민사재판권 면제자와 그 소송상 취급

Those Who Enjoy Immunity form Civil Jurisdiction and Their Treatment in Korean Civil Procedure

Those who enjoy immunities from civil Jurisdiction include foreign states and their organs, head of foreign states and his entourage, diplomatic agents and consul, foreign forces(UN and the US army, and international organizations in Korea. As their numbers increase and their period of residence expand in Korea, concerns to cause possible legal disputes with own nationals are raised. Their immunities meanwhile may have locked them to get access to court in disputes and have functioned as barriers to execution procedure. Hence, in order to protect nationals from abuse of their immunities, it is necessary to do research on immunities, specifically their legal basis, requirements, scope, begin and end, waive of their immunities and also on how foreign immunities were treated in civil procedure and execution in Korea. This study reveals that there exist much vagueness and unclearness in the issues regarding to the immunity. It is due to the fact that the theories of immunity in the beginning had been developed by customary international law and then were provided by international conventions or recognized through judicial precedents. It is therefore needed to enact a statute to regulate their immunities precisely and clearly as soon as possible since they have significant effects on the legal status of Korea nationals.