CONSIDERATIONS ON GOOD FAITH IN THE LAW OF PERSONS

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to determine the role of the civil legal capacity of natural and legal persons to conclude certain civil legal acts in ensuring the security of civil transactions and the protection of good-faith third parties. The knowledge, presumed knowledge, or lack of knowledge regarding the other party's legal capacity to conclude a legal act is decisive in assessing the good faith of a third party and the legal consequences that may arise both for that third party and for the legal act concluded under such circumstances. The paper also examines the mechanisms ensuring the opposability of protective measures, the domicile of natural persons, and the registered office of legal persons, identifying the practical difficulties caused by the absence of effective publicity mechanisms, particularly in relation to protective measures, and the impact of these deficiencies on the validity of legal acts and the protection of third parties. Furthermore, the research addresses the legal consequences of a representative acting without authority, as well as the effects of the annulment of the decision of the competent body by which such authority was granted. It distinguishes between situations in which these defects may be invoked against third parties and those in which the protection afforded by good faith prevails. It is concluded that the good faith and legitimate expectations of third parties should be protected whenever they have relied on official information or on a legal appearance created in accordance with the law, while the absence of effective publicity mechanisms may undermine both the validity of legal acts and the security of legal relationships.