조선시대 송관의 공문서와 송자의 역할

Abstract

This article examines the role of the litigator in the lawsuit in the late Joseon dynasty, with focus on the way that official litigation documents necessary for the progression of the lawsuit were delivered. During the Joseon dynasty, the delivery of official documents between counties involved the official network, and was not entrusted to civilians. However, in the course of the litigation progression, the litigator personally delivered the official documents concerned with his/her litigation progression in the cases of summoning or securing a statement of the litigation opponent and witnesses living in another county, and reviewing the documentary evidence kept at the office of another county. These cases were closely related to the principle of Parteienprinzip in the litigation progression in the Joseon dynasty. Firstly, the responsibility for subpoenaing the other party in the lawsuit was on the party to the lawsuit, and the judge provided the rationales for the subpoena by writing on the litigator’s petition the measures necessary for the litigation progression. However, if the other party to the litigation had resided in another county, they could not have been summoned by the judge’s measures alone because the other party’s residence was outside the judge’s jurisdiction. The judge sent an official document to the head of the county where the other party to the litigation lived, asking the head’s cooperation. At that time, the party to the litigation carried with himself/herself the official document to the head. In addition, when the litigator examined the documentary evidence, the principle was that the plaintiff and the defendant should do it together. This was applied when examining the documentary evidence kept at the office of another county. To this end, the parties to the litigation carried with themselves the official document of requesting the co-operations by the heads of the other counties which kept the documents necessary for the litigation progression. The procedure in which the litigation party obtained the official documents necessary for litigation progression began with the request made by the litigation party’s filing a petition to the judge. The summons of opponents and witnesses in the litigation, and the review of evidential documents were conducted not only within the county where the litigation is taking place, but also outside the jurisdiction of the county where the litigation was conducted. Also in the latter progression, the litigation procedures were centered on the parties to the lawsuit. This meant that the litigation was progressed on the basis of litigators’ active and subjective agency