Björn P. Ebert's focused on how German law handles contract disruptions caused by crises like the pandemic and the energy shock from the war in Ukraine. He emphasized that German law strongly favors contract adaptation over termination, especially in long-term commercial leases and supply agreements. True impossibility is rarely available in these contexts, mere economic hardship is not enough. German courts reject automatic formulas such as blanket rent reductions, instead requiring fact-intensive balancing of site-specific losses, mitigations, relief received, and contractual risk allocation. In both scenarios he discussed - warehouse leases hit by trade collapse and gas-indexed supply contracts facing price spikes - Björn's practical takeaway was that parties should expect calibrated, time-limited adaptations and should come prepared with thorough documentation.
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