La notion de bonne foi dans les immunités législatives au Québec : entre imprécision et redondance
Statutory immunities for good faith are an important piece of the specific rules governing the civil liability of public authorities. Enacted for the first time in the 1940s, they seek to instill in civil liability the special considerations specific to the administrative action (difficulty of their functions, discretionary power, freedom of action, etc.). However, the core concept of these immunities, good faith, is fragile. Torn between a subjective and an objective vision, the current good faith regime suffers from many deficiencies. Originally based on the evaluation of a person’ state of mind, good faith is now overlapping the concept of gross fault found in civil liability. This results in a system that creates confusion around the mental state required for a public administration to be liable. Moreover, the concept of good faith is variable and changes with the functions carried out by public authorities. These characteristics highlight the uselessness of the concept: good faith duplicates several features of Quebec civil liability, therefore weakening its position as a special rule applicable to public authorities. In short, given its adaptable nature, good faith is a decal of Quebec civil liability and its poor contribution confuses the rules of this area of law.
Civil liability Administrative law Crown liability Immunity Good faith