우리나라 법학전문대학원 리걸클리닉에서의 국선변호활동에 관한 소고

In September 2016, individual Law Schools received an official document named ‘Enforcement Plan for Public Defending Legal Clinic,’ sent from the National Court Administration via the Korean Association of Law Schools. The main contents of this document can be summarized as follows. Law School Professors who hold a bar certification can apply to be selected as public defenders. The relevant courts will then register the members to the Public Defender List, and assign cases with high educational value to him/her no later than January 2017. Consequently, Law School Professors may use their Bar certification for Pro Bono activities, while assisting Law School students will gain indirect experience in criminal suits and relevant procedures. This means on-campus legal clinic activities can be introduced for the first time, as compared to previous clinic activities which heavily relied on externships. However, there are practical and procedural obstacles. The National Court Administration resolved that Public Defending Legal Clinics should only be feasible in sixteen private Law Schools, with the exception of nine national or public Law Schools. In these sixteen schools, it is questionable whether Law School Professors should be allowed to actasapublic defender under the present legislation, as they are employees of private universities. If allowed, re-opening and maintaining their offices will require significant financial costs and time; therefore, practical supports should be offered from the authorities. In addition, an alternative plan should be prepared for students in the nine national or public Law Schools so that their 'Right to education' is protected. This article will explore the significance of Public Defending Legal Clinics on the Korean law school legal clinic system while reviewing how Legal Clinics are operated in Law Schools overseas. It also aims to suggest a future direction for successful establishment of the system.