Symposium

Policy ＆ Cases

July 29, 2010

Republic of Korea, National Environmental

Dispute Resolution Commission
 Contents
1 Launch and Purpose

2 Organization and Duties

3 Performance

4 Institutional Improvements

5 Future Tasks

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1. Launch and Purpose

O Protect the public’s rights with simple procedures and at small expenses
O Investigate damage with official authority →Identify causes and effects
→ Make decisions
* Civil suit: Victims have to prove causal relationship and bear significant
economic burdens.

O National Environmental Dispute Resolution Commission: June 1991

- Permanent institution under the Ministry of Environment
- Enactment of an act on environmental dispute resolution: July 1990
O Local Environmental Dispute Resolution Commission: June 1991
- Non-permanent institutions of cities and provinces `

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2. Organization and Duties (1)

O Organization: 15 commission members

- public officials, lawyers, experts in noise and vibration , medical doctors,
zoologists, botanists, etc.
- appointed by the President for the term of two years

O Coverage
- Dispute resolutions with the nation and local governments as parties
- Dispute resolutions that range over two and more cities and provinces
- Adjudication of environmental* disputes (amount of resolution exceeding 100
million Korean won)
- Compulsory resolution
- Cases of not following decisions of local dispute resolution commissions
(relevant laws under revision)
* air, water, soil, marine pollution, noise & vibration, order, destruction of natural
ecosystems, obstruction of sunlight, ventilation and view, etc., not including damage
from nuclear pollution
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2. Duties (2)

O Types of Judgment

- Intercession: induce conciliation (3 months)

Coordination - Mediation: The commission draws up a mediation plan after
examining the case and recommends both parties
to accept the plan (9 months)
- Adjudication: The commission makes judgments after examining
causal relationship and the amount of damage (9 months)

Local commissions:
· Deputy mayors of cities or deputy governors of provinces serve as chairs.
· Coordination of environmental dispute cases within their jurisdictions
· Adjudication of disputes worth less than 100 million Korean won (June 2003)
Yet, among coordination, compulsory mediation and adjudication involving the nation and
local governments, obstruction of sunlight, ventilation and view is excluded.

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3. Performance (1)

O Recent 3 years

Year 2007 2008 2009

Number of cases 275 391 416

received (100%) (142%) (151%)
(ratio)
Number of cases
185 271 319
handled
(ratio) (100%) (117%) (172%)

- Continuous increase in disputes is a complex result from the increase

in construction sites and promotional activities including disclosure of
cases on websites
- For swift handling of disputes, the number of adjudication meetings
increased from twice a month to three times a month (2009)

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3. Performance(2)

O Over the last 20 years (July 1991~December 2009)

- Received 2,647 cases, handled 2,242 cases, 308 cases repealed voluntarily,
97 cases under examination
- Causes of damage (cases):
noise and vibration 1,922 (86%)
air pollution 152 ( 7%)
water pollution 66 ( 3%)
others (obstruction of sunlight, ventilation, etc.) 93 ( 4%)
- Details of damage:
psychological damage 888 (40%)
construction+ psychological damage 526 (24%)
damage to livestock 286 (13%)
damage to agricultural crops 138 ( 6%)
other damage 404 (17%)
* others: fisheries, business losses, groundwater pollution, soundproof facilities, etc.
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4. Institutional Improvements (1)

O Enhancement of effects of adjudicative decisions (March 2008)

- Effect of consent under the civil law → effect of reconciliation by trial,
enforceable based on the adjudicative decision

O Enhancement of the public’s convenience (2008 ~ May 2010)

- Among the cases worth less than 100 million Korean won, disputes
that are under proceedings of the National Environmental Dispute
Resolution Commission or have occurred due to the same causes
- Cases can be received on-line and handling fees are exempted on-line
- Decisions by local dispute resolution commissions can be applied for
adjudicative decisions of the national dispute resolution commission
(Under revision by the National Assembly)

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4. Institutional Improvements (2)

- When victims are the socially vulnerable such as the elderly and the
disabled, the sites of the damage are first visited.
Environmental dispute resolution consulting services are provided
including counseling and then application for dispute resolutions is
supported.

- Education about redemption of rights for victims of environmental

pollution

- An online information system established (Dec. 2009)

· The public’s accessibility to information is improved with disclosure
of cases and Q&A on websites.
· A digital court is operated for members of the commission.

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5. Future Tasks (1)

O Promotion of prevention
- Increased prior education for those who provide causes for
environmental disputes such as the construction industry

O Promotion of the compulsory mediation system

- Requirements:
· Serious damage to human lives and bodies due to environmental damage
· Disputes which can have large social impacts such as conflicts with regard to
establishment and management of environmental facilities
· Disputes whose expected resolution amount is more than 1 billion Korean won

O Reduction of handling period and enhancement of the rate of

settlement
- Reduction of handling period (9 months) increases satisfaction of applicants
but impede settlement/coordination between parties → need to harmonize
reduction of handling period and the rate of settlement 2
5. Future Tasks (2)

O New fields of disputes

- Prospect rights, special noise and vibration, increased damage to crops resulting from
obstruction of sunlight, etc.
O Promotion of environmental organizations’ application for coordination
- Requirements:
· Non-profit organizations under the civil law established with the approval of the Minister
of Environment
· Organizations whose purpose is to protect and promote the public’s interests including
environmental conservation under the articles of association
· Organizations whose member are more than 100 and as of the application date have
worked for more than 2 years in the natural environment field as a corporation
- Requirements for application: When damage occurred or is very likely to occur due to
serious destruction of natural ecosystems
O An international symposium (to be held in July 2011)
- 20th anniversary (review the performance so far and seek ways of further development)
- Share the cases of each nation’s court, ADR systems, etc.

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 Thank you.
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