농인의 언어권에 대한 법적 보장 - 한국수어법 제정을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Linguistic rights of the Deaf is guaranteed as the human rights. Language of the Deaf is sign language. The legal recognition of sign languages has been accomplished in many different areas of the world. And it is connected to the issue of Linguistic Human Rights. Therefore Korean Sign Language and Korean Deaf Culture must have a legal status. Such legal circumstances are based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(2006), which Korea has ratified as well. The duty of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD) is to ensure this and as a part of the duty this study is needed to take legal measures. Hence the aim of this study is to recognize the true nature of the deaf community and of Korean Sign Language and to recognize legally as well as to guarantee the status and the right of Korean Sign Language and its users. Concerning linguistic rights the international law is more advanced than the national law. The linguistic rights are clarified as human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(Dec 1948), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(Covenant A, Dec 1966) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(Covenant B, Dec 1966). From an international view the question of language is seen rather as a linguistic right, that means as a matter of a right to claim than as a matter of policy. The subject of rights is basically the individual. For the individual his or her language(first language or mother tongue) is an integral device to express oneself as a personal autonomic individual and in this point the linguistic right is eligible to be protected by the constitution. In conclusion, enactment of the Korean Sign Language Act will promote the environment of sign language use and gives the legal foundation to increase the human rights of the Deaf.