By He Wei and Zeng Ying King & Wood’s Dispute Resolution Group

This article continues to discuss Extra-judicial Mediation System and Practice. The first part of this article was published on Chinalawinsight on October 2011.

II. A review of extra-judicial mediation

Compared with mediation during arbitration or litigation, extra-judicial mediation can offer a more amicable way for the solving of disputes and avoid many of the disadvantages of "judicial mediation".

In judicial mediation judges and arbitrators primarily rely on rigid laws and regulations to guide the mediation process whereas the regulations applicable to extra-judicial mediation are more flexible. Article 17 of the Several Provisions provides that "in the mediation of cases, relevant organizations may, without violating the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations, guide the parties to reach settlement agreements by referring to industrial practices, village regulations, community conventions, local good customs and other codes of conduct."Continue Reading Extra-judicial Mediation System and Practice (Part II of II)

作者:何薇、曾颖 金杜律师事务所争议解决

本文分两部分刊登, 2011年10月31日金杜法律博客(Chinalawinsight)刊登的了本文的第一部分。文章第二部分将继续对《非司法体系下的调解制度及实践》进行解读。

二、非司法体系下的调解制度评析

非司法体系下的调解相对于诉讼和仲裁中的调解更有利于帮助当事人握手言和、消除纷争,同时也可以克服法院调解和仲裁调解的弊端,体现出自身独特的优势。

首先,在适用法律的问题上,仲裁和法院的调解中,法官和仲裁员作为法律专业人士,仍然多以刚性的法律法规为依据,引导当事人解决纠纷。而在非司法体系下的调解中,适用的规则就更加灵活。最高人民法院《若干意见》第17条规定:“有关组织调解案件时,在不违反法律、行政法规强制性规定的前提下,可以参考行业惯例、村规民约、社区公约和当地善良风俗等行为规范,引导当事人达成调解协议。”Continue Reading 非司法体系下的调解制度及实践(二)

By He Wei and Zeng Ying King & Wood’s Dispute Resolution Group

Mediation in China can be divided into three categories: mediation supervised by the people’s court, mediation supervised by an arbitral tribunal and mediation without the supervision of a court or arbitral tribunal. The first two categories of mediation share many similarities. Both of them are conducted by particular institutions in accordance with statutory proceedings, and the settlement agreements reached have the same binding force as judicial judgments. These two categories of mediation, because of their "quasi-judicial" nature, are usually collectively referred to as "judicial mediation". Usually such bodies are decision making—and a mediation must give only the parties control over decisions.

Besides judicial mediation there are many other forms of mediation, which also help resolve disputes and lift the heavy caseload of the courts and arbitration institutions. These forms of mediation can be collectively described as "extra-judicial mediation". Extra-judicial mediation, which provides parties with more alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, plays a very important role in today’s fast-growing economy.Continue Reading Extra-judicial Mediation System and Practice (Part I of II)

作者:何薇、曾颖 金杜律师事务所争议解决

我国目前的调解制度主要包括法院调解、仲裁调解、以及法院和仲裁调解之外的其他调解。法院调解与仲裁调解有很多共同之处,他们均依托于规范的机构和严格的程序,其调解协议具有充分的法律效力,加之仲裁在一定程度上具有“准司法”的性质,两者往往可以合称为“司法体系下的调解”。与之相对,法院和仲裁程序之外还存在着很多其他形式的调解,有效解决了大量的纠纷,大大减轻了诉讼和仲裁的压力,可以统称为“非司法体系下的调解”。非司法体系下的调解在利益多元化的今天提供了多元化的纠纷解决机制,在社会生活中发挥了非常重要的作用。

非司法体系下的调解制度在我国由来已久,并且在实践中被广泛应用。它既包括在专门调解机构的主持下进行的调解,也包括没有调解机构参与的调解。处理的争议既可以是民事的,商事的,也可以是行政的。非司法体系下的调解包括以下几大特征:第一,自愿性。当事人将自己的争议交由自己选择的第三方处理,而且纠纷的范围和内容均是当事人可以自行处分的。调解员必须始终尊重当事人的意志,不得有任何的勉强和强迫。第二, 独立性。非司法体系下的调解独立存在,不附属于任何其他程序。第三,调解的结果没有强制执行力。第四,调解的结果不影响当事人以其他公力救济的方式寻求争端解决。Continue Reading 非司法体系下的调解制度及实践(一)