피학대여성의 행위에 대한 가벌성 검토에 있어 피학대여성증후군의 가치에 관한 연구

Study on Validity of Battered Women Syndrome in Analyzing Culpability of Battered Women Who Commits A Crime

Battered women syndrome as a type of expert testimony has been widely used since early 1980s in American court to support the argument of justification, excuse and mitigation of sentence of battered women's criminal acts. This fact has been introduced through some articles and other legal materials. In recent years, the written expert opinions about battered women syndrome have been introduced in Korean courts for the defendants who have long been abused and at last committed serious crimes. What is now in issue is that Korean courts actively try to hear the evidence of the syndrome but do not know what the syndrome is about and how it should be understood. In America, the syndrome has not been a stable and unquestionable scientific concept and therefore has been subject to lots of criticisms, especially on admissibility issue. In this paper, I focus on the scientific and legal validity of battered women syndrome and the subject that the syndrome can prove. In other words, the consideration of culpability of battered women is closely related to the admissibility issue of the syndrome. The answer to this simple question will not be simple or easy, because fundamentally there is no clear middle ground between socio-psychological phenomenon and legal standards of justification, necessity, duress, mitigation of sentence. In conclusion, the syndrome should be more prudently used in a sophisticated way, because it has not perfectly proved its' scientific validity and thus legal value for evidence. The syndrome that has both socio-relational aspect and inner-psychological aspect should be considered for correct points of legal standards of justification and excuse.