상사 분쟁 해결을 위한 남북한 협력의 성과와 과제

The Fruits and Problems of Mutual Cooperation between the South and the North of Korea for Settlement of Commercial Disputes

North Korea’s foreign investment policy started with its announcement of the Joint Operation Act in September, 1984. The laws and regulations related to foreign investment such as Foreign Investment Act, Free Trade District Act and others have been arranged since 1992, and the number of laws and regulations has mounted by more than 80 until now. The features of dispute resolution under the above laws and regulations are “shall be settled through consultation”, which is a step to settle disputes amicably between the disputed parties concerned. In case of failure in “consultation”, it shall be settled by arbitration or legal procedures provided by the DPRK. And the third country arbitration is permitted restrictively. North Korea enacted a new arbitration law called “Foreign Economic Arbitration Act” in 1999, which was established with the object of settling foreign commercial disputes fairly and promptly. In this connection, settlement of commercial disputes arising from the activation of economic exchange between south and north Korea is becoming a problem of vital importance. To realize the spirit of the South-North Joint Declaration made by the Summits between the South and the North of Korea of June 15, 2000, the authorities concerned have reached an agreement titled 「Agreement on Settlement Procedure of Commercial Disputes」 on December of the same year, the latter came into effect as of August 20, 2003. This paper reviewed these fruits of mutual cooperation which will serve as an example for similar arrangements and harmonization in East-West economic exchange on the Korean Peninsula. This paper also gave careful consideration to the settlement mechanism of commercial disputes between south and north Korea including settlement of disputes arising from South Korea’s investment toward North Korea.