The Constitution guarantees equal rights for all with several clauses including the general right of equality of Art. 11 (1) para. 1. No state power can violate constitutional right of equality. But what about private individuals? Can constitutional e...
The Constitution guarantees equal rights for all with several clauses including the general right of equality of Art. 11 (1) para. 1. No state power can violate constitutional right of equality. But what about private individuals? Can constitutional equality provide protection against private discrimination? This study is designed to answer the question on the protection of the right of equality in the private sphere.
There are constitutional and realistic grounds that support the need to protect constitutional right of equality in the private sphere. First, in terms of constitution, there is potential that from the Constitution of the Provisional Republic of Korea Government(1919), the First Constitution of the Republic of Korea(1948) and up to the current Constitution, all guarantee not only formal legal equality but also substantial equality and social equality. Moreover, the constitutional equal protection clauses can be applied to bringing fundamental social change. And the current Constitution guarantees human dignity, prescribes the duty of the State to ensure and guarantee fundamental rights, and demands for social state, supporting the argument that constitutional right of equality covers the actions of private individuals. On practical grounds, the expansion and empowerment of the social sector brought about an increase in private discrimination. Therefore, preventing the state from violating equal right of individuals can no longer guarantee the constitutional right of equality on its own. Constitutional right of equality now needs to protect individuals against private discrimination.
However, some claim that the constitution classified in public law cannot be applied in private relations as there is clear distinct between the state and society, and the public and private law. There are concerns that protecting the right of equality in the private sphere may ruin private autonomy since the right of equality - different from right of freedom -, involves comparing values rather than creating a protective scope. Such arguments can be overcome as a dichotomy. Still, ensuring the constitutional rights of equality in the private sphere indeed can cause a clash against private autonomy and the right of liberty. Hence the need to specifically justify and to differentiate the degree of protection of equality against private discrimination and the way in which constitutional right of equality have effect in public and private spheres.
Protection of equal rights in the private sphere can be largely categorized into two - one is to guarantee right of equality and prohibit private discrimination; the other is to promote social equality and welfare. These categories can then be split into smaller categories depending on: what the cause is for such discrimination; whether the constitution covers the case; and how seriously the discriminative action violated the equality right. In the private sphere, private individuals are often allowed to discriminate others on account of their preference. However, not all such actions can be permitted. Private discrimination that violates human dignity cannot be tolerated. Constitutional right of equality can be effective in cases of private discrimination for minorities that isolate them from society and in cases where the constitution makes particular demands for protection of equality. In such cases, private autonomy and the right to equality clash. Here, the two fundamental rights need to considered carefully considering the benefits of protection and all related matters. A harmonious solution would be ideal, setting a limit to partially guaranteeing both rights. In an exceptional case where a solution cannot be reached, a choice would have to be made to protect one of them. There are several factors that need attention when considering a solution: whether the constitution has particular demands for the right to equality, how important the benefit and protection of law of equality is, how much harm such private discrimination brings, whether discrimination occurs on grounds carved in stone or related to personality, how significant the right to discriminate and the right of private autonomy is, whether power disparity between private individuals exists, how much similarity dose the private sphere have to the public sphere, whether the private individual voluntarily abandoned their fundamental rights of equality or not.
The constitutional right of equality in the private sphere, is applied in a different way compared with that in the public sphere. This study looked into the horizontal effect theory and the state duty to protect fundamental rights theory. Under the horizontal effect theory, all state powers must guarantee fundamental rights including the rights violated by private individuals. As to act of private discrimination, they are judged by statutes in accordance with the constitution and, if needed, general clauses of civil law to used to apply constitutional rights in private relations. As an exception, the constitutional right of equality can be directly applied to private relations should the discriminative action had infringed human dignity. Under the state duty to protect fundamental rights theory, it remains in dispute whether the state has the duty to protect right of equality against private discrimination. However the scope of the state duty need not be as limited as in Germany as the state duty to ensure and guarantee fundamental rights can be derived from Art. 10 para. 2. Still, the expansion of the state duty leads to less protection of private liberty. Therefore, the state duty to protect right of equality should be allowed only in cases where private discrimination violates human dignity, human rights of minority and special protection of equality based on the constitution.
If the current constitution and statutes have limitation in abolishing private discrimination, there may rise the need to amend the constitution and revise the statutes. The ultimate direction should be to add grounds in the constitution that can be directly applied to protecting equality in private sphere. Additional legislation of general anti-discrimination law would then guarantee the constitutional right of equality without fail in the private sphere.