영미 계약법의 핵심 가치로서의 신의칙

The duty of good faith constitutes one of the core values underlying the Anglo-American contract law. Good faith requires contractual parties to adhere to the contract terms as have actually been made and bars the parties from opportunistic behaviors aimed at re-negotiating the contact terms ex post by, e.g., taking undue advantage of the vulnerable position the other party voluntarily walked into relying on the very contract. Good faith imposes no additional or revising term on the substance of the contract the parties have actually made but, rather, it represents an attitude in which the parties must treat their contract. The parties are under no obligation to forgo their contractual rights nor be any less self-interested than before the contract formation, as long as they respect the other party’s corresponding right to require adherence to the contract’s terms (and spirit) no matter how unideal or even unbalanced the contract happens to be. Good faith, by requiring people to recognize the other party to the contract as an independent and autonomous authority as to her own dealings rather than object in need of paternalistic care and protection, enables people to form a unique platform of collaboration and, ultimately, social solidarity founded upon the dignity and equality of individuals and the mutual respect therefor.