韓美 公訴時效制度 比較硏究

A Comparative Analysis of Criminal Limitation System between Korea and the United States

A statute of limitations is a statute in a common law legal system that sets forth the maximum period of time, after certain events, that legal proceedings based on those events may be initiated. In civil law systems including Korea, similar provisions are often known as periods of prescription or prescriptive periods. Debates have been intensifying in Korea whether a criminal legislation suspending or excluding statute of limitation could be possible. Such debates include some relevant international treaties made in the Second World War or in the termination process of Yugoslavian civil war or the concerned legislation in the United States. This Article introduces briefly the People v. Frazer case and the Stogner v. California case, and explains the differences in respect of the statute of limitations between Korean and American legislations, although it points out that the fundamental rationales of recognizing the statutes of limitations have in common between the two countries legislations, e.g., the necessity for protecting changed circumstances of criminals or the affirmative consideration of administration of criminal justice and its efficiency. Finally, this Article argues that we need to be prudent in introducing such an American style, whilst the American style legislation has strength in their practical flexibility.