선박충돌 관련 최근 판례에 관한 소고

Abstract

This article focuses on several recent vessel's collision case judgments handed down by lower courts and the Supreme Court. The issues addressed in those court cases are summarized as follows. The Gwangju High Court handed down a significant judgment on the issue of navigation and liability under the former Public Order in Open Ports Act(currently, Act on the Arrival, Departure, etc. of Ships). In that case, the navigational relationship between a ship entering a fairway within the harbor limits of an open port and a ship sailing along the fairway was discussed along with the fault ratio of the vessels in a collision accident. The Supreme Court handed down a judgment on whether or not there exists criminal jurisdiction over a ship collision accident in international waters. The Supreme Court decided that the court has jurisdiction over a collision accident occurring in international waters and that a foreign crewman could be punished by applying the Marine Environment Management Act of Korea where marine pollution occurred within the Korean Exclusive Economic Zone as a result of a collision involving a foreign-flagged vessel. In the case, the issue was whether or not it was lawful for a Korean court to hand down a judgment rejecting indictment of a foreign criminal defendant. This has become an issue because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which has the same status as the domestic laws of Korea according to Article 6 of Korean Constitution, provides that only the country of nationality of a crewman or the flag state of the vessel shall have the exclusive jurisdiction over criminal charges against a crew in relation to a ship collision accident occurring in international waters. Hereinbelow, a brief summary on backgrounds and decisions of the aforementioned court cases will be given and a review on each judgment will be provided to examine the legitimacy of the decisions.