<![CDATA[The principle of good faith serves as a cornerstone of contract law, ensuring that every agreement is established and executed with honesty, fairness, and integrity. However, in the realm of land sale contracts, the rigid application of legal formalism often obscures substantive justice, allowing transactions performed in bad faith to retain formal validity. This study examines the judicial interpretation of good faith in contrast to formal legality through an in-depth analysis of the East Jakarta District Court Decision No. 575/Pdt.G/2023/PN Jkt.Tim. Using a qualitative normative juridical approach that combines statutory interpretation, conceptual reasoning, and case analysis, this research reveals that the buyer’s deceptive conduct including the use of unfunded giro checks and simulated contracts reflects an abuse of formal legality and the absence of genuine intent. The court’s reasoning reaffirms that good faith functions not merely as a moral virtue but as a corrective legal doctrine that limits the excesses of procedural rigidity. This approach signifies a doctrinal shift from law in books to law in action, emphasizing that legal certainty must coexist with ethical responsibility. Beyond its theoretical contribution, the study underscores the imperative for notaries and land officials to uphold both administrative legality and moral integrity. Accordingly, this research contributes to the reconstruction of Indonesian civil law by positioning good faith as the ethical and corrective foundation for achieving balance between legal certainty and substantive justice.]]>
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