La bonne foi contractuelle: D'un passe glorieux a un avenir contraste?

Résumé 0

Good faith is one of the key elements of the Roman law of obligations, whose implementation rests essentially on actiones bonae fidae. Despite the important contribution that the concept of bona fides made to the law in ancient times, particularly in the field of contracts, its reception has been extremely varied. Adopted to a large extent by the German civil law and its adherents, it has not been fully received in French law, as may be seen in the French Civil Code of 1804, nor in English law, which refuses to recognise it as a concept. Moreover, some doctrines remain hostile to it, considering the principle to be too vague to be useful. However, it seems that the concept of bona fides has regained some importance, especially in European community law as well as in draft legislation, as in France for example. This contribution focuses on bona fides in Roman jurisprudence as a point of reference for developments in contemporary European lawmaking.