물이용부담금에 대한 법정책적 소고

Since the enactment of the Water Use Charges in the Han River Water System Act in 1999, the four major river system laws, including the Geumgang River Water System Act, have been enacted to enact water use charges for the purpose of improving water quality in the upstream areas of the four major river systems and supporting residents in water source areas. There has always been conflict between the central government and local governments regarding the subjects of use of the charges. In August 2000, the Constitutional Court ruled that the water use charges under the Han River Water System Act were constitutional, stating that they had the nature of beneficiary charges in terms of the cause and content of the charges. There have been many critical comments regarding the requirements recognized for the justification of charges for the purpose of raising funds. Germany imposes water use charges in the water laws or water use fee imposition laws of 13 federal states. The general view in Germany was that this was a water use charge, but in a 1995 decision by the German Federal Constitutional Court, its legal nature was defined as a water use fee. Since scarce natural resources such as water are public goods, it was stated that it is legitimate to collect a corresponding usage fee when individuals are allowed to use resources that are subject to public management. In addition, Article 9 of the 2000 EU-Water Management Framework Directive (EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie) stipulates the principle of cost recovery for water use. In light of the contents of the federal state laws on water use charges in Germany and the decisions of the German Federal Constitutional Court, etc., it is necessary to have in-depth legal and policy discussions in the future on the legal nature of the water use charge under the Four Major Rivers Act in Korea, the payer, the use of the water use charge, and the cost burden for water quality improvement projects in upstream areas.