Rural People's Mediation In The Transitional Period: A Perspective From Sociology Of Law

To build a harmonious society and a country ruled by law is our common ideal and pursuit. The construction of a harmonious society needs a sound civil dispute settlement system, and the harmony between people needs an effective solution to the civil disputes. A country ruled by law is made up of the rule of law and Law-abiding, but it does not means that justice is the first choice to Solve civil disputes. More importantly, law should be made to integrate into people's lives and become the general dispute settlement rule.China is a large agricultural country, and the rural harmony and stability directly affects on the country's development. During the transitional period with more extensive and complex civil disputes, how to use the people's mediation to solve civil disputes successfully and create a good social environment for development is of great significance. However, with the decline in the number of disputes settlement, the people's mediation system, once known as "oriental experience", is experiencing an embarrassing situation with a decline in status and weaken function. Survey shows that it is particularly prominent in rural areas.In the perspective of Sociology of Law, the present study first expounds the basic theories of the mediation and civil mediation's, the historical tradition of civil mediation, and the establishment and development of the people's mediation system in modem society, then it analyses the value, function and social basis of the rural people's mediation system. After describing the social environment, the status quo and the existing problems of the rural people's mediation in the transitional period, this study gives the channel of the the rural people's mediation: strengthening social and moral construction; creating a fair, harmonious interpersonal environment; enhancing the initiative, the quality and ability of the mediator, promoting the building of self-government at the rural grass-roots level. Finally, the present study points out the key to the reconstrction of current rural people's mediation syetem: realize the re-development of rural people's mediation by making use of the resoures of the government's power at the grass-roots level.Introduction provides a summary of the social background and academic research background of the study, and gives the outline of the study. In the first party, after the analysis of the basic theory of mediation and civil conciliation, the study expounds the definition and characteristics of mediation, stresses the specific value and function of civil mediation, and points out the importance and necessity of civil mediation in civil dispute settlement system. It reviews the history and characteristics of civil mediation and analyses the social basis for its existence. In the second party, the study pionts out the value and function of people's mediation after reviewing the history of people's mediation system. By analysing the social basis of rural people's mediation, it pionts out that the key that rural people's mediation can play an effective role is that it achieved the adjustment and transformation form the traditional civil mediation in the specific social transition phase: based on specific social environment,the mediators working as village cadres replace the traditional mediator Successfully. The third part analyses the present social environment of people's mediation. In the perspective of the changes in human relationships, moral conditions, legal environment and farmers' awareness of the law in rural areas, the study expounds their negative impacts on the people's mediation, and then points out the characteristics of civil disputes in rural areas in the social transitional period. In the forth part, through anaysing the data of people's mediation ,the study shows that the social function of the people's mediation is declining with a fall in number. The study analyzes the reasons for the social environment in rural areas and the weaken authority of grass-roots self-government organizations. After some investigation into rural society, the study finds that the village cadres as the mediator can not be competent in mediation duties for lack of initiative and ability. The study describes and analyzes the development of people's mediation promoted by the local government departments in some areas, and affirms its social effects and pionts out its value and problems. In the fifth part, based on the above analysis of people's mediation, the study gives the channel of the the rural people's mediation from three aspects, namely, the social environment, rural people's mediators and the rural self-government organizations at the grass-root level: strengthening social and moral construction, creating a fair, harmonious interpersonal environment; enhancing the initiative, the quality and ability of the mediator, promoting the building of rural grassroots self-government In particular, the present study points out the key to the reconstrction of current rural people's mediation syetem: realize the re-development of rural people's mediation by making use of the resoures of the government's power at the grass-roots level.