Utmost Good Faith in English Law
(2009)Department of Law
- Abstract
- Since 1906, the principle of utmost good faith has been codified into the Marine Insurance Act 1906(MIA 1906) throughout the decision of Carter v. Boehm (1766) 3 Burr. 1905. case. According to Section 17, ''the insurance is uberrimae fidei''. It follows the principle of utmost good faith is the fundamental basis of the marine insurance contract. ''If the utmost good faith be not observed by either party'', the contract will be vitiated for such a breach. MIA 1906, Section 17. It goes further in Sections 18 and 20 that both parties must observe the duties of disclosure and representation before the conclusion of the contract. Section 19 sets out the rule relating to the duty of the agents. Section 21 provides a precise view on the time in... (More)
- Since 1906, the principle of utmost good faith has been codified into the Marine Insurance Act 1906(MIA 1906) throughout the decision of Carter v. Boehm (1766) 3 Burr. 1905. case. According to Section 17, ''the insurance is uberrimae fidei''. It follows the principle of utmost good faith is the fundamental basis of the marine insurance contract. ''If the utmost good faith be not observed by either party'', the contract will be vitiated for such a breach. MIA 1906, Section 17. It goes further in Sections 18 and 20 that both parties must observe the duties of disclosure and representation before the conclusion of the contract. Section 19 sets out the rule relating to the duty of the agents. Section 21 provides a precise view on the time in which ''the contract is deemed to be concluded''. Ibid, Section 21. In English contract law, there is no general statutory provision relating to duties of utmost good faith and disclosure. See Chitty, J., &&semic Guest, A. G, Chitty on contracts (25th ed.), London: Sweet &&semic Maxwell, 1983, pg 33. The principle of utmost good faith in insurance law is placed to be a unique and unpredictable position. However, a close look at the MIA 1906 and the legal practice in relation to the principle of utmost good faith today, reveals many problems that challenge the full establishment of marine insurance law. This thesis evaluates the position of the principle of utmost good faith in the perspective of the English law. The following questions are examined: What is the duty of utmost good faith, its substances and features? What are the academic and practical arguments for the disclosure and representation? What improvements and practical issues in respect of utmost good faith does MIA 1906 entitle? What measurements should be imposed for the future progress? In order to answer these questions, this thesis focuses mainly on three dimensions. Firstly, it provides a general overview of the principle of utmost good faith in English law perspective. Next, it describes the substances of the principle and gives a brief evaluation to each subject. Finally, after analysing the position of the duty of utmost good faith, it draws some comments and recommendations as the conclusion. (Less)
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http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1555427
- author
- Hu, Jicheng
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2009
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Maritime Law
- language
- English
- id
- 1555427
- date added to LUP
- 2010-03-08 15:23:42
- date last changed
- 2010-03-08 15:23:42
@misc{1555427,
abstract = {{Since 1906, the principle of utmost good faith has been codified into the Marine Insurance Act 1906(MIA 1906) throughout the decision of Carter v. Boehm (1766) 3 Burr. 1905. case. According to Section 17, ''the insurance is uberrimae fidei''. It follows the principle of utmost good faith is the fundamental basis of the marine insurance contract. ''If the utmost good faith be not observed by either party'', the contract will be vitiated for such a breach. MIA 1906, Section 17. It goes further in Sections 18 and 20 that both parties must observe the duties of disclosure and representation before the conclusion of the contract. Section 19 sets out the rule relating to the duty of the agents. Section 21 provides a precise view on the time in which ''the contract is deemed to be concluded''. Ibid, Section 21. In English contract law, there is no general statutory provision relating to duties of utmost good faith and disclosure. See Chitty, J., &&semic Guest, A. G, Chitty on contracts (25th ed.), London: Sweet &&semic Maxwell, 1983, pg 33. The principle of utmost good faith in insurance law is placed to be a unique and unpredictable position. However, a close look at the MIA 1906 and the legal practice in relation to the principle of utmost good faith today, reveals many problems that challenge the full establishment of marine insurance law. This thesis evaluates the position of the principle of utmost good faith in the perspective of the English law. The following questions are examined: What is the duty of utmost good faith, its substances and features? What are the academic and practical arguments for the disclosure and representation? What improvements and practical issues in respect of utmost good faith does MIA 1906 entitle? What measurements should be imposed for the future progress? In order to answer these questions, this thesis focuses mainly on three dimensions. Firstly, it provides a general overview of the principle of utmost good faith in English law perspective. Next, it describes the substances of the principle and gives a brief evaluation to each subject. Finally, after analysing the position of the duty of utmost good faith, it draws some comments and recommendations as the conclusion.}},
author = {{Hu, Jicheng}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Utmost Good Faith in English Law}},
year = {{2009}},
}