On December 9, 2020, Xuhui District People's Court of Shanghai ("Shanghai Xuhui Court") held a press conference to inform the work on governance of litigation source and released the White Paper of Xuhui District People's Court of Shanghai on the Work of "Under the Birch-leaved Pear Tree" Community Judges ("White Paper") and typical cases. This is the sixth session convened by Shanghai court to promote the high-quality development of judicature. Jiang Keqin, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of Shanghai Xuhui Court, briefed on relevant work.
The Community Judges’ Office of
Shanghai Xuhui Court ("the Office") was established on March 12,
2018, named "Under the Birch-leaved Pear Tree"
after the sweet memories left behind by, Zhao Gong, a popular official in the
Zhou dynasty. Following Zhao Gong's traditional judicial culture of solving
problems for the people and carrying forward Fengqiao Experience in the new era
is an essential demonstration of Shanghai Xuhui Court to implement Xi Jinping
Thought on the Rule of Law, adhere to people-centered philosophy and respond
positively to the new demands and new expectations of the people. The
establishment of the office is not only an inheritance and development of the
judicial tradition of facilitating people's access to judicial services, but
also an inevitable requirement of high-quality social development in the new
era. Since its establishment two years and eight months ago, the Office has
taken "perfecting working mechanisms, channeling down judicial resources,
resolving contradictions at the source, and building Xuhui's judicial service
brand" as the goal, and has achieved remarkable results in the aspects of
litigation & mediation linkage, guidance on mediation, law publicity and
serving the grassroots, etc.
According to the White Paper, from its
establishment to October 2020, the Office has reviewed 1,572 people's mediation
agreements, issued 1,103 mediation documents and rulings on judicial
confirmation, provided "family services for the elderly" for 65 times,
and participated in 117 on-site mediations. In addition, it organized 63 legal
lectures, including five Cloud Lectures and one recorded broadcast lecture,
provide more than 210 online and offline legal advice and Q&A services for
5,100 people, and prepared 48 courseware involving professional fields such as
marriage and family, neighboring relations, housing rental and sales, etc., hot
issues such as trap loan, cracking down on underworld forces, protection of
rights of women and children, campus security, anti-fraud of the elderly, etc.,
and litigation processes such as jurisdiction over case filing, enforcement,
etc. The Office also shot 14 short videos (plays) on law publicity, mainly
involving owners committee voting, stray animal feeding, installation of corridor
monitoring cameras and other general concerns, and published one article on
judicial recommendations.
According to the White Paper, most cases handled by
the Office are related to inheritance. As to the way in which the cases are
concluded, paper of civil mediation is the one winning
most recognition. In grass-roots communities, with an aging population that
continues to grow, residents are paying more attention to the law of
inheritance, and inheritance cases heard by the court become common. Paper of
civil mediation explains in detail the property ownership, order of succession
and inherited share and ascertains the case facts, which is conducive to
dispute resolution and is convincing to the parties concerned.
It is reported that the Office has always been
committed to being a "bridge" between the people's court and the
general public, a "conciliator" for resolving disputes, a
"planter" for popularizing the law and a "booster" of
social governance. Typical cases released at the conference are
centered on these topics such as "community judges resolve
neighborhood dispute arising from entrance door," "mediate group
dispute over share flat," "shoot law publicity videos to create a new
model for law publicity," etc.
At the press conference, the short film "The Blooming
Birch-leaved Pear Tree " was broadcast. The film centers around the
narrations of Wang Hongxia, Head of "Under the Birch-leaved Pear Tree"
Community Office, and presents the results that have been achieved by the
Office over the past two years since its establishment.
Jiang Keqin said that next, Shanghai Xuhui Court
will further strengthen the institutionalization construction of community
judge team, enhance the guidance and training of people's mediators, expand the
influence scope of the Office, and tap potential and increase efficiency to
upgrade the social governance level, thereby make
positive contributions to building a safe, law-abiding and happy Xuhui
District.
White Paper of Xuhui District People's Court
of Shanghai on the Work of "Under the Birch-leaved
Pear Tree" Community Judges
(March 2018-October 2020).pdf