미국산 쇠고기 수입협정으로 인하여 우리 사회는 한동안 혼란에 휩싸였다. 협정에 반대하는 촛불시위가 장기간 계속되면서 사회적 갈등이 증폭되었다. 시위가 계속되면서 시위대의 질서유지와 과격시위를 예방하기 위하여 동원된 경찰력 간의 물리적 충돌은 심각한 문제를 야기하였다. 그러나 다행스럽게도 커다란 불상사 없었지만, 이로 인하여 집회와 시위의 자유에 대하여 다시 한 번 그 보장의 범위는 어디까지인지, 그 제한의 정도는 어디까지인지 문제를 제기하고 있다. 집회나 시위는 집단에 의한 의사표시의 한 방법으로 민주주의 실현을 위한 중요한 수단이다. 그렇기 때문에 민주국가에서 집회와 시위는 헌법에 의하여 보장된다. 집회와 시위는 현대 국가에서 국민의 다양한 의사를 표출하고 이를 국가정책에 반영하는 방법이 되기 때문에 국민과 정부 간의 의사소통의 통로로 작용하기도 한다. 또한 사회에서 소외되기 쉬운 사회적 약자의 의사를 표출하는 방법이 되기도 하기 때문에 현대 민주주의에서 중요한 국민의 권리이다. 더구나 20세기 후반부터 대의제 민주주의의 문제점이 드러나면서 국민의 의사가 국정에 반영되지 못하는 경우가 빈번해지고, 이를 보완하기 위한 방법으로 국정에 대한 국민의 직접 참여의 수단으로 집회와 시위는 그 중요성이 더욱 강조되는 기본권이다. 그러나 집회의 자유도 국가공동체 내에서 기본질서나 타인의 기본권과 충돌할 때 제한을 받을 수밖에 없다. 헌법 제37조 제2항은 기본권을 제한할 때는 국민의 대표기관인 국회에서 제정하는 법률에 의하여 가능하다고 규정하고 있다. 집시법은 집회의 자유를 제한함으로서 오히려 제한받지 않는 영역을 최대한 보장하고자 한다. 그런 점에서 집시법의 기능은 집회의 자유를 제한하기 보다는 집회의 자유를 최대한 보장하고자 하는데 그 목적이 있다고 볼 수 있다. 그동안 우리 사회에서 집회와 시위는 민주주의의 실현에 기여한 바가 컸다. 그렇기 때문에 어느 정도 집회나 시위에서 과격성이나 폭력성에 대하여 용인하였다. 그렇지만 민주화가 진전된 이 시점에서 오로지 자신의 주장만 관철시키기 위한 집회나 시위에는 문제가 있다. 헌법은 집회의 자유에 있어서 평화적 집회를 요구한다. 자신의 주장만 관철시키겠다는 사고는 우리 사회의 민주주의를 후퇴시킨다. 현행 집시법의 문제를 개선하여 집회와 시위를 최대한 보장해야 하지만, 다른 한편에서 공공의 안녕질서를 유지하고 타인의 권리를 침해하지 않도록 양자 간의 조화를 이루도록 해야 할 것이다.

South Korea's beef deal with the US steered our society into chaos for a while. Public discord grew as the candlelight rally against US beef extended over a long period of time. Especially the physical confrontation of demonstrators with the police that were called out to maintain order and prevent violence became one of the core serious issues. Fortunately there was no disaster, but the confrontation brought the issue on the freedom of assembly and demonstration back to society. Degree of limitation and the extent to which the right should be guaranteed is being the key issue. Assembly or demonstration is a way to express collective thought, constituting an important part of realizing democracy. This is the reason why the right to assembly and demonstration is guaranteed by the Constitution in a democratic nation. Assembly and demonstration acts as a way of communication between the people and the government, since they express various opinions of people directly, which are reflected to some extent in state policy. Particularly as representative democracy revealed its weak points that it often fails to reflect public opinions, the right to assembly and demonstration as a direct means to participate in administration is emphasized more than ever. However, the freedom of assembly and demonstration is not unlimited when it comes to the order of nation and the basic rights of others. Article 37 Paragraph 2 of the Korean Constitution states that limit on the basic rights of people shall be put by the law enacted in the National Assembly. The law on assembly and demonstration aims to guarantee the maximized domain of freedom by putting a certain limit to it. In this aspect, the clear objective of the law on assembly and demonstration is to guarantee the freedom of assembly rather than to put restrictions. Assembly and demonstration has contributed a lot to the realization of democracy in the nation. Under the name of democracy, violence has been accepted in some measure as a social custom. However, at this certain point where South Korea is ripe for democracy, dogmatic rallies without any communication contain problems. The Constitution assumes peace in guaranteeing the freedom of assembly. Obstinate attitude to carry out one's end impedes the development of democracy. The present law on assembly and demonstration has room for improvement to guarantee a bigger right, but at the same time, that right could only be maintained by order and respect toward the rights of other people.

South Korea's beef deal with the US steered our society into chaos for a while. Public discord grew as the candlelight rally against US beef extended over a long period of time. Especially the physical confrontation of demonstrators with the police that were called out to maintain order and prevent violence became one of the core serious issues. Fortunately there was no disaster, but the confrontation brought the issue on the freedom of assembly and demonstration back to society. Degree of limitation and the extent to which the right should be guaranteed is being the key issue. Assembly or demonstration is a way to express collective thought, constituting an important part of realizing democracy. This is the reason why the right to assembly and demonstration is guaranteed by the Constitution in a democratic nation. Assembly and demonstration acts as a way of communication between the people and the government, since they express various opinions of people directly, which are reflected to some extent in state policy. Particularly as representative democracy revealed its weak points that it often fails to reflect public opinions, the right to assembly and demonstration as a direct means to participate in administration is emphasized more than ever. However, the freedom of assembly and demonstration is not unlimited when it comes to the order of nation and the basic rights of others. Article 37 Paragraph 2 of the Korean Constitution states that limit on the basic rights of people shall be put by the law enacted in the National Assembly. The law on assembly and demonstration aims to guarantee the maximized domain of freedom by putting a certain limit to it. In this aspect, the clear objective of the law on assembly and demonstration is to guarantee the freedom of assembly rather than to put restrictions. Assembly and demonstration has contributed a lot to the realization of democracy in the nation. Under the name of democracy, violence has been accepted in some measure as a social custom. However, at this certain point where South Korea is ripe for democracy, dogmatic rallies without any communication contain problems. The Constitution assumes peace in guaranteeing the freedom of assembly. Obstinate attitude to carry out one's end impedes the development of democracy. The present law on assembly and demonstration has room for improvement to guarantee a bigger right, but at the same time, that right could only be maintained by order and respect toward the rights of other people.

Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Demonstration, Censorship System, Principle of Constitutional State, Principle of Democracy