Principle of Good Faith in European Contract Law

Author: Reinhard Zimmermann
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: As a topic, it seems somewhat unconventional. As a concept, "good faith" appears too vague and specific, making it seem unsuitable for comparative analysis. At the same time, many argue that for a research project targeting all of Europe, using a concept like "good faith," which has strong civil law roots, as a topic might also be inappropriate. However, in contrast, both civil law and common law systems have shown increasing interest in "good faith." This phenomenon can at least partially be attributed to the implementation of the "Directive on Unfair Contractual Terms in Consumer Contracts" in the EU member states; it is precisely because of this directive's implementation that all legal systems within the EU now face a practical challenge: how to reach a consensus on the general concept of "good faith." It is worth noting that the drafters of the "General Principles of European Contract Law" also seem to regard "good faith" as part of the common core of European contract law. The General Principles stipulate the following general clause: "In exercising rights and performing obligations, each party to a contract must act in good faith and in accordance with the principle of fair dealing." Therefore, we believe our project no longer requires further justification. For the academic objectives pursued by the current research and the research methods adopted, see the relevant discussion in Chapter (General Principles of European Contract Law: Overview). We focus on comparative case studies, aiming to go beyond purely theoretical research. Our goal is to place "good faith" in its operational context to explore the practical significance of the concept; at the same time, perhaps most importantly, to dispel the misconceptions and misunderstandings surrounding "good faith." It is precisely these misconceptions and misunderstandings that hinder an impartial comparative evaluation. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the contributors to this book, who meticulously prepared their reports and discussed their preliminary findings at the Regensburg Conference in July 1997. We also express our gratitude to our friends and colleagues at the University of Trento and Finola O'Sullivan at Cambridge University Press. The project was initiated at the University of Trento, and Finola O'Sullivan's enthusiastic and efficient work greatly contributed to the smooth and successful completion of the project. For various reasons, compared to the previous works we have edited, the editing of this book is clearly much more challenging. Without the assistance of Gabfide Sehmitt (secretary at the Lehrstuhl in Regensburg) and Martin Laing (B.A., LL.B.), completing the editing of this book would have been nearly impossible. We extend our special thanks to them here.