Why and how should the government operate the remedy system for civil damage related to the public pollution?

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03359
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Public law
• Research Institution: Kumamoto University
• Principal Investigator: HARASHIMA Yoshinari 熊本大学, 大学院人文社会科学研究部(法), 准教授 (90433680)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 公衆衛生 / 公害救済 / 地方分権

Outline of Final Research Achievements

At the level of research design, under the theoretical question of why the government should relieve pollution damage, the practical question of what range and degree should be relieved is positioned, and the actual operation of the remedy system is opposed to such questions. The first outcome is set by the debate over the government's responsibility for rescue in dealing with social disasters. In the process of analyzing the Disaster Relief Act and the legal handling of COVID-19 pandemic, this study proposed to organize disaster relief as a governmental responsibility of public health maintenance based on Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution (answer to theoretical questions). Second, a series of case studies of remedy based on the Act on Compensation for Pollution-related Health Damage or the Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damage presented solutions to individual problems regarding the scope and extent of relief (response to practical questions).

Free Research Field

自治法・環境法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

裁判による公害被害救済の難点（被害者が負担する時間・資金・体力等のコスト）を克服するために各種救済法制が打ち出されてきたが、公健法に基づく水俣病認定は今もなお争訟を引き起こしている。本来は加害者が果たすべき救済の責任を政府が一旦引き受ける論理は、災害救助や新型コロナ対応とも共通する、公衆衛生を良好に維持する政府の責任に根差していることが、意識されなければならない。様々な社会的災難に対処する各種法制度の間で理論や手法を共有する道筋（論じ方）を示すことにより、合理的な救済制度の構築に寄与した。