민사소송에서의 개인정보 비공개 -우리 민사소송법 개정과 일본의 2022년 개정 민사소송법의 비교

Abstract

The imperative of the civil procedural framework lies in its adaptability to the dynamic sociocultural milieu, seeking to actualize transparent and fair adjudication while substantively safeguarding the litigants' right to trial. In contrast to criminal proceedings, the Civil Procedure Act of Korea lacked provisions to protect the personal information of crime victims when they filed a lawsuit until the amendment on July 11, 2023. This amendment introduces legal grounds for protecting personal information not only from third parties but also from the opposing party. The amendment is scheduled to take effect on July 12, 2025, and is crucial in safeguarding personal information exposed during civil litigation, ensuring that litigants can exercise their right to trial without intimidation. Conversely, Japan, in 2022, enacted a legislative amendment to the Civil Procedure Act of Japan, ushering in a mechanism allowing the non-disclosure of addresses and names of litigants in civil proceedings. This provision has been in effect since February 20, 2023. The non-disclosure of personal information, including the names of parties involved, to the general public, including the opposing party, poses a potential conflict with the long-established principle of open trials in civil litigation, raising the need for careful and sophisticated legislation. From the perspective of balancing the principle of open justice and the protection of parties' privacy, the Japanese amendment faces two challenges. First, there is concern that the criteria for non-disclosure may be excessively lenient in practice, leading to an undue allowance of non-disclosure measures. Second, there has been insufficient discussion regarding the legal nature of the right to access records for third parties, even those beyond the opposing party, who can seek the cancellation of non-disclosure decisions. In contrast, the Japanese amendment includes provisions allowing the opposing party to seek the cancellation of non-disclosure decisions and access permission, provided they demonstrate a detriment to their defense rights. This legislative measure instituted for safeguarding the defense rights of the defendant bears noteworthy implications. In this regard, comparing the content of the amendments to our Civil Procedure Act and the Japanese Civil Procedure Act, which allows the filing of lawsuits without disclosing identity in certain cases, would be meaningful. This paper will explore the necessity of personal information in civil litigation, examine the background and content of the amendment to our Civil Procedure Act, and compare it with the background and content of the amendment to the Japanese Civil Procedure Act. Based on the review, this paper will attempt to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the protection of personal information, the principle of open justice, and practical measures to guarantee the right to trial for all parties involved in civil litigation.