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【Main Issues and Holdings】
[1] Purport of regulating “other acts which do not violate the social rules” under Article 20 of the Criminal Act and their 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 with the aims to be pursued (affirmative), and the details and degree of exigency and subsidiarity required
[3] In a case where the Defendants, advocates of animal rights, were indicted on the charge of obstruction of Incorporated Company A’s transportation and slaughter of live chickens through the use of force, by colluding 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, by lying with their hands tied to bags containing concrete, blocking the trucks carrying live chickens, holding placards saying “Don’t kill chickens,” and chanting and singing the slogan, in criticism of Company A for operating a business of being supplied with live chickens from farms and slaughtering them, the case holding that the Defendants’ conduct comprises the constituent elements of the crime of obstruction of business and 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 with the aims to be pursued, and the legal interest sought to be protected by the Defendants’ conduct does not outweigh the legal interest infringed thereby, despite that there is a possibility that the motive and purpose may be recognized as justifiable
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