship situations. Based on the preliminary interview, two main areas of questioning were identified: (i) In what factual circumstances did Czech exporters experience contractual non-performance due to vis major situations and/or hardship situations and how were these issues solved? (ii) For their future contracts, did Czech exporters adjust their approach regarding vis major and/or hardship situations? Accordingly, the interviews were divided into two parts: the respondents were firstly asked for general comments on the pre-formulated questions and then asked for further details based on specific follow-up questions. When considering potential respondents, the author decided on two common traits: all selected Czech companies had to have their own original production and export experience. The participants were selected at random to cover a wide range of industries and all company sizes, 67 to ensure maximum variability of the data. Regarding the pool from which the selection took place, after considering several sources, the author used an official database of Czech exporters maintained by the governmental agency Czech Trade 68 which is specialized in support of Czech exporters and lists more than 500 entities. The resulting selection was very fragmented, no two respondents could have been considered competitors. The idea behind this is the following: if any similarities or common trends can be found among a highly diverse pool of respondents, it is fair to consider them more generally even with a small number of respondents.

66 The Confederation has over eleven-thousand-member companies and is the leading business lobbying organization in the Czech Republic. See https://www.spcr.cz/en/about-us. 67 Company size class was determined based on number of employees: less than 10 employees = micro, 10-49 employees = small, 50-249 employees = medium, more than 250 employees = large. 68 The database is available here: https://exporters.czechtrade.cz/home.

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