경미범죄의 효율적 처리방안 - 경미사건 처리절차의 재정비를 촉구하면서 -

Effective Managements of Minor Offense Cases

This study points out that a congestion of affairs is one of the biggest problems in Korean Criminal Justice and insists that a revision on the legal procedures for minor offenses is necessary as a solution. Due to the overflowing cases, procedures became so simplified that the rights of defendant are not being fully guaranteed. This study suggests that in order to solve the problem the minor offenses should be sorted out and treated promptly by a separate simple procedure. By doing so, both the manpower and material resources can be allocated appropriately to the normal procedures so that the Criminal Justice System which takes rigidity of procedure to protect the defendant’s rights can be established. Based on this critical mind, investigations on the summary docu- mentary procedure, petty court summary trial, and summary proceeding in formal trial court are conducted. Also, the factors of deterioration in legal procedures for minor offenses are analyzed. Recently non-attendance trials in which the defendant is not present in the court are widely being held, which cause the summary trial procedure to be a simple documentary examination. In addition, since the introduction of the principle of dis- advantage alternation prohibition, summary documentary procedure is being carried out as a formal proceeding. An analysis on these matters is done in this study as well. As the legal procedures for minor offenses are not being operated in orderly fashion and an alternative has not yet been prepared, the current situation is diagnosed as a crisis in Korean Criminal Justice in this article. Referring to the example of Germany and Japan, an establishment of tentatively named “An adjective law for prompt handling of minor offenses,” an empowerment of jurisdiction in criminal cases to the courts of cities and counties, an execution of circuit prosecutor system, and simplification in drawing up a written judgement are suggested as means to cope with current situation.