직무 관련 법률분쟁 지원제도에 관한 소고 - 에너지 분야 공공기관의 사례를 중심으로 -

Recently, there have been continuous problems in cases where executives and employees are sued or accused by malicious complainants, especially in the public sector. Those who experience such irrational complaints have more incentives to avoid becoming a party to legal disputes rather than dealing with their work based on laws and principles. Therefore, major public institutions are encouraging lawful performance of duties by establishing a system to subsidize attorneys' fees to executives and employees, thus alleviating the grievances of responding to lawsuits or being investigated at their own expense. Duty-related legal dispute support system has been introduced and operated by central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions, and the target is expanding. As a result of examining related regulations based on research on public institutions in the energy sector, which have recently been emphasized for their role in responding to climate change, 21 out of 27 institutions are implementing a legal dispute support system based on internal regulations. In most cases, only cases where a person becomes a suspect or a defendant in a criminal procedure are eligible for support, and thus, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the system, a person who becomes a witness in a criminal procedure or a defendant in a civil lawsuit must also be eligible for support. In addition, it is possible to use legal service insurance to prepare more stable means of protection, and if the policy environment related to the introduction of the system is more mature, it is possible to consider legislating the Act on the Management of Public Institutions, etc. In order to operate a sustainable system, a system shall be established to prevent moral hazard, such as excessive support, by enhancing the completeness of the system. In the event that the legitimacy of the performance of duties is not recognized due to the discovery of intention or gross negligence ex post, it is also necessary to prepare a basis for the recovery of subsidies. In addition, it should be noted that even if the operation of the system is at the discretion of each institution, an unlawful act of support cannot be justified just because it was internally decided.