LA BONNE FOI DANS L'EXECUTION DES CONTRATS ET LA PROBLEMATIQUE DES SANCTIONS

Abstract

Section 1375 of the Civil Code of Québec requires that a contract be executed according to the standards of good faith. The provision, seemingly new, is in reality the consecration of a judicial policy developed in the nineteen eighties, rediscovering an old principle which had become obsolete. This ethical exigency creates a problem where a contract is executed according to the letter of the law but whose performance is contrary to the standards of good faith. One reason for this difficulty lies in the dichotomy between performance of obligations and the nature of the obligations themselves. This essay examines this problem.