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Honesty is the best policy，in love as in law.
——Louisa May Alcott
Honesty.A very desirable human trait.Abraham Lincoln，for example，was so legendary in his honesty that he earned the nickname “Honest Abe”.Does the law require a person to be honest？ Definitely.
Honesty has two facets.The first is truthfulness.An honest person is one who tells the truth.He is candid，sincere and straightforward.He is free of deception.
But honesty has another important facet.This second facet is variously described as integrity，honour and uprightness.An honest person is virtuous — he does not do things which are morally wrong.The law sometimes focuses on the first facet and at other times，the second.
Whilst reasonableness is an objective concept，honesty，as it relates to truth，is generally subjective.To illustrate，if we say someone has an honest belief regarding something，we mean that he actually held that belief.In contrast，a person has reasonable belief only if a hypothetical sensible person in his position would have held that belief.
For example，on the issue of whether a landlord believed his tenant to be a lawful migrant，honest belief would enquire if the landlord actually believed that the tenant was lawfully present in the country.However，because of the seriousness of the matter of illegal immigrants，the law is usually framed objectively — did the landlord have reasonable belief？ For example，did he ask the tenant for documentary proof？
Honesty applies in all the three core areas of crime，tort and contract，albeit in descending order of applicability or prevalence.
Criminal law has a whole catalogue of crimes and offences dealing with dishonesty and the long list includes theft，robbery，cheating，criminal breach of trust （CBT），bribery，smuggling，counterfeiting and money laundering，to name a few.Note that criminal law，and law in general，is more concerned with dishonesty as it relates to property and things of monetary value than as it relates to emotions.
Tort law also frowns upon dishonesty and，here，the key tort is the tort of fraud or deceit.Although deceit is a well-established tort，it typically occupies a tiny fraction of a textbook on torts.The explanation is probably that although dishonesty and fraud are rampant in society and in business，there are relatively few civil suits because quite often the wrongdoer is unable to pay or cannot be found.
In relation to statements，one makes a fraudulent statement if one makes a false statement knowingly，recklessly or without belief of its truth （ Derry v. Peek ）.There is a descending degree of culpability，but all three states of mind are regarded as fraudulent.
Dishonesty may also be an ingredient in other torts，such as malicious falsehood，passing off （misrepresenting goods/services as that of another person） and conspiracy.
Honesty has some application in contract law.For example，if a fraudulent misrepresentation （a false statement made by the seller before the contract was entered into） of a material fact induced a person to enter into a contract，the innocent party is entitled to avoid （cancel） the contract.
However，it must be pointed out that the starting point in contract law is caveat emptor or buyer beware.In essence，a seller does not have the obligation to disclose material facts to a buyer；it is for the buyer to ascertain the relevant information about the product or service he intends to purchase and to satisfy himself as to its suitability.
In short，a seller must not misrepresent but he generally does not have the duty to disclose material facts.
Honesty is also required of persons such as trustees，agents and directors.A director，for example，is required to act bona fide （or honestly） in the interests of his company.He should not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with the interest of the company.If he is interested in a proposed transaction，he should disclose his interest.Needless to say，he should not make any secret profits.
Law encapsulates，in many of its realms，the notion of honesty.As a guide，it is true that honesty is the best policy.