미국의 시민소송 제도를 통해 본 원고적격 문제

On Standing for Litigation in Korea: Compared to U.S. Citizen Suits

Although government agencies are primarily responsible for legal enforcement in a society, it is not appropriate to assign government agencies 100% responsibility for this role and leave private individuals with no role to play. The United States has a so-called ‘Citizen Suits’ in many environmental statutes from the perspective that it is efficient to share role of law enforcement with private citizens. According to citizen suits, anyone who has redressible ‘injury-in-fact’ caused by the defendant’s actions can file a claim for injunctions and/or civil penalties against the violator of the statutes. Expanding standing in this way is linked to the issue of separation of powers in the Constitution, as it raises questions about whether the court could adjudicate all such lawsuits or whether they are problems that must be resolved in political process of democracy. Although it is unlikely that the citizen suits will be legislated in the Korean context, it is necessary to consider whether standing is too narrow in the current Korean civil and administrative litigation practice and whether this should be further expanded.