영국법상 국제거래계약의 신의성실 원칙에 관한 연구

A Study on the Principle of Good Faith in International Transaction Contracts under the English Contract Law

Parties to international business transactions must act in accordance with good faith and fair dealing in international trade. This standard applies to the negotiation, formation, performance and interpretation of international contracts. Unlike many civil law jurisdictions in Europe, English law has generally not recognised an implied obligation that contractual parties should perform their obligations in good faith. English courts take the view that parties should have the freedom to contract in the way that they wish, and so have been reluctant to intervene and impose overriding obligations of good faith. However, in recent years, the position has somewhat shifted, and Scottish law and certain common law jurisdictions, have begun to recognise a principle of good faith in some circumstances. Against this background, two recent cases have thrown the issue of good faith in English law back into the spotlight. Especially, the Yam Seng case can be said to be a landmark issue treated from the front that it is now possible that a good faith obligation could be implied into an English contract law. The aim of this study is to analyze the principle of good faith in international transaction contract under the English contract law with the use of English cases. The results of this study will also help to consider the principle of good faith of the Korean law.