2011년도 종교법판례의 동향

To analyze and arrange judicial precedents on religious law cases for the previous year and examine its tendency seem to be meaningful as a method of looking back on and reviewing the issues in religious circles in general. In addition to the year of 2010, the author has examined the tendency of domestic precedents on religious law cases of Korean courts for the year of 2011. This article briefly examined whether the intent of jurisdictional decision appeared in the precedents on domestic religious law cases for the year of 2010 was realized or not, and whether the intent of precedents resulted in any follow-up actions or not. And then, about 20 seemingly important decisions were sampled from many domestic religious rulings for the year of 2011 and they were classified into the area of the public laws and the area of the private laws, thus introducing the outlines of cases, important particulars of decisions and its significance. In the conclusion, the main points of precedents on domestic religious law cases for the year of 2011 were put in order and its general tendency was appraised, together with groping after the perspective of precedents on religious law cases in the future. As for the appraisal of precedents on domestic religious law cases for the year of 2011 and its perspective in the future, there were substantial progresses in the realization of constitutional ideology of equality and freedom of religion, and the principle of separation of religion and politics first of all. Second, new types of religious lawsuits, such as the dispute of property rights of musical copyright, would seemingly increase in the future. Third, the Supreme Court approved the Korean Christian Conciliation and Arbitration Institute (KCCAI)'s establishment of an incorporated body as an external grievance mediation organization for the first time. If the Supreme Court approves other religions' establishment of a KCCAI-like incorporated body and grants it an opportunity to take part in religious lawsuits, it will greatly contribute to the reduction of court's burden and the self-regulated and peaceful settlement of religious disputes. Fourth, the point of time to pay attention to the globalized tendency of precedents on religious law cases has arrived at last. Currently, conscientious objection, homosexuality (marriage) and religious refugees are not only the limited problems of Western society but the pending questions of domestic society. In this article, the author could not introduce overseas cases, but hopes future studies deal with overseas precedents on religious law cases.