Abstract.

A material change of circumstances serves as a ground for the amendment or termination of a contract and plays an important role in ensuring the stability of contractual legal relations. It acquires particular relevance in the context of dynamic socio-economic and institutional transformations that affect the possibility of proper and timely performance of obligations. Proving a material change of circumstances is a complex and multi-level process that involves assessing the unforeseeability of events, the disruption of the economic balance of the contract and the establishment of causally significant legal links between changes in external conditions and a substantial complication of the performance of an obligation. The article substantiates the expediency of applying independent professional expertise in the form of a conformity assessment as an instrument and methodological approach to proving a material change of circumstances. It is proposed to regard it as a comprehensive model of objective and verified proof that integrates legal and economic approaches. Its functional purpose is revealed as an instrument for ensuring the relevance, admissibility and reliability of evidentiary information, as well as a means of unifying approaches to the assessment of actual circumstances. Particular attention is paid to the systematization of legal, economic and institutional risks of law enforcement arising in the process of proving a material change of circumstances, as well as their impact on the predictability of judicial decisions. It is emphasized that proving a material change of circumstances must be carried out taking into account the totality of the conditions for its application and the standards of proof established in judicial practice, in particular with regard to the distribution of the evidentiary burden between the parties. It is determined that the formalization of approaches to the assessment of evidence in this category of disputes contributes to reducing judicial discretion and enhancing the uniformity of law enforcement. A comprehensive analysis of all actual and legal circumstances of the case is important for ensuring the objectivity and completeness of proof. It is established that the use of independent professional expertise contributes to enhancing the justifiability of proof, ensures the predictability of law enforcement and has preventive potential in the pre-trial settlement of contractual disputes.Sonnet 4.6 Low