Are homeowners entitled to refuse the payment of property fees if the charging criteria change? Can a party in a divorce who previously waived custody later seek to regain custody? What should companies be cautious of when providing external guarantees? How can individuals quickly find optimal solutions to these everyday legal issues?

On January 3, 2025, Shanghai's Jiading District People's Court (hereinafter referred to as "Jiading Court") held a press conference and released the Optimal Solutions to Disputes: Judicial Service-Enabled High-Quality Development Casebook. The event aimed to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), harnessing the power of the rule of law to strengthen the foundational framework, stabilize public expectations, and promote long-term development. The initiative seeks to enhance the role of judicial adjudication in guiding public values, regulating behavioral norms, and addressing the most direct, practical, and relevant concerns of the people. Additionally, it provides valuable insights for decision-making in grassroots social governance and the development of the regional business environment. The press conference was attended by deputies to the National Congress of the CPC, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, leaders from Jiading District Judicial Bureau, Housing Security and Management Bureau, and relevant Party committee offices and bureaus, as well as officials from 13 departments including the Jiading District Publicity Department, Society Work Department, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and Development and Reform Commission. Representatives from various enterprises, villages, and communities also participated in the event. The press conference was chaired by Yang Yingfei, the spokesperson of and director of the Political Department of Jiading Court.

This event marked the first session in a series of press conferences organized by the Shanghai Courts, titled Promoting Justice and Setting an Example ¡ª Advancing the Modernization of Shanghai Courts' Work.   

At the conference, Zhang Guodong, a member of the Party Leadership Group and vice president of Jiading Court, briefed on relevant aspect of the initiative. As one of the brands of the Jiading Court, the "Optimal Solutions to Disputes" is dedicated to conducting fundamental resolution of conflicts and disputes by addressing root causes and providing meaningful solutions. The newly released Judicial Service-Enabled High Quality Development Casebook is one of the achievements of this brand. Its purpose is to prevent disputes before they arise and promote good governance by diagnosing "existing issues" and prescribing "effective remedies". The casebook focuses on two major themes: "Grassroots Governance" and "Business Environment". It addresses common disputes in areas such as marriage and family inheritance, neighborhood issues, property management, homeowners' committees, grassroots self-governance organizations, corporate governance, business operations, intellectual property, employment, and more. A total of 64 typical cases have been carefully selected across five categories of cases: civil, commercial, intellectual property, criminal, and enforcement. These cases are grouped into two sections of the casebook: "Grassroots Governance" and "Business Environment".

As a collection of cases intended to popularize laws, the casebook presents abstract legal provisions through real cases, transforming the spirit of rule of law and legal principles into justice that can be tangibly perceived by the masses. This is a proactive exploration of the people's courts to "promote governance and solve problems through civil and commercial trials". The casebook integrates "extensive" case selection, "vivid" case analysis, and "realistic" case writing.

  I. "Extensive" selection of cases. The cases cover a broad range of fields, including civil, commercial, intellectual property, criminal, and enforcement matters. The court has thoroughly explore and extensively gathered 64 typical and representative cases from the areas of social governance and the business environment. These cases are selected to leverage the demonstrative and guiding functions of judicial rules, supported by professional expertise, and address the most pressing, direct, and relevant issues faced by people in everyday life. The collection highlights common and recurring conflicts in grassroots governance and the business environment, focusing on key governance challenges and priorities.
  II. "Vivid" case analysis. With a lively and engaging narrative style, real cases are portrayed in a story-like and plot-driven format to enhance readability. On one hand, these cases are presented as "problems", succinctly summarizing the key disputes in the case, allowing readers to quickly grasp the critical points. On the other hand, the case study from diverse angles not only explains the legal principles but also delves into social phenomena, governance challenges, and the behavioral characteristics of the parties involved. This approach helps the public develop a deeper understanding of legal issues from various perspectives and dimensions, raising awareness of laws and regulations and fostering a stronger recognition of the spirit of the rule of law.
  III. "Realistic" case writing. The casebook is based on actual judicial practice, using simple language and concise phrasing to integrate case analysis with legal norms and judicial adjudication. It effectively communicates meaningful legal principles through vivid language. Each case analysis consists of four parts: an introduction, a summary of the case, governance or business recommendations, and relevant legal provisions. Starting with the core legal issues reflected in the key disputes, the case analysis precisely outlines the facts, explicitly sorts out the legal relationships, and thoroughly explains the essential points of the judicial decision. The analysis is supplemented by legal insights, governance recommendations, and business advice, providing a straightforward introduction to the legal knowledge and judicial rules, while clarifying the relevant legal norms and codes of conduct.

Ye Dan, a deputy to Jiading District People's Congress, and secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Bullet Train Section of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd.   

Jiading Court has sorted out the most common issues in grassroots governance, focusing on creating significant impacts through small entry points. Fully leveraging the professional strengths, the court has combined complex and obscure legal provisions with real-life cases involving disputes. The collection of cases compiled by the court conveys specialized legal knowledge and terminology in simple and easy-to-understand language. This casebook not only provides strong support to grassroots committees and other organizations in resolving conflicts but also serves as a model and offers valuable resources for similar efforts by other people's courts. This initiative is highly meaningful and deserves full recognition.   

Huo Junjuan, a member of the Jiading District Political Consultative Conference and director of Shanghai Huijun Lawfirm

The 32 cases related to grassroots governance address issues closely tied to people's daily lives, including marriage and family matters, neighborhood disputes, and property management. Through case-based legal education and law popularization, these examples provide the public with a clear and intuitive understanding of the effectiveness and compassion inherent in law-based services. The 32 cases of business environment tackle common challenges in corporate operations, including internal corporate governance of equity rights, employment and human resources, external operations, and risk control and compliance. These cases provide clear legal guidance and risk warnings for business operators. The release of the Jiading Court casebook represents a model for conflict resolution, identifying and promoting the broader social value of judicial decisions. It injects vitality and momentum into the modernization of grassroots governance.   

Shen Huaqiang, deputy director and secretary of the Party Committee of Jiading District Judicial Bureau.

The Business Environment section of the casebook provides business advice through the interpretation of typical cases, integrating legal analysis. The casebook delves into the big picture of the law-based business environment based on small pivots, helping enterprises address visible problems and avoid foreseeable risks. The Grassroots Governance section focuses on cases related to grassroots governance, covering five types of disputes, such as marital and family inheritance conflicts and neighborhood disputes. It provides suggestion for governance, offer models for mediation work, serving as valuable references for judicial practice.   

The core principle of state governance remains the same: benefiting the people is fundamental. Among the family affairs, national affairs, and global matters, ensuring people for a happy life is a top priority. The release of the casebook represents a valuable initiative by the Jiading Court to elucidate significant legal knowledge in an engaging and accessible way. This successful experiment reflects the court's commitment to "explaining the law and promoting governance through cases". Moreover, it highlights the courts' efforts to support grassroots governance and fostering the development of a law-based business environment through judicial services.

In the future, Jiading Court will further deepen its philosophy of empathizing with the parties involved in litigation, placing equal weights on case trial and social governance. The court will actively expand the role in judicial adjudication, proactively press ahead with the protection of judicial services, and constantly strengthen the provision of law-based services. Additionally, the court will continue to innovate the grassroots mechanism of law popularization, contributing judicial wisdom to improve the quality and efficiency of social governance, optimize and upgrade the business environment, and help create a brighter future for the people.

 

Several Typical Cases

 

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