Workbear재주넘는곰
대법원 91누10503

Action for Cancellation of Arbitration Retrial Decision (중재재심결정취소)중재재심결정취소

Decided1992. 05. 12. Court대법원Partially reversed and remanded (일부 파기환송) - the union's claim succeeded only as to the wage-related portions of the decision.
AI-generated English translation (summary, key points, decision summary and full text) for reference only — not an official translation and without legal effect. The Korean original below is authoritative.
AI Easy read — AI summary of this decision
AI-generated summary for reference only — the Korean original below is authoritative.

Even though the Central Labor Relations Commission's arbitration retrial decision had lost effect due to the expiration of its effective period, the Supreme Court held that legal interest in seeking its cancellation still existed for the portions concerning the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and bonus payment restrictions, since a subsequent claim for unpaid wage differences remained possible. However, no such interest was found for other portions such as working hours and workdays. The case was partially reversed and remanded solely with respect to the wage-related portions.

Key takeaways
  • CaseA labor union sought cancellation of an arbitration retrial decision even after its effective period had already expired.
  • OutcomeThe Supreme Court partially reversed, ruling that legal interest in cancellation existed only for the wage-related provisions (transportation revenue standard and bonus restrictions), not for the working hours/workdays provisions.
  • LessonEven after an administrative disposition has expired, a party may still have standing to challenge it in court if doing so would enable a subsequent claim for unpaid wages or benefits.
Issues
  • Whether legal interest exists in a lawsuit seeking cancellation of an arbitration retrial decision whose effective period has already expired
  • Whether legal interest in cancellation should be assessed separately for each distinct portion of the arbitration retrial decision
  • Whether the possibility of claiming unpaid wage differences, grounded in the collective bargaining right, constitutes legal interest sufficient to sustain a cancellation lawsuit
Key reasoning

Even where an administrative disposition (행정처분) has become ineffective due to expiration of its effective period, if special circumstances exist under which legal interests continue to be infringed because the disposition formally remains in existence, there is still legal interest in seeking its cancellation. Regarding the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the bonus payment restriction, cancellation of the arbitration retrial decision would allow the union to subsequently claim unpaid wage differences, and this legal interest is grounded in the union's collective bargaining right (단체교섭권). By contrast, the portions concerning working hours and workdays did not present such a possibility, and thus no legal interest in cancellation was recognized for those parts.

Summary of Decision (English, AI translation)

a. Even where an administrative disposition has an effective period fixed by statute or by the disposition itself, and its effect has lapsed due to the passage of that period, if there are special circumstances from which it can be found that some legal interest is being infringed due to the disposition's outward continuation even after the lapse of the period, the legal interest in seeking revocation of the disposition should not be denied.

b. Among the matters subject to the National Labor Relations Commission (중앙노동위원회)'s arbitration reexamination decision, it is difficult to find special circumstances warranting recognition of a legal interest in seeking revocation, insofar as the portion concerning working hours and number of working days under the alternate-day work system, and the daily working hours serving as the standard for calculating basic pay, is concerned, since the effective period thereof has already lapsed. However, as for the portions concerning the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the restriction on bonus payments, which were also subject to the arbitration reexamination decision, if the arbitration reexamination decision were revoked and the content of the collective agreement thereby changed, there would arise the possibility of additionally claiming, even after the fact, the wage differentials that went unpaid during the already-elapsed effective period of the arbitration reexamination decision; and the workers' interest arising therefrom should be regarded not as a mere de facto interest but as a legal interest based on collective bargaining rights and the like. Accordingly, it was held that there is a legal interest in seeking revocation of the arbitration reexamination decision insofar as it concerns the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the restriction on bonus payments.

