论诚实信用原则的价值与功用

On the Value and Function of the Principle of Good Faith

诚实信用原则(Treu und Glauben)是民法规范中最重要的基本原则之一,又称“诚信原则”“信义原则”,是民事领域中的“帝王条款”。我国《民法总则》的规定突出诚实信用原则在自然人、法人及非法人组织等民事主体行使民事权利、履行民事义务等民事活动的作用,即着重规范民事主体的权利行使限制方面。然而,作为抽象意义的概括条款和基本原则,其规范内容广泛,不限于民事权利行使的限制功用,对于其法律适用的范围及价值功用有进一步探讨的必要。具体而言,诚实信用原则之价值功用的发挥领域涵括:实现道德观念的法律化、使得民事权利义务具体化、创设具体民事规范、使得社会接触关系具体化、补充制定法的不足、克服制定法于形式适用上的不合理性及补充和解释法律行为(合同)的基准等。此外,诚实信用原则赋予法官自由裁量的权利,于民事裁判的具体案件审判中发挥功用,对于实现司法公正具有重大意义。

The principle of good faith is one of the most important basic principles of civil law. The provisions of General Principles of Civil Law of The People’s Republic of China highlight the role of the principle in civil activities where natural persons, legal persons and organizations of non-legal persons exercise the civil rights and perform civil obligations. Specifically, the value and functions of the principle of good faith include: to legalize moral concepts, to externalize civil rights and obligations, to create specific civil norms, to specialize social relations, to supplement the shortcomings of statutes and interpret the criteria of legal acts (contracts). In addition, the principle grants judges the power of discretion in the trial of specific civil cases , which is of great significance to the realization of judicial justice.