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| TITLE | 【Syllabus of Latest Opinion】 Supreme Court Decision 2021Do2084 Decided August 1, 2024 【Obstruction of Business】 [full Text] |
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| Summary | |
| 【Main Issues and Holdings】 [1] Purport of regulating “other acts which does not violate the social rules” under Article 20 of the Criminal Act and its legal nature (held: general circumstances precluding wrongfulness) [2] Standards for determining whether a certain act constitutes a justifiable act that does not violate the social rules Of the elements required to be recognized as a justifiable act, the exigency and subsidiarity requirements should be recognized as one of the elements of consideration for the determination of whether the use of means is commensurate to the aims to be pursued (affirmative), and the details and degree of exigency and subsidiarity required [3] In a case where the Defendants, advocates for animal rights, were indicted on the charge of obstructing Incorporated Company A’s transportation and slaughter of live chickens through the use of force, by conspiring with the members of an animal rights group, obstructing the traffic of vehicles on the road connecting to the main gate of the factory of Company A, in a manner of lying with their hands tied with bags containing concrete, blocking the trucks carrying live chickens, and holding placards saying “Don’t kill chickens,” chanting, and singing the slogan, criticizing Company A for running a business of being supplied with live chickens from a farm and slaughtering them, the case upholding the lower court’s judgment, which found that the Defendants’ conduct does not constitute a justifiable act on the grounds that the use of means does not commensurate to the aims to be pursued and the legal interest sought to be protected by the Defendants’ conduct does not prevail the legal interest infringed thereby, despite that it comprises the constituent elements of the crime of obstruction of business and that there is a possibility that the motive and purpose may be recognized as justifiable | |