Full text (English, AI translation) 8,569 chars

[Plaintiffs, Appellants] Dongyang Special Express Labor Union and 5 other Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs' Litigation Representatives: Attorney Yoon Jong-hyun and 3 others

[Defendant, Appellee] Chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission (중앙노동위원회)

[Intervenors for the Defendant-Appellee] Dongyang Special Express Co., Ltd. and 5 others
Litigation Representative for the Intervenors for the Defendant: Attorney Ham Young-eop

[Judgment Below] Seoul High Court Judgment of August 22, 1991, Case No. 89Gu10229

[Order]

The portion of the judgment below concerning the arbitration review decision (중재재심결정) regarding the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the restriction on bonus payments, in which the Plaintiffs lost, is reversed, and this portion of the case is remanded to the Seoul High Court.

The Plaintiffs' remaining appeal is dismissed, and the costs of the appeal relating to the dismissed portion shall be borne by the Plaintiffs.

[Reasoning]

1. We examine the first ground of appeal raised by the Plaintiffs' litigation representatives.

According to the reasoning of the judgment below, the court below found that the meaning of the phrase "other matters shall be governed by the 1989 wage agreement" set forth in Article 5 of the 1990 wage agreement between the 245 taxi transportation business labor unions located in Seoul Special Metropolitan City, including the Plaintiffs, and their employer side, should be interpreted as meaning that, with respect to such other matters, the content of the 1989 wage agreement as arbitrated by the Seoul Special Metropolitan City Regional Labor Relations Commission and the Defendant shall govern. Moreover, the court below found that, in concluding the 1990 wage agreement on May 21, 1990, between the aforementioned labor unions and the employer side, a basic wage agreement (the "Article 5 agreement" referred to by the Plaintiffs refers to this basic agreement) was drafted concerning matters such as the rate of increase of the basic wage and the conditions for payment of bonuses, and at the same time, based on the content of that agreement, a separate wage agreement containing specific details was drafted. According to that wage agreement, it can be found that detailed and specific agreed contents exist regarding working conditions and working arrangements, including working hours, number of working days, basic wage, maximum driving distance, performance-based pay payment standards, and restrictions on bonus payments, which are the matters disputed by the Plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Accordingly, the court below determined that the Plaintiffs' argument that this lawsuit has a legal interest because the outcome of this lawsuit could affect the aforementioned 1990 wage agreement is without merit.

Upon examination of the record, the above determination of the court below is justified, and there is no illegality therein, as argued in the grounds of appeal, in misinterpreting Article 5 of the aforementioned wage agreement or misunderstanding the legal principles concerning the interest in bringing suit. Therefore, this point of the grounds of appeal is without merit.

2. We examine the second ground of appeal.

According to the reasoning of the judgment below, the court below found, based on the evidence it cited, the following facts: that when the 1989 wage negotiations between the aforementioned labor unions and their employer side failed to reach a settlement, the Seoul Special Metropolitan City Regional Labor Relations Commission, upon the arbitration request of the employer side, issued an arbitration award (중재재정) on May 6, 1989, arbitrating a collective agreement concerning the aforementioned wage agreement with a validity period from April 1, 1989 to March 31, 1990; and that, following the aforementioned labor unions' filing of a request for review against the arbitration award, the Defendant, on August 16, 1989, issued an arbitration review decision (중재재심결정) that revoked and modified part of the content of the arbitration award concerning working hours, number of working days, classification of wages, basic wage, and monthly and annual paid leave, while dismissing the request for review with respect to the remaining portions.

The court below then determined as follows: Since Article 39, Paragraph 1 of the Labor Dispute Mediation Act (노동쟁의조정법) provides that an arbitration award or review decision of a labor relations commission shall not be suspended in its effect by the filing of a request for review with the National Labor Relations Commission or the filing of an administrative litigation pursuant to Article 38 of the same Act, the collective agreement between the taxi transportation business labor unions, including the Plaintiffs, and the taxi transportation companies, including the Intervenors for the Defendant, based on the aforementioned arbitration award, remained validly in effect—there being no special circumstances shown in this case, such as the suspension of its execution or effect by a stay-of-execution decision under the Administrative Litigation Act (행정소송법)—until it lost its effect upon the expiration of its validity period on March 31, 1990. Since the aforementioned arbitration review decision thus lost its effect due to the expiration of the validity period, the court below determined that the Plaintiffs no longer had a legal interest in seeking the revocation of that decision, and accordingly dismissed all of the Plaintiffs' claims in this case.

