가사조정의 활성화를 위한 조정기관에 관한 연구

Abstract

Given the characteristics of domestic cases largely characterized by irrationality, Family Litigation Act was enacted to resolve family disputes instead of the general procedures for civil disputes. The family mediation system(Article 49 of Family Litigation Act), which was designed to identify the causes of conflicts based on ample statements from the parties concerned and resolve the case through counseling and persuasion, is playing its roles as a major procedure to resolve family disputes. With interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR), there have been many expectations and researches on the roles of family mediation as a proper resolution method for the characteristics of family disputes. Mediation organs play very important roles in successful family mediation, but there has been a relative shortage of research on mediation organs. Family mediation cases are handled by a mediation committee comprised of one chief mediator and two or more mediators at the Family Court. This study first discussed a plan of giving a chance to mediate a case to individuals other than judges like in Japan since only judges are qualified to be a chief mediator in South Korea. The study also reviewed utilization plans for mediators based on agreement between the concerned parties within the scope of related regulations. These research efforts were made to enhance the mediation abilities of mediators for the vitalization of family mediation and eventually introduce the roles of family mediation as a proper resolution in which the concerned parties would play central roles in family disputes whose number was increasingly growing. A majority of domestic cases involve important matters on which people's life depends unlike general civil and criminal cases. There should be a procedure to allow the concerned parties to solve an issue between them as subjects in such important domestic cases. If judges in charge of mediation or mediators exercise their authority underpinned by their desire and enthusiasm without granting maximum autonomy to the concerned parties especially in family mediation cases over family disputes, there will be no way to improve the perceptions of family mediation and increase its success rates. The time has gone when family mediation cases were handled only by the social status or experiences of family mediators. There should be serious reviews into mediation organs to activate the mediation procedure around the mediation committee and further highlight the original purport of family mediation and vitalize the family mediation procedure.