Good Faith Interpretation (Interpretatio ex Bona Fide) under the legislations of the EU Member States: Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The article reviews the acts of civil law of continental European countries, in which the norms governing the process of statutory and contractual interpretation are enshrined. Civil codes, valid in France and Italy (Romance Legal Family), as well as in Germany and Austria (Germanic Legal Family), were selected for analysis. According to the results of the study, the following trends are revealed: for the interpretation of legislative acts, a method of textualism is mostly realized, and for interpretation of contracts — the principle of honest. «Daughter» Legal Doctrines (Italian and Austrian) adhere to a more formalized approach and mainly use special (casual) norms. The current Civil Code of Ukraine (CCU) does not contain a legal definition of the general concept of interpretation, but only provides for the interpretation of the «contents of a transaction» (Article 213 CCU), «agreement provisions» (Article 637 CCU), «wills» (Article 1256 CCU). Thus, the Art. 213 CCU aimed at legalizing the principle of textual (literal) interpretation. It is nessesary to provide changes in the official legal structure of the priority of the literal interpretation, enshrined in this norm. The rule of good faith interpretation must be constructed, as it is generally recognized in European countries. Key words: civil law, comparative analysis, good faith interpretation, Interpretatio ex Bona Fide, literal interpretation.