However, even where an administrative disposition has a fixed period of validity as determined by statute or by the disposition itself, and the disposition's effect has been lost due to the expiration of that period, if there are special circumstances such that some legal interest is being infringed due to the disposition's outward continuation of existence even after the expiration of the period, the legal interest in seeking the revocation of that disposition should not be denied.

Examining the content of the arbitration review decision in this case, with respect to the portions of the review decision concerning working hours and number of working days under the alternate-day work system, and the standard daily working hours used as the basis for calculating the basic wage—matters which the Plaintiffs dispute as erroneous—it is difficult to find special circumstances warranting recognition of a legal interest in seeking their revocation now that the validity period has expired. However, among the matters subject to the arbitration review decision, with respect to the portions concerning the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the restriction on bonus payments, if the arbitration review decision were revoked and the content of the agreement thereby changed, there would arise the possibility of subsequently claiming, even after the fact, the difference in wages that went unpaid during the period covered by the now-expired arbitration review decision. The benefit to the workers arising from this is not a mere factual benefit but should be regarded as a legal interest grounded in, among other things, the right to collective bargaining. Therefore, it must be held that there exists a legal interest in seeking the revocation of the arbitration review decision with respect to the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the restriction on bonus payments.

The court below, having overlooked these circumstances and having determined, solely on the ground that the validity period had expired, that there was no legal interest in seeking the revocation of the arbitration review decision even with respect to the matters pointed out above, committed an error affecting the judgment by misunderstanding the legal principles concerning the interest in bringing a revocation suit. Therefore, this point of the grounds of appeal is well-founded.

3. Accordingly, the portion of the judgment below concerning the arbitration review decision regarding the monthly transportation revenue standard amount and the restriction on bonus payments, in which the Plaintiffs lost, is reversed, and this portion of the case is remanded to the court below for further examination and determination. The Plaintiffs' remaining appeal is dismissed, and the costs of the appeal relating to the dismissed portion shall be borne by the losing party. This judgment is rendered as set forth in the Order by the unanimous opinion of the participating Justices.

Presiding Justice Bae Man-un
Justice Lee Hoi-chang
Justice Kim Seok-su

【판결요지】

가. 행정처분이 법령이나 처분 자체에 의하여 효력기간이 정하여져 있는 경우에 그 기간의 경과로 효력이 상실되었다 하더라도 그 기간경과 후에 처분이 외형상 잔존함으로 인하여 어떠한 법률상의 이익이 침해되고 있다고 볼 만한 특별한 사정이 있는 때에는 그 처분의 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익을 부정하여서는 안될 것이다.

나. 중앙노동위원회의 중재재심결정 중 격일제 근로에 있어서의 근로시간과 근무일수, 기본급 산정의 기준인 1일근로시간 등에 관한 부분은 그 효력기간이 경과된 뒤라서 그 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익이 있다고 볼 만한 특별한 사정을 찾아보기 어려우나, 위 중재재심결정의 대상이 된 사항 중 월간운송수입금기준액과 상여금지급제한에 관한 부분은 만일 중재재심결정이 취소되어 협약내용이 변경된다면 이미 경과한 위 중재재심결정의 유효기간에 대하여도 그 기간 중에 미지급된 임금차액을 사후에나마 더 청구할 수 있는 여지가 생길 수 있고, 이로 인한 근로자들의 이익은 단순한 사실상의 이익이 아니라 바로 단체교섭권 등에 기한 법률상의 이익이라고 보아야 할 것이므로, 위 월간운송수입금기준액과 상여금지급제한에 관한 중재재심결정에 대하여는 그 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익이 있다고 본 사례.

