As well as free consent, good faith is of fundamental importance for the conduct of international relations in general and is therefore recognized as an international principle according to the very terms of the Vienna Convention (Preambular para. 3). If a State do not behave in good faith, peace and international security, the supreme goals of the Charter of the United Nations might eventualy be put in jeopardy.
In a resolution from July 2001, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which is constituted by more than 40 member countries declared that "good faith requires fairness, reasonableness, integrity and honesty in international behaviour". An abuse of right is contrary to the principle of good faith (see Article 300 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).
Of course, being a subjective element of behaviour, presence or absence of good faith can be difficult to prove. In the last analysis, good or bad faith can only be found in the minds of individuals, in particular of those who happen to have an influence on the conduct of foreign policy and, more specifically, of those whose task it is to negotiate and implement international conventions (see Articles 26, 31 (1) and 62 (2)(b)).
