환경 분야 손해배상사건의 인과관계 판단 방식 검토 −환경오염으로 유발된 비특이성 질환의 인과관계 판단을 중심으로

As science and technology continues to develop, courts called upon to resolve disputes are facing more difficulties in judgement of environmental torts cases. The main difficulty lies in the fact that the scientific approach to the causation of the mattered case is quite different from the normative one. Scientific approach is based on the probabilistic theory, thus the judgement is delivered in the continuous form of likelihood, while the normative approach is based on the legal dichotomy which means that the case is ruled in a distinctive right or wrong way. To solve this problem, the civil courts have developed a proper liability standard in environmental torts cases. The courts confirm three conditions to verify the causation in environmental torts, such as, emission of toxic material, the exposure, and consequential damages. The courts adopted this proper standard due to the heavy burden of proof. It would be harsh for the plaintiff to prove every scientific details of the events, whereas the responsible parties are usually equipped with more knowledge and resources. Thus the burden of proof has been alleviated when the courts set forth the standard of causation to determine liability. However, is still difficult for the plaintiff to prove the causation of nonspecific diseases. Individual causation should be confirmed for liability, although even the proof of collective and epidemiological is hard to afford. There is a need to make improvements. In the field of environment, we review the cased where the liability is denied due to the failure of plaintiff to prove the causation. The purpose of this study is to provide a basic discussion on policy improvement in the burden of proof in nonspecific diseases and to lay the foundation for further discussion and research.