소비자단체소송제도의 개선방안에 관한 연구 - 원고적격을 중심으로 -

Abstract

The consumer group litigation is a system to prevent consumer damages caused by illegal acts of business operators. The consumer group litigation system which was enacted in accordance with the amendment of the Framework Act on Consumers in 2006, has been over 10 years. However, consumer group litigation is not activated unlike initial expectations. One of reasons is that the requirements for plaintiffs which can file a group lawsuit are strict. Organizations that can carry out consumer group litigation in accordance with the Framework Act on Consumers are classified into specific methods and requirements. The latter is consumer and non-profit private organizations. Therefore consumer groups must prove that they meet the requirements set forth in the Framework Act on Consumers at the time of a lawsuit. As a result, consumer groups have to prove their plaintiffs' requirements when filing lawsuits, so it takes a lot of time and procedure at the first stage of the lawsuit. On the other hand, there are indicated consumer groups that can file lawsuits in Germany and Japan, so there is no big problem as to a proof of plaintiffs' requirements. Therefore, plaintiffs in consumer group litigation need to be limited to consumer groups approved by administrative agencies. However, in order to switch to this way, legislative supplementations are necessary for the following points. First, plaintiffs in consumer group lawsuits are regulated by one law. Second, there are two ways to supervise consumer organizations: the Fair Trade Commission is the only one to supervise them; the other is jointly supervised by the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Justice. Third, consumer organizations that can be accredited are expanded to registered consumer groups. Also, since consumer group lawsuits are protecting consumer rights through lawsuits, it is necessary to make experts’ participation in fields of consumer protection laws and litigation laws. Fourth, it is necessary to set the validity period of the authorization and to set the cancellation requirement for consumer groups that misused the right of lawsuits. Fifth, a integrated information network should be established to provide informations about consumer group litigations.