EU publishes AZ Contract

[BoroMart]

AstraZeneca shall use its Best Reasonable Efforts to manufacture the vaccine at manufacturing sites located in the EU (which, for the purpose of this section 5.4 only shall include the United Kingdom).

It seems more and more likely that the contracts (AZ with the EU and AZ with the UK) are in direct contradiction and cannot both be fulfilled satisfactorily so will both need renegotiating. AstraZeneca CEO Soriot looks weak and ill-informed now after his fiery interview from earlier this week.

This is exactly what I said when this story started. The EU haven't done this without some legal grounding, and the UK, for all the Tory government cockups have some legal standing too. The issue is contracts that cannot both be fulfilled.

 

[BoroMart]

The lawyer on there likened it to ordering a pizza. Once you order a pizza you enter a contract, however if the contract had BRE and they run out because of a larger order being placed before yours then it's hard luck.

I don't think the example of ordering a pizza is relevant when looking at ordering millions of life saving vaccine doses.

 

[Ingleby_Flash]

I don't think the example of ordering a pizza is relevant when looking at ordering millions of life saving vaccine doses.

TOmmy is half right though, if the pizza contract had BRE then regardless of other orders you’re obliged to fulfill on BRE first even if it means taking stock from other orders. You might not think it relevant to contracts involving ‘millions of life saving vaccines’ but precedent is exactly how contract law works.

 

[BoroMart]

TOmmy is half right though, if the pizza contract had BRE then regardless of other orders you’re obliged to fulfill on BRE first even if it means taking stock from other orders. You might not think it relevant to contracts involving ‘millions of life saving vaccines’ but precedent is exactly how contract law works.

It's not a pizza contract, so he isn't half right, it's not even remotely in the same ball park

 

[Ingleby_Flash]

It's not a pizza contract, so he isn't half right, it's not even remotely in the same ball park

contract law is contract law, regardless of whether it’s a pizza a vaccine or a nuclear power station. I’m sorry you’re emotive about it, believe me there is no emotion in contract law. I’m only trying to explain the facts of it as it’s an area of expertise for me.