학교안전사고의 민사적 구제

A Study on the Civil Remedies for a Safety-Related Accident in School

학교안전사고의 당사자는 미성년자인 학생이나 교사, 학교법인 등의 관계자이므로 책임소재가 분명하더라도 교사․학생․학부모 간의 윤리적인 관계에 기초하여 접근하다 보니 책임추궁이 어렵다. 학교안전사고 및 학교폭력 피해로 인한 심리적 고통과 후유증은 심각하기 때문에 교사 등 학교 측의 보호․감독의무 내지 안전배려의무가 중요시된다. 학교안전사고의 구제를 위한 학교안전사고보상법과 학교폭력대책법 등 특별법은 사회보장 성격의 법 취지와는 달리 법정 급여만 지급하는 등 피해구제에 한계가 있다. 피해자가 공제급여 결정에 불복하는 경우 민사소송을 제기하게 되는데, 판례는 주로 불법행위이론으로 접근하고 있다. 그런데, 일반적으로 불법행위보다 채무불이행으로 구성하는 것이 피해학생에게 유리하므로 재학관계를 재학계약으로 구성할 필요가 있다. 학교재학관계에 관하여는 학설이 대립하고 있으며, 판례는 사립학교에 대해서만 사법상 계약관계로 보고 있고, 국공립학교에 대하여는 명확한 판례가 없다. 국공립학교와 사립학교의 재학관계는 교육활동영역과 관련하여 그 성질상 본질적인 차이가 없다. 따라서 재학계약은 교육활동을 주된 채무로 하고 신의칙에 근거한 보호의무 또는 안전배려의무를 부수적 의무로 하는 비전형계약이며, 공법적 성질과 사법적 성질이 혼합된 특수한 신종계약으로 보아야 한다. 학교교육은 국가와 지방자치단체, 혹은 이의 위탁을 받은 학교법인이 책임지고 실시해야 하는 국민복지적 차원의 활동이기 때문에 학교안전사고 발생 시 국가 등 학교 설립•경영의 주체가 최종적으로 배상책임을 부담하도록 해야 한다. 이러한 맥락에서 해석론으로 학교재학 관계에 대하여 국공립학교나 사립학교를 불문하고 학교 측과 학생 간에 재학계약을 체결한 것으로 보아, 학교는 학생들에 대해 안전배려의무를 부담하고 학교 측이 이러한 안전배려의무를 위반하면 채무불이행책임을 진다고 해석해야 한다.

A safety-related accident in school occurs inevitably in unforeseeable circumstances while children or students are engaged in educational activities. In addition, even in case a matter of responsibility is clear as majority of the persons directly involved in a safety-related accident in school are minor students or a teacher, or school authorities, such an accident has a characteristic that calling to account is not easy as we usually access the accident from educational dimension. Korea has enacted and enforced special laws such as School Safety Accident Compensation Act and Act on the Countermeasures against School Violence for remedies of a safety-related accident in school. As there is a limit in remedies for damages on the special laws concerning a safety-related accident in school, there is no way but to bring a civil action if victim protests against a decision of deducted salary on the special laws. In such a case, the precedent of our country has made school take legal responsibility for a safety-related accident in school by constructing with the theory of tort. This study especially looked into the legal principles of contract of attendance and theories and precedents on a teacher’s duty of safety consideration, a school founder’s or managers’ duty of safety consideration occurring with respect to the contract of attendance, and considered whether or not it is possible to make school take contractual liability on the ground of violation of the duty of safety consideration. And contract of attendance is an untypical contract that lays down educational activities as main obligation and duty of protection or duty of safety consideration based on the principles of faith as collateral duties, which shall be considered a special and new contract that characteristics of public and private laws are mixed. Thus, a system that makes a founder and a manager of a school assume the responsibility for all the accidents in case a safety-related accident occurs in school is necessary. In this context, it shall be considered that a contract of attendance is concluded between school and student with respect to attendance in school by the theory of interpretation regardless of national/public or private schools, and school shall take the duty of safety consideration for students, and in case school violates such duty of safety consideration, it shall be interpreted that the school shall assume the liability of default on obligation. In modern society that public education is generalized, many aspects of a safety-related accident in school are similar to industrial accidents, so there is a perspective that considers a safety-related accident in school as a school disaster. Therefore, it is necessary for the state to treat a safety-related accident in school by assuming the whole responsibility for the accident. As a compensation system of School Safety and Insurance Federation on the Act on the Compensation for School Safety Accident can be considered an inceptive stage of such a compensation system, it is required to expand such a compensation system more.