Circular of the Ministry of Justice of the Supreme People's Court on Printing and Distributing the Opinions on Giving Full Play to the Basic Role of People's Mediation to Promote the Governance of Source of Complaints
SF [2023] No. 1
The higher people's courts and judicial departments (bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the PLA military courts, the Production and Construction Corps Branch of the Higher People's Court of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Judicial Bureau:
The Opinions on Giving Full Play to the Basic Role of People's Mediation to Promote the Governance of Complaint Sources is hereby printed and distributed to you. Please combine with the actual situation and do a good job in implementing it.
Ministry of Justice of the Supreme People's Court
September 27, 2023
In order to thoroughly implement the important directive spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping on mediation work and the decision and deployment of the CPC Central Committee, adhere to putting the non litigation dispute resolution mechanism in the front, focus on the front end, prevent disease, give full play to the fundamental role of people's mediation in the prevention and resolution of contradictions and disputes, deeply promote the source of litigation governance, and reduce the increase in litigation from the source, the following opinions are put forward.
1、 General requirements
（1） Guiding ideology
Adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, comprehensively implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping's thought on the rule of law, earnestly implement the important directive spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping on mediation, adhere to the leadership of the Party, firmly focus on the people, adhere to and develop the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era, We will further strengthen people's mediation, improve the litigation mediation docking mechanism, strengthen work security, promote prevention at the source and substantive resolution of disputes on the spot, and make positive contributions to building a higher level of peace and the rule of law China.
（2） Working principles
Adhere to the leadership of the Party. Adhere to the Party's overall leadership over the people's mediation work, firmly grasp the correct political direction of the people's mediation work, and ensure that the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee are fully implemented.
Adhere to people first. Adhere to people's mediation for the people and rely on the people, take safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the people as the starting point and goal, and provide more high-quality, efficient and intelligent mediation services for the people.
Adhere to prevention first. Adhere to the principle of grasping the early stage and the small stage, guide the grassroots people to give priority to non litigation methods such as people's mediation, consolidate the source of litigation governance, and effectively resolve conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level before litigation.
Adhere to coordination and linkage. We will strengthen resource coordination, extensively guide and mobilize all sectors of society to participate in the resolution of conflicts and disputes, and promote the effective diversion, timely mediation, and formation of joint forces.
Adhere to substantive resolution. Constantly improve mediation capacity, improve the automatic performance rate of mediation agreements, ensure the effectiveness of mediation agreements, safeguard the authority of people's mediation according to law, and promote the local substantive resolution of conflicts and disputes.
Adhere to innovative development. Summarize useful experience, proceed from reality, constantly promote the innovation of working philosophy, platform carrier, system mechanism, methods and methods, enrich and improve the people's mediation system, and improve the level of litigation source governance.
2、 Consolidate the "first line of defense" of people's mediation
（1） Strengthen the investigation and prevention of contradictions and disputes. The investigation of contradictions and disputes should be taken as a basic and routine work, and the pertinence and effectiveness of the investigation of contradictions and disputes should be constantly improved by combining general investigation with key investigation, and daily investigation with centralized investigation. Strengthen the information sharing, joint platoon and linkage with grid personnel, security volunteers and other mass prevention and governance forces, as well as local police stations, comprehensive treatment centers and other grass-roots stability maintenance units, so as to achieve full coverage and no blind spots. Focus on key areas, key areas, key groups and key periods where conflicts and disputes are prone to occur frequently, and carry out targeted key troubleshooting. Focusing on national major strategies such as serving rural revitalization, and focusing on carrying out major activities and responding to major events, we organized various forms of special troubleshooting of contradictions and disputes. For the identified potential risks of conflicts and disputes, establish a working account, sort them out by category, take corresponding preventive measures, and strive to find, report, control and solve them early.
（2） We will strengthen the resolution of conflicts and disputes at the grass-roots level. We will strengthen the standardization of people's mediation organizations in towns (streets) and villages (communities), and ensure that they are generally established in accordance with the law, staffed, with sound systems, standardized work, and strong security. We will improve the network of people's mediation organizations covering county and village groups, promote the construction of a variety of individual and characteristic mediation studios, and explore the creation of more new people's mediation organizations that meet the needs. We will intensify mediation efforts for common conflicts and disputes at the grass-roots level, such as marriage and family affairs, neighborhoods, housing sites, mountains and forests, and land. We will adhere to the principle of focusing on the small issues as early as possible, making every effort to solve them, and combining legal principles and circumstances, to prevent "civil to criminal", "criminal to life" and other malignant cases caused by untimely and ineffective mediation. In case of possible intensification of conflicts and disputes, timely report on the basis of stabilizing the situation and assist the Party Committee, the government and relevant departments to resolve them.
