Good faith

"Bona fide" redirects here. For other uses, seeBona fide (disambiguation)andGood faith (disambiguation).

"Assume good faith" redirects here. For the Wikipedia editing guideline, seeWikipedia:Assume good faith.

Inhuman interactions,good faith(Latin:bona fidēs) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case withbona fides,which is still widely used and interchangeable with its generally-accepted modern-dayEnglishtranslation ofgood faith.It is an important conceptwithin lawand business. The opposed concepts arebad faith,mala fides(duplicity) andperfidy(pretense).

Bona fides

Further information:Mos maiorum

Reverseof adupondiusissued under the emperorVespasiandepicting Fides Publica, thepublic trust,holding apateraas a symbol of religious fidelity and acornucopia

Bona fidesis a Latin phrase meaning "good faith". Itsablative caseisbona fide,meaning "in good faith", which is often used in English as an adjective to mean "genuine". Whilefidesmay be translated as "faith", it embraces a range of meanings within a core concept of "reliability", in the sense of a trust between two parties for the potentiality of a relationship. For theancient Romans,bona fideswas to be assumed by both sides, with implied responsibilities and both legal and religious consequences if broken.According toRoman law,"bona fidesrequires that what has been agreed upon be done "and was the principle of acting with integrity.Fideswas one of the original virtues to be considered a divinity inancient Roman religion.

In contemporary English,bona fidesis synonymous withcredentialsandidentity.The phrase is sometimes used in job advertisements, and should not be confused with thebona fideoccupational qualificationsor the employer's good faith effort, as described below.

Law

Main article:Good faith (law)

Inlaw,bona fidesdenotes thementalandmoralstates of honesty andconvictionregarding either thetruthor thefalsityof aproposition,or of a body ofopinion;likewise regarding either the rectitude or the depravity of a line ofconduct.As a legal concept,bona fidesis especially important in matters ofequity.The concept ofbona fideis also proclaimed by the original version ofMagna Carta.In contract law, the implied covenant of good faith is a general presumption that the parties to a contract will deal with each other honestly and fairly, so as not to destroy the right of the other party or parties to receive the benefits of the contract. In insurance law, the insurer's breach of the implied covenant may give rise to a legal liability known asinsurance bad faith.

Most U.S. jurisdictions view breaches of implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing solely as variants of breach ofcontract.Linguistically, in the U.S.,American Englishusage ofbona fidesis synonymous withcredentials,professional background, and documents attesting a person'sidentity,which is not synonymous withbona fideoccupational qualifications.More recently, othercommon lawcountries have begun to adopt good faith as a general principle. In the U.K., the High Court inYam Seng Pte Ltd v International Trade Corp Ltdexpressed this preference. In Canada, theSupreme Courtdeclared inBhasin v Hrynewthat good faith was a general organizing principle.

Employment qualification

Bona fideoccupational qualifications(employer's good faith effort) are qualities or attributes that employers are allowed to consider when making decisions on the hiring and retaining of employees. An employer's good faith effort is used as an evaluation tool by the jurisdiction during the annual program review process to determine an employer's level of commitment to the reduction goals of the Washington State's Commute Trip Reduction Law.United States federalandstate governmentsare required byaffirmative action(and other such laws) to look for disabled, minority, female, and veteran business enterprises when bidding public jobs.Good faith effort law varies from state to state and even within states depending on the awarding department of the government. Most good faith effort requires advertising in state certified publications, usually a trade and a focus publication. Other countries such as Canada have similar programs.

In wikis

Publicwikisdepend on their editors acting in good faith.Wikipedia's principleAssume Good Faith(often abbreviated AGF) has been a stated guideline since 2005.It has been described as "the first principle in the Wikipedia etiquette".According to one study of users' motives for contributing to Wikipedia, "while participants have both individualistic and collaborative motives, collaborative (altruistic) motives dominate. "

See also

• Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees– United Nations multilateral treaty
• Hanlon's razor– Adage to assume stupidity over malice
• Honour system– Process of governing without enforcement
• Kindness– Behavior marked by generosity, consideration, assistance, or concern for others
• List of Latin phrases
• Make one's bones– American English idiom; to build respect
• Pacta sunt servanda– Latin legal phrase
• Uberrima fides– Legal doctrine of insurance contracts