외국민법상 정보제공의무 도입에 관한 연구

This article recognizes that the current civil law system cannot sufficiently address the disadvantages faced by the weaker parties in information due to the neglect of the biased structure in the parties' ability to acquire, retain, and process information during the negotiation and inducement processes for concluding contracts. It takes the view that enacting a duty to disclose information in civil law contracts is necessary as a solution. To this end, this article first reviews the general theory of the duty to disclose information and discusses the feasibility of introducing this duty as a general rule in civil law by comparing and analyzing cases from foreign jurisdictions, such as Germany, France, and Japan, alongside the Korean Ministry of Justice's legislative proposals regarding the duty to disclose information in civil law over an extended period. Next, it explains that the specific legislative form for incorporating the duty to disclose information into the Civil Code, aiming to effectively protect all weaker parties in information in contracts and to secure fairness and transparency in contractual dealings, should be a general rule applied uniformly to all contracts, considering legal and economic aspects. Furthermore, the article argues that the legal consequences of breaching the duty to disclose information should be clearly defined to enhance the practical utility of the system. However, to prevent conflicts with existing civil law frameworks, it would be appropriate to exclude from consideration the possibility of attributing contract termination to the failure of the informed party to provide information. Finally, the legislative process should thoroughly examine and establish the allocation of the burden of proof, the scope and requirements of damages, and other relevant factors. By doing so, this article aims to promote fairness and transparency in the contractual system, modernize the civil law, and propose concrete legislative measures.