【참조조문】

가.나. 행정소송법 제12조 [소의 이익] / 나. 노동쟁의조정법 제39조 제1항

【주문】·【이유】 전문 2,930자 · 펼쳐 보기

【원고, 상고인】 동양특송노동조합 외 5인 원고들 소송대리인 변호사 윤종현 외 3인

【피고, 피상고인】 중앙노동위원회 위원장

【피고보조참가인】 피상고인 동양특송주식회사 외 5인 피고보조참가인들 소송대리인 변호사 함영업

【원심판결】 서울고등법원 1991.8.22. 선고 89구10229 판결

【주 문】

원심판결 중 월간운송수입금기준액과 상여금지급제한을 대상으로 한 중재재심결정에 관한 원고들 패소부분을 파기하고 이 부분 사건을 서울고등법원에 환송한다.

원고들의 나머지 상고를 기각하고 이 상고기각 부분에 관한 상고비용은 원고들의 부담으로 한다.

【이 유】 1. 원고들 소송대리인의 상고이유 1점을 본다.

원심판결 이유에 의하면 원심은 원고들을 비롯한 서울특별시 소재 245개 택시운송업체 노동조합과 그 사용자측과 사이의 1990년 임금협정서 제5항에서 말하는 “기타 사항은 1989년도 임금협정서에 정한 대로 한다”는 의미는 위 기타 사항에 관하여는 서울특별시 지방노동위원회 및 피고가 중재재정한 1989년 임금협정서의 내용대로 한다는 의미로 해석될 뿐 아니라, 위 노동조합과 사용자측 사이에 1990.5.21. 1990년도 임금협정을 체결함에 있어서 기본급의 인상율 및 상여금의 지급조건 등에 관하여 기본적인 임금협정서(원고들이 말하는 협정서 제5항이란 위 기본협정서를 가리키는 것이다)를 작성하고 동시에 그 협정내용을 기초로 하여 구체적인 내용의 별도의 임금협정서를 작성하였는바, 그 임금협정서에 의하면 이 사건 소송에서 원고들이 다투는 근무시간, 근무일수, 기본급, 최고주행거리, 업적급지급기준, 상여금지급제한 등을 비롯한 근로조건 및 근무형태에 관하여 상세하고 구체적인 협정내용을 담고 있는 사실을 인정할 수 있으므로, 이 사건 소송결과가 위 1990년도 임금협정에 영향을 미칠 수 있다는 이유로 이 사건 소가 이익이 있다는 원고들의 주장은 이유가 없다고 판단하였다.

기록에 의하여 살펴보면 위와 같은 원심의 판단은 정당하고 거기에 소론이 지적하는 것과 같이 위 임금협정서 제5항의 해석을 그르치고 소의 이익에 관한 법리를 오해한 위법이 없으므로 이 점 논지는 이유없다.

2. 같은 상고이유 2점을 본다.

원심판결 이유에 의하면 원심은 그 거시증거에 의하여 위 노동조합과 그 사용자측과 사이의 1989년도 임금교섭현상이 타결을 보지 못하게 되자 사용자측의 중재신청에 의하여 1989.5.6. 서울특별시 지방노동위원회가 위 임금협정에 관하여 그 유효기간을 1989.4.1. 부터 1990.3.31. 까지로 한 단체협약을 중재재정한 사실, 위 중재재정에 대하여 위 노동조합측이 재심신청을 함에 따라 피고가 1989.8.16. 위 중재재정사항 중 근로시간, 근로일수, 임금의 구분, 기본급, 월차 및 연차유급휴가 등에 관한 일부 내용을 취소, 변경하고 나머지 부분에 관하여는 그 재심신청을 기각하는 내용의 중재재심결정을 한 사실을 인정한 다음, 노동쟁의조정법 제39조 제1항에 의하면 노동위원회의 중재재정 또는 재심결정은 같은 법 제38조의 규정에 의한 중앙노동위원회의 재심신청 또는 행정소송의 제기에 의하여 그 효력이 정지되지 아니한다고 규정하고 있으므로 위 중재재정에 의한 원고들을 비롯한 위 택시운송업체 노동조합과 피고보조참가인들을 비롯한 택시운송회사 사이의 단체협약은 행정소송법에 의한 집행정지결정으로 그 집행 또는 효력이 정지되었다는 등 다른 특별한 사정이 보이지 않는 이 사건에 있어서 유효하게 존속되어 오다가 그 기간만료일인 1990.3.31. 을 도과함으로써 실효되었다고 할 것이고, 위 중재재심결정이 위와 같이 유효기간의 도과로 실효된 이상 원고들로서는 그 결정의 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익이 없게 되었다고 판단하여 원고들의 이 사건 소를 모두 각하하였다.

