Mediation law to further grassroots democracy
0 
A Chinese lawmaker said Thursday that the enaction of the People's Mediation Law would strengthen democracy at the grassroots level.
The main function of mediation is resolving disputes at the grassroots level by allowing people to settle differences through peaceful talks and mutual understanding, said Xin Chunying, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature.
"To publicize and legislate mediation will surely enhance democracy at the grassroots level," she said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the NPC.
The People's Mediation Law, adopted last year, was the legislation of existing practices, as mediation has been a well-established way of resolving disputes in the Chinese culture and its role is increasingly popular in building a harmonious society, said Xin.
The mediation law encourages the settling of disputes at the neighborhood level outside courts and arbitration.
The law stipulates that mediation should be carried out with the consent of both parties. If one party has explicitly refused to resolve the problem through talks, the mediation shall not be undertaken.
China has more than 4.9 million mediators working in more than 800,000 mediation committees, according to the Ministry of Justice.
These organizations handled more than 7.67 million disputes last year, with a resolution rate of 97.2 percent.
