영국법상 절차보조인에 관하여

Studies on Assistive Personnels in a Legal Procedure Under Law of United Kingdom

On 2016.2.3. the Korean Civil Procedure Act has been modified. According to modified Civil Procedure Act art. 55(1), a minor, a quasi-incompetent person, or an incompetent person may conduct procedural acts only through his/her legal representative: Provided, that the same shall not apply to cases where a minor or a quasi-incompetent person is able to independently conduct procedural acts. Although the act granted the ability to sue to a minor, a quasi-incompetent person, or an incompetent person, however, they may have a hard time to proceed the lawsuit since their physical and mental capacity is challenged. Therefore, the article 143-2 allows a person, who is mentally or physically challenged to state words necessary to carry on the legal case, to appoint an assistive personnel for appearing at the court. However, the act is silent on the rights, duties, and qualifications of the assistant. This paper has reviewed different types of assistive personnels in a law suits or matters related to law under United Kingdom law since it has recently passed the Mental Capacity Act 2005. There are assistive personnels in legal cases and matters such as a litigation friend, an intermediary, independent mental capacity advocate, and so forth. Among these, the intermediary seems similar to an assistive personnel under the article 143-2 of Civil Procedure Act because it is to help a witness in communication at the court. However, an intermediary under UK law is mainly for child victims for sexual crimes. So it seems that further study is necessary to make a regulation for the rights, duties, and qualifications of an assistive personnel under 143-2 of Civil Procedure Act.