（3） We will strengthen the resolution of conflicts and disputes in key areas. Guided by social needs, social organizations or other organizations are encouraged to establish professional people's mediation organizations in accordance with the law in key areas where conflicts and disputes are prone to occur. If industrial and professional people's mediation organizations have been established, they should, under the guidance of the judicial administrative organs, comprehensively strengthen the standardization construction, ensure neutrality and impartiality, and prevent commercialization and administration. We will further strengthen people's mediation in medical care, road transportation, labor disputes, property management and other fields, and actively expand into consumption, tourism, finance, insurance, intellectual property and other fields. We will strengthen the resolution of conflicts and disputes in the field of new forms of business, and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers in flexible employment and new forms of employment. In view of the characteristics and laws of conflicts and disputes in key areas, we will establish and improve the people's mediation consulting expert database, focus on using professional knowledge and professional strength to resolve conflicts and disputes, and improve the authority and credibility of mediation.
（4） We will strengthen the resolution of major, difficult and complex conflicts and disputes. Rely on the existing public legal service center, integrate people's mediation, lawyer mediation, commercial mediation, industry mediation, administrative mediation and other forces, set up a "one-stop" non litigation dispute resolution center (or conflict dispute mediation center) at the city and county levels, coordinate legal service resources such as lawyers, grass-roots legal services, notarization, legal aid, judicial expertise, and link arbitration Administrative reconsideration and other non litigation dispute resolution methods, jointly resolve major difficult and complex contradictions and disputes within the city and county.
3、 Strengthening the docking of litigation and mediation
（1） Strengthen pre litigation guidance. Provide guidance on non litigation dispute resolution in litigation services, rule of law publicity and other work, and enhance the awareness of non litigation dispute resolution of legal service workers such as parties and lawyers. The people's court should strengthen the guidance before litigation. If a case filed with the people's court is suitable for settlement through people's mediation, it should explain the characteristics and advantages of people's mediation to the parties, and guide the parties to apply for mediation to the territorial or relevant people's mediation organizations. If the parties still do not agree to mediation after clarification, the case shall be registered and filed in a timely manner.
（2） Timely divert cases. The people's court may, with the consent of both parties, first appoint or entrust people to mediate a case that is suitable for settlement through people's mediation before filing the case. The appointed and entrusted people's mediation organizations may be selected by the parties from the list of people's mediation organizations published by the judicial administrative organ, or designated by the people's court from the list of specially invited mediation organizations. For grass-roots contradictions and disputes, give full play to the role of village (community) and township (street) people's mediation committees, and resolve them on the spot in a timely manner. For conflicts and disputes in professional fields, we should give full play to the advantages of relevant professional people's mediation organizations and improve the level of professional resolution. Encourage the non litigation dispute resolution center (or the conflict dispute mediation center) to directly connect with the litigation service center of the people's court, uniformly accept the cases entrusted by the people's court for mediation, and organize, coordinate, and urge the people's mediation organizations within the jurisdiction to carry out mediation.
（3） Accept mediation according to law. After receiving the case entrusted for mediation, the people's mediation organization shall accept the mediation in a timely manner in accordance with the People's Mediation Law of the People's Republic of China and the National People's Mediation Standards. If an agreement is reached through mediation, the people's mediation organization may prepare a mediation agreement, urge both parties to perform according to the agreement, and feed back the mediation results to the people's court. If both parties deem it necessary, they may jointly apply to the people's court with jurisdiction for judicial confirmation. If no mediation agreement can be reached through mediation, the people's mediation organization shall go through the procedures for the conclusion of mediation in a timely manner and return the case materials to the entrusted people's court. After receiving the case materials, the people's court shall promptly register the case or resume the trial. For the fact that the parties agree to record in written form that there is no dispute in the mediation process, the parties need not provide evidence in the proceedings, except for those involving national interests, social and public interests and the legitimate rights and interests of others.
