영국해상보험법에서 최대선의 의무 논의와 쟁점에 관한 연구

A Study on Issues and Tasks of the Duty of Utmost Good Faith in English Marine Insurance Law

The Obligation of Disclosure derived from the Principle of Utmost Good Faith is interpreted as that the obligation shall be followed UIltil the insurance contract is completed. However, Article 17 of MIA specifies that a contract based on the Utmost Good Faith, whim is differentiated from general contract act, can be cancelled in case that the contract is violated. The Right of Cancellation in Article 17 of MIA goes back to the point when the contract is violated. In this case, the insurance contract between the insurer and the insured becomes nullified and the situation is resolved before the contract is concluded. It is recognized that specific regulations on Obligation of Disclosure and misrepresentation under Article 18 of MIA are designed to implement the Duty of Good Faith at the time when a contract is concluded, but the Duty of Utmost Good Faith is not confined to it and is applied more comprehensively British courts are experiencing continuous controversies on legal grounds and the ranges of the Duty of Utmost Good Faith and the effect of duty violations. Recently, British courts have limited the range of the Duty of Utmost Good Faith that is applied in the stage of implementation of a contract and reduced the effects of its violation. They are changing it in a friendly way to the insured to eliminate the Unbalance of a contract caused by uncertainty and the Duty of Utmost Good Faith between the insured and the insurer. Such changes are the British Insurance Act’s efforts to break from formalism, eliminate irrationality of the Duty of Utmost Good Faith in a practical aspect and pursue equity in relationships on a contract basis.