국가인권위원회의 조사구제 분야 개선방안에 관한 소고

Abstract

Since its establishment in 2001, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea(NHRCK) has done a lot to promote human rights in our society. Among them, the NHRCK has contributed a lot to the protection of human rights victim s by investigating and providing relief when they complained. Nevertheless, some areas showed deficiencies that urgently needed to be improved. Above all, the NHRCK's investigative and remedial function needs to establish the identity of its function. The NHRCK's investigative and remedial function is not merely supplementary to human rights remedies provided by judicial agencies. If in the past, the NHRCK's function of investigative relief was understood as “supplementary to the judiciary,” it should now be interpreted more positively and established as the principle of “complementary to judiciary.” At the same time, it is necessary to correctly establish the term “human rights violations” that are scattered throughout the NHRCK Act. The use of this term as a concept that is understood only among NHRCK officials or a small number of people who are knowledgeable in the work of the NHRCK is not appropriate for citizens who need to utilize the various functions of the NHRCK. Human rights violations include acts of discrimination and should not be taken to mean only “cases in which state institutions have violated limited fundamental rights.” After establishing the identity of the NHRCK's investigative and remedial function and the concept of human rights violations, what should be of urgent interest is to examine the subject of investigation and the reasons for the dismissal under the current law. It has already been the subject of debate since the beginning of the NHRCK Act, but now it is time to sort out these issues with 20 years of experience. In this regard, the current subject of investigation and the reasons for the dismissal provide a reason for the NHRCK to turn away many victims of human rights violations. It is judged that we have reached a situation where we must make appropriate improvements. In line with this intent, this paper proposes amendments to the NHRCK Act in order to create a new opportunity in the field of investigation and relief by the NHRCK.