remains substantially intact with the result that, except in a small number of cases, there is no duty to disclose facts peculiarly within the knowledge of one of the parties, due in part to the historical strength of the common law rule of caveat emptor. Whilst there is a well established rule that a contracting party must not actively mislead the other by means of an actionable misrepresentation, English law has not gone down the road requiring contracting parties to reveal to the other all facts relevant to the contract which is being negotiated. DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL FACTS AND THE REQUIREMENT OF GOOD FAITH : As a general rule, English law does not impose upon the parties to a contract a general duty to disclose information to the other party to the contract. Instead, due to the influence of the principle caveat emptor, it is the duty of each party to look after his own interests and exercise his own judgment in deciding

doi:10.4324/9781843141518-82

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remains substantially intact with the result that, except in a small number of cases, there is no duty to disclose facts peculiarly within the knowledge of one of the parties, due in part to the historical strength of the common law rule of caveat emptor. Whilst there is a well established rule that a contracting party must not actively mislead the other by means of an actionable misrepresentation, English law has not gone down the road requiring contracting parties to reveal to the other all facts relevant to the contract which is being negotiated. DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL FACTS AND THE REQUIREMENT OF GOOD FAITH

ABSTRACT

As a general rule, English law does not impose upon the parties to a contract a general duty to disclose information to the other party to the contract. Instead, due to the influence of the principle caveat emptor, it is the duty of each party to look after his own interests and exercise his own judgment in deciding whether or not to enter into a particular contract. While this approach can be viewed as consistent with the principle of freedom of contract, which is important in purely business relationships, the same approach to consumer contracts may not be so well founded. Moreover, even in commercial contracts, there is always the danger of sharp practice, which needs to be guarded against (in most other EU countries, a ‘good faith’ requirement of openness and disclosure applies to business as well as consumer contracts).