Officials urge talks, not court

Officials urge talks, not courtOfficials urge talks, not court
By Liu Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-22 05:35

Law courts in the capital are experiencing a "lawsuit explosion" because of an increasing awareness of the law among city residents and how they can use it to back up their rights.

Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court, for example, accepts more cases than the rest of the grass-roots courts in China, hearing 47,100 cases last year. The figure is bigger than for the whole of Hainan Province.

The number of cases the district court has heard so far this year has already reached a new record, exceeding 34,000, according to court president Li Xinsheng.

But the court has just 177 judges, which means each one must hold up to 10 hearings a day.

The president is spearheading moves to encourage people to try and settle their legal wrangles out of court.

There are three ways to do so, he said.

First, local residents can be invited by the court to act as mediators.

The first 130 mediators have already been appointed. They are aged between 26 and 63 and chosen because of their standing in their residential communities.

Second, lawyers of plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases can be authorized to preside over mediation between the two sides.

And third, judges' assistants can preside over conciliation between plaintiffs and defendants.

"Our principle is that if two sides in a civil case are able to reach agreement through mediation out of court, we will try to promote it," Xia Jianjun, vice-president of the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court, said.

And he said that even when courts passed judgement on certain cases, there were still disputes between the two sides involved.

"They will appeal to higher courts. Some even complain to the local government and legislators in various ways," he said.


(China Daily 07/22/2005 page3)