민사특별법(民事特別法)의 쟁점(爭點) 일본에서 소비자집단소송제도의 창설 = The Enactment of Consumer Class Action in Japan

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A system for consumer class action, recently established in Japan, was introduced with an aim at effectively realizing the substantive legal right, taking into account an actual circumstance that consumers in many cases have difficulties in exercising their rights . even if they are entitled against business operators under a civil substantive law . due to a disparity of negotiation or information power in case of consumer contract disputes involving property damage suffered by a multitude of consumers. The most distinguished feature of the Japanese consumer class action is that it enhanced effectiveness of the system by dividing the proceedings for dispute resolution into two stages. That is, firstly, the system in the first-tier stage of the lawsuit “ascertains that business operators have payment obligation based on a factual or legal ground in common against considerable number of consumers”, and it subsequently proceeds in the second-tier stage with “proceedings for determining claims of an individual consumer” in a simple form. This enables remedy of the right according to specific claim amount of individual consumers. Likewise, while the Japanese consumer class action system was established for the purpose of effectively relieving consumer damage, it is worth remarkable, particularly in that it is a legal system that marks the high tide of maintenance process of consumer private law since the 2000s. In case of Korean legislation, it is equipped with a number of collective dispute resolution (including class action) systems together with plural collective action (or organization lawsuit) systems. However, while the former accompanies a task to be tackled to develop it into a comprehensive system of class action intended for general scope of consumer transactions, the latter poses a problem that the system lacks its effectiveness since it was introduced without sufficient consideration. They require a close examination in the future as to their task and problem. It is expected that introduction of the system of consumer class action in Japan provides an opportunity to fundamentally review the systems of class action and collective action in Korea.