4、 Strengthen the guarantee of mediation work
（1） We will strengthen the ranks of people's mediators. Pay attention to the recruitment of lawyers, notaries, arbitrators, grass-roots legal service workers, psychological consultants, doctors, teachers, experts and scholars and other social professionals, as well as retired political and legal police, and retired people with rich experience in mass work in departments such as letters and visits, trade unions, women's federations, to serve as people's mediators, and constantly expand the ranks of people's mediators and optimize the personnel structure. Vigorously strengthen the construction of the team of full-time people's mediators. The industrial professional people's mediation committee should be staffed with more than three full-time people's mediators. The township (sub district) people's mediation committee and the people's mediation studio stationed in the relevant units and departments should be staffed with more than two full-time people's mediators. The qualified villages (communities) and enterprises (institutions) should be staffed with more than two full-time people's mediators The people's mediation committee of the business unit may have at least one full-time people's mediator. We will establish a mechanism for young lawyers to participate in people's mediation, organize young lawyers, especially new lawyers, to exercise in institutions such as judicial offices and public legal service centers, give full play to the professional advantages of lawyers who are proficient in law, extensively participate in the troubleshooting and prevention of conflicts and disputes, the resolution of conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level, and the resolution of conflicts and disputes in professional fields of the industry, and improve the professionalism of conflict and dispute resolution. We will implement a training system dominated by judicial administrative organs at the county level, take flexible, diverse, vivid and effective forms such as centralized teaching, exchange and discussion, case analysis, on-site observation, attendance at court trials, and practical training drills, strengthen the training of people's mediators, and constantly improve the ability and level of people's mediators to resolve conflicts and disputes under the new situation.
（2） We will strengthen funding support. Promote and implement the inclusion of people's mediation work guidance funds, people's mediation committee subsidies, people's mediators subsidies, full-time people's mediators employment funds, people's mediation case handling subsidies and expert consulting fees into the financial budget at the same level in full. Strengthen communication and coordination with the financial department, establish a dynamic growth mechanism for people's mediation funds, increase the government's efforts to purchase people's mediation services, make full use of the central and provincial transfer payment funds, and supplement the shortage of people's mediation funds. The establishment unit of the people's mediation organization and the competent department of the relevant industry shall provide office conditions such as places and facilities and necessary working funds. Explore the establishment of relevant foundations, encourage people's mediation organizations to provide donations, etc., and ensure the effective implementation of people's mediation through multiple channels.
（3） Strengthen information platform docking. The Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice have established a "head to head" docking mechanism. The Ministry of Justice has accelerated the construction of a non litigation resolution platform for conflicts and disputes, achieved business collaboration and data sharing with the Supreme People's Court, and ensured smooth online circulation of dispute cases and information and data exchange and sharing. The people's mediation information platform relies on the non litigation resolution platform of the Ministry of Justice to realize the docking with the relevant system platforms of the Supreme People's Court, and carry out online consultation, online diversion, online mediation, online feedback, and online judicial confirmation of conflicts and disputes. Actively use big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other information means to connect and gather dispute data through the information platform, realize dynamic perception and accurate analysis of conflict risks, improve the ability to predict, warn and prevent risks, and provide reference for the Party Committee and the government to scientifically study and judge the situation of social conflicts and disputes.
5、 Strengthen organizational leadership
（1） Strengthen cooperation. People's courts and judicial administrative organs at all levels should actively strive for the attention and support of the Party committees and governments to the people's mediation work, promote the governance of litigation sources, and increase the proportion of people's mediation work in the assessment of safety construction. We will establish a mechanism for reporting the formation of civil disputes and a two-way mechanism for early warning of major conflicts and disputes, regularly analyze the characteristics of conflicts and disputes in our jurisdiction, and work together to prevent and resolve disputes. Strengthen investigation and research, and jointly study and solve difficulties and problems encountered in work. Strengthen work supervision to ensure that all work is implemented in place.
（2） Strengthen work guidance. The judicial administration organ should strengthen the overall guidance of people's mediation work, improve the standardization level of people's mediation work, establish and improve the people's mediation organizations and the roster of people's mediators, do a good job of filing people's mediation organizations established according to law, improve the assessment and evaluation standards of people's mediation work, and link the assessment with the mediator's grade assessment and case handling subsidies. The people's court should strengthen the business guidance of the people's mediation committee in the mediation of civil disputes, work with the judicial administrative organ to do a good job in the publicity and promotion of people's mediation and business training, improve the mechanism for appointing people to mediate and the judicial confirmation of people's mediation agreements, and optimize the work process.
key word: people's mediation
dispute
contradiction
work
