Grass-Roots Judge Uses Mediation to Help Residents Resolve Disputes

Tian Yaxin helps local residents resolve disputes. [For Women of China]

Many residents of Hongdong, a county in Linfen, a city in North China's Shanxi Province, consider Tian Yaxin, a judge with Ganting (a town in Hongdong) Court, under Hongdong People's Court, a trustworthy, intimate friend. Why? Tian has helped the residents resolve their disputes with others. Tian is pleased with her good reputation. As a grass-roots judge, she hopes all residents will live in harmony. 

Handling Trifling, But Thorny, Matters 

It is routine for Tian and her colleagues to handle cases involving disputes among relatives and neighbors. The judges believe such seemingly trifle matters are meaningful, as they are related to individuals' interests and families' well-being. Tian, from time to time, has led her team in visiting residents, in various parts of the county, so they could better help the residents resolve disputes. As a result, the team has gained the residents' trust. 

An elderly woman in Beidu, a village in Ganting, is grateful to Tian, who helped her resolve a family dispute. The disagreement started a few years ago. One day, a village official told Tian the elderly woman's daughter and three sons refused to fulfill their filial responsibility to support their mother. For a year (since the woman's husband died), village officials and the woman's relatives tried, in vain, to persuade the woman's children to take care of their mother. The woman was reluctant to sue, out of fear that would disgrace her children and displease her son- and daughters-in-law. 

After a trial Tian was hearing had recessed, Tian went to the village to investigate the dispute between the woman and her children. Tian's heart ached as she watched the elderly woman calculate the cost of her various medicines. Tian promised she would help the woman settle the dispute; otherwise, she vowed, she would take care of the woman herself. 

Tian told the woman's children their mother had made excuses for their failing to provide for her, rather than complain to Tian about their behavior. Tian also urged the woman's children to fulfill their filial responsibility and support their mother. Eventually, the youngsters agreed to share the responsibility of taking care of their mother.

Tian promised she would help the woman settle the dispute. [For Women of China]

Close to the Woman's Heart

Tian in recent years has put much effort into helping protect the legal rights and interests of disadvantaged residents (including "left-behind" children, elderly residents who live alone, and disabled and/or impoverished women and children). Many residents, who have received help from Tian, are thankful for her efforts. A local rural woman, whose family name is Tian, is one of those residents.

A few years ago, Tian Yaxin handled a case involving a sales-contract dispute. A local man, whose family name is Su, sued to force Ms Tian and Wang, Ms Tian's husband, to repay their loan (borrowed from Su). When an employee of the court called the couple to inform them the court would hold a hearing (for their case), the couple lied, saying they had left home to work elsewhere. They refused to attend the hearing. 

With the help of a village official, Tian Yaxin found Ms Tian in her house. Ms Tian was embarrassed and nervous. To ease her tension, Tian Yaxin chatted with the woman, and learned about her bitter experiences.

The woman told Tian Yaxin she and her husband borrowed money (the previous year) from Su to establish a pig farm. The farm had been in the red, due largely to the couple's lack of pig-raising experience. "I'm tired of running from creditors," said the woman. "I would have divorced my husband and left home to work elsewhere had I not had to take care of my children."

Tian Yaxin looked around the house, and she discovered it was virtually empty, with the exception of a shabby bed. She encouraged Ms Tian to make, with her husband, more efforts to start their own business, and to take good care of their children. Tian Yaxin also said she and her colleagues would try their best to help the woman escape the "dark valley" in her life. 

On the eve of Spring Festival of 2014 (on January 31), Wang visited the court. Tian Yaxin helped mediate the dispute between the plaintiff and the defendants. Both parties were satisfied with the result.

Tian has put much effort in helping protect "left-behind" children and other disadvantaged groups. [For Women of China]

Promoting Social Justice

"We, the judges, must work hard to promote social justice, so more people will believe in the law." That is the creed of Tian. During the past two decades, Tian has strived to handle cases properly, to enable the parties concerned to receive justice.

Tian went to great lengths to protect the plaintiff's rights and interests, while she, in July 2016, handled a case involving a housing dispute between two residents of Yangqu, a village in Ganting. Tian led members of the collegiate bench, under the court, in holding a hearing in the defendant's courtyard. That meant the crippled plaintiff did not have to walk along treacherous mountain paths to get to the court. The court eventually decided the defendant should vacate the house and return it to the plaintiff. The villagers cheered and applauded the "reasonable judgement."

Soon after that, the court accepted Tian's advice on delivering mediation bills to the litigants, to define the terms and time limits that the parties involved shall perform the court's judgments and/or the agreements made in the court. After the court adopted the measure, the litigants of more than 97 percent of the cases performed the abovementioned judgments and/or agreements. 

"Every time I see litigants' smiling faces, my heart fills with delight," says Tian.

Tian Yaxin [Women of China]

(Women of China)