La rilevanza giuridica delle sopravvenienze contrattuali tra il rafforzamento della “sanctity of contract” nel diritto inglese e l'affievolimento del principio “pacta sunt servanda” negli ordinamenti di civil law

The issue of the legal impact of “supervening events´ on a contract has been addressed by the legal formants of most contemporary legal systems. This paper, after a brief historical and comparative analysis of the evolution of the debate between the principles of “pacta sunt servanda” and “rebus sic stantibus” in some of the major legal system belonging to the Western legal tradition, will focus in particular on the analysis of the remedies provided in case of hardship and the collapse of the basis of the transaction. The opportunity for such analysis is offered by the recent decision of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales in Canary Wharf v European Medicines Agency.