일본 주민소송제도의 대상에 관한 고찰 - 신4호청구를 중심으로 -

A study on the object of Japanese resident s suit - focusing on the new No.4 action -

It is well known that Resident s Suit system has been introduced to Japan on the model of American tax payer s suit since 1948. There were two great changes in that system in both 1963 and 2002. The change in 2002 is focused on the No.4 action (or claim). Japanese Resident s Suit is made up of four kinds of actions, from No.1 action to No.4 one. The No.4 action before change was a lawsuit to be entered by residents on behalf of local government, against an offender who had done harm to local government finance. On the contrary No.4 action after change is a lawsuit to be taken against administrative agencies of local government irrespective of offender. But this small difference of between before and after change of No.4 action brought much greater changes to the resident s suit system. This study shows six differences between the old No.4 action and the new one which have been engaged in the controversy. Old No.4 action was the most popular suit for residents statistically before. But nobody knows how the new No.4 action system will be used. The purpose of this study is to make clear the changes and to afford information for the settlement of our resident s suit system. Because Japan has a longer experience than our country.