그러나 행정처분이 법령이나 처분 자체에 의하여 효력기간이 정하여져 있는 경우에 그 기간의 경과로 효력이 상실되었다 하더라도 그 기간경과 후에 처분이 외형상 잔존함으로 인하여 어떠한 법률상의 이익이 침해되고 있다고 볼 만한 특별한 사정이 있는 때에는 그 처분의 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익을 부정하여서는 안될 것이다.

이 사건에서 위 중재재심결정의 내용을 살펴보면 그 중 원고들이 잘못된 것이라고 다투고 있는 격일제 근로에 있어서의 근로시간과 근무일수, 기본급산정의 기준인 1일 근로시간 등에 관한 재심결정부분은 그 효력기간이 경과된 지금에 와서 그 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익이 있다고 볼 만한 특별한 사정을 찾아보기 어려우나, 위 중재재심결정의 대상이 된 사항 중 월간운송수입금기준액과 상여금지급제한에 관한 부분은 만일 중재재심결정이 취소되어 협약내용이 변경된다면 이미 경과한 위 중재재심결정의 유효기간에 대하여도 그 기간 중에 미지급된 임금차액을 사후에나마 더 청구할 수 있는 여지가 생길 수 있고, 이로 인한 근로자들의 이익은 단순한 사실상의 이익이 아니라 바로 단체교섭권 등에 기한 법률상의 이익이라고 보아야 할 것이므로, 위 월간운송수입금기준액과 상여금지급제한에 관한 중재재심결정에 대하여는 그 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익이 있다고 보아야 할 것이다.

원심이 이러한 사정을 간과하고 위에서 지적한 사항에 관한 중재재심결정도 그 유효기간의 경과로 실효되었다는 이유만으로 그 취소를 구할 법률상의 이익이 없다고 판단한 것은 취소소송에 있어서의 소의 이익에 관한 법리를 오해하여 판결에 영향을 미친 위법을 저지른 것이라 하겠으므로, 이 점을 지적하는 논지는 이유있다.

3. 그러므로 원심판결 중 월간운송수입금기준액과 상여금지급제한을 대상으로 한 중재재심결정에 관한 원고들 패소부분을 파기하여 이 부분 사건을 다시 심리판단케 하기 위하여 원심법원에 환송하고, 원고들의 나머지 상고는 기각하며 상고기각된 부분에 대한 상고비용은 패소자의 부담으로 하여 관여 법관의 일치된 의견으로 주문과 같이 판결한다.

대법관 배만운(재판장) 이회창 김석수

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#1
97누8762 · 대법원 1997-11-25
노동쟁의중재재심결정처분취소
#2
97누676 · 대법원 1997-09-30
노동쟁의중재재심결정처분취소
#3
96누10669 · 대법원 1997-12-26
노동쟁의중재재정처분취소
#4
64누162 · 대법원 1965-02-04
중재재심결정취소
#5
91누8944 · 대법원 1992-07-14
Action to Cancel a Labor Dispute Arbitration Ruling (노동쟁의중재재

Cases citing this decision

96누10669 · 대법원 1997-12-26
노동쟁의중재재정처분취소
97누8762 · 대법원 1997-11-25
노동쟁의중재재심결정처분취소
97누676 · 대법원 1997-09-30
노동쟁의중재재심결정처분취소
94누9177 · 대법원 1996-02-23
Revocation of Arbitration Reexamination Decision (중재재심결정취소)
93누1268 · 대법원 1993-09-14
부당대기발령구제재심판정취소

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