대법관 구성의 다양성과 그 확보 방안

When a statute applies to an individual case through judicial process, who the judge is in the case is fairly important. Especially, as the Supreme Court is the highest court in the final instance and the decisions of the Supreme Court, more or less, depends on who the Justices are, the importance of how to select the Justices in the Supreme Court cannot be overemphasized. So far, those who were in their fifties, male and graduates of Seoul National University have been uniformly nominated as candidates of Supreme Court Justices. The lack of diversity in selecting Supreme Court Justices is based on the idea that the Justice is at the end of the promotion track as a judge. This study aims at examining the importance of diversity in selecting the Supreme Court Justices and its securing plan. To achieve the aim, this study will look over why the diversity in selecting Supreme Court Justices is constitutionally important, what should be the criteria in selecting the Justices to secure the diversity, What kind of efforts have been made to secure the diversity in selecting Supreme Court Justices in the United State and Japan. Finally, it will also explore the long term plans as well as short term plans to secure the diversity in selecting the Supreme Court Justices.