From vulnerability to the proposal of the new organisational concept of the so-called 'disabled' person: the case of contractual relationships of duration during periodic pandemic events

The paper examines the notion of vulnerability and its legal relevance, with particular reference to parties entering into contracts of duration whose performance is called into question by de facto negative contingencies, such as those induced by pandemic events that cyclically recur throughout history and therefore continue to be an ever-present topic. The authors explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for a rethinking (or widening) of vulnerabilities, highlighting the difficulties of those involved during the state of emergency in entering into term contracts, often disabled in the exercise of contractually acquired rights by the occurrence of extrinsic factors that are not always predictable (e.g. lockdown). The work illustrates how the remedies for negative contingencies, in particular the maintenance remedies developed by doctrine and jurisprudence, such as contract renegotiation, have been key tools for managing the impact of the most recent pandemic event, effectively restoring the previously altered synallagmatic balance. This multidisciplinary approach, inspired by contributions from private law, organisational studies and disability studies, highlights the need to integrate legal, sociological and organisational perspectives to address complex challenges and to initiate a virtuous cultural change.