기내 불법방해행위의 증거물에 관한 항공 객실승무원의 증명력 확보를 위한 방안 연구 - 서울남부지방법원 2019. 2. 13. 선고 2018고단2826 판결, 서울남부지방법원 2020. 8. 11. 선고 2019노420 판결을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Smoking in aircraft continues to increase, even if it is subject to a strict penalty of law for violating the Aviation Security Act. This illegal behavior usually occurs in a toilet, which is confined and easy to hide, making it very hard for cabin crew to witness the moment of smoking by a passenger or obtain evidence of smoking, unlike other acts of unlawful interference in aircraft. To make matters worse, electronic cigarettes, which make it difficult to detect a cloud of smoke, smell, or use a smoke detector, have recently become widespread among smokers, making it nearly impossible to uncover smoking in aircraft. The cabin crew is responsible for conducting investigation procedures with due process in the capacity of a security guard and a special judicial police officer as legal positions in case an unlawful interference such as smoking occurs on aircraft. If they perform their duty without due process, it is impossible to impose legal punishment. And evidential materials the cabin crew should submit to the police shall become critical evidence for a criminal trial that may occur afterward. Therefore, it is necessary to empower the cabin crew to have the probative force of evidence to secure evidence with due process. If handing offenders over to the police without having the evidence, they may deny their behavior, and it may be impossible to impose legal punishment due to the lack of evidence, etc. Even though the existing punishment standards have been strengthened, it would be unable to secure its effectiveness unless investigation procedures are properly conducted with due process by the cabin crew. Therefore, it is necessary to dive into the patterns of acts of illegal interference in aircraft and establish more specific and granular countermeasures for the cabin crew to perform. This paper aims to review the precedent of violating the Aviation Security Act, which was indicted for in-flight smoking and acquitted for reasons such as lack of probative force of evidence. And then analyze and interpret the legal principles applied to the case to enhance the understanding and awareness of the application of law among the cabin crew. And I’ll also look through procedural problems that need complementation on-site to drive more effective procedures that suit the business practice. To contribute to aviation safety and improvement of security, I suggest practical measures, such as incorporating the training and education courses for special judicial police officers in the cabin crew training program and establishing specific regulations on the collection of evidence.