The Legislation of the Part VI (the Carriage by Air) of the Korean Commercial Code

국내 항공운송법 제정안에 관한 고찰

The volume of air passengers and cargo transportation has increased rapidly in recent years. This trend will be even more noticeable as the high-tech service industry expands and the globalization progresses. In an effort to reflect and to cope with this trend, many conventions concerning international air transportation have been concluded. The Republic of Korea has also acceded to the Montreal Convention of 1999 on September 20th, 2007 which became effective on December 29th 2007. However, Korea currently does not provide any private law on the liability of domestic air carrier, leaving the regulation wholly to the general conditions of carriage of private air lines. These general conditions of carriage, however, are not sufficient to regulate the liabilities of domestic air carriers, because they cannot be fully recognized as a legitimate source of law applicable in the court. This situation is inconvenient for both air carrier and their customers. Thus, the Ministry of Justice of Korea has decided to enact a law that will regulate domestic air transportation, namely, "Domestic Carriage by Air Act", as a part of the Korean Commercial Code. So was composed a special committee for legislation of the Domestic Carriage by Air Act. This writer has led the committee as a chairman. The committee has held in total 10 meetings so far and has completed a draft bill for the part VI of the Korean Commercial Code, "Air Carriage." The essentials of the draft are as follows: First, the establishment of Part VI in the Commercial Code. The Korean Commercial Code already includes a series of provisions on road transportation in part II and carriage by sea in part V. In addition to these rules regulating different types of transportation, the Domestic Carriage by Air Act will newly establish part VI to regulate air carriages. Eventually, the Commercial Code will provide an integrated legal system on the transportation industry. Second, the acceptance of the basic liability system which major international conventions, such as Montreal Convention of 1999 and Guadalajara Convention of 1961, have adopted. This is very important, because the law of air carriage is unified worldwide through various international conventions, making it necessary and significant for the new act to achieve conformity between rules of international air carriage and that of domestic air carriage. Third, the acceptance of Rome Convention system on damage caused by foreign aircraft to third parties on the surface. Fourth, the application of rules on domestic road carriage or carriage by sea mutatis mutandis with necessary modifications. This very point is the merit of inserting domestic air transportation law into the Commercial Code. By doing so, the number of articles can be reduced and the rules on air carriage can conform to that of road transportation and carriage by sea. The bill is expected to be passed by the parliament at the end of this year and is expected to be effective by end of July 2009.

항공운송과 관련하여 우리나라는 1955년 헤이그 의정서에 의하여 개정된 바르샤바협약과 1999년 몬트리올 협약에 가입하여 국제운송에 관하여는 적용할 법률을 가지고 있지만, 현재 국내항공운송에 관하여는 적용될 법률이 없는 실정이다. 법무부는 상법 내에 항공운송편을 제정하기로 결정하고, 항공운송편제정 특별위원회를 구성하였다. 동 위원회는 2008년 여름 항공운송편 초안을 완성하여 동 초안은 현재 법제처의 심의를 받고 있다. 항공운송편을 제정함에 있어서는 현재까지 성립된 항공운송관련 대부분의 조약을 수용하였다. 항공운송법의 편제는 1장 통칙, 제2장 운송, 제3장 지상 제3자의 손해에 대한 책임 등 총 3개의 장을 두었다. 우리나라가 항공운송에 관한 단행법을 제정하지 않고 상법 제6편에 항공운송편을 두어 제2편 상행위편에 육상운송을 규정하곤 제5편에 해상운송에 관한 규정을 둔 것과 함께! 통합적인 운송법체계를 가진 것은 입법례가 없는 매우 독특한 입법형식을 취한 것이다. 특히 항공기운항자의 지상 제3자의 손해에 대한 책임에 관한 로마조약체계까지도 수용하여 함께 규정한 것은 국내항공운송법체계를 완성한 것으로서 매우 의미 있는 일이라고 생각한다.