Answer to Question #111947 in Law for Robert

Question

Do you think good faith should be a requirement for a valid legal contract in South Africa? Provide reasons for your answer.

Answer 1

Good faith supports that all parties to a contract owe a duty to each other to act honestly beyond the terms of the contract . Over the years, good faith is gaining recognition in common law countries, South Africa not left behind . Hutchison (2019) argues that good faith has always played a role in South African contract law, it is currently being reshaped by the courts under a banner of “transformative constitutionalism”. Alternatively, the conceptual value of fair dealings in contacts is captured by a vernacular term “ubuntu”. As such, good faith ought to be incorporated to introduce values that shape a suitable standard of behavior in legal contacts. The integration of good faith values across the legal practices of the country suggests the need to transform and apply the term to suit modern contract procedures.

Hutchison, A. (2019). Good Faith in Contract: A Uniquely South African Perspective. Journal of Commonwealth law.