Official: Reconciliation is best

Zhang Xiaotang, a deputy director with the Shanghai High People's Court, has said that courts in the city are seeking better ways to reconcile legal disputes between citizens and government departments.

"Every effort must be made throughout the legal process, from first trial to appeal, to find the best way to settle conflicts between individual plaintiffs and accused government departments," he said.

Zhang's comments follow the successful reconciliation last year of a case involving a man, surnamed Chu, who sued the labor bureau after his son was killed in an accident at work.

The boy was killed in a motorcycle accident while on his way to buy an eel to replace one that had escaped at work. The restaurant, however, refused to accept any liability for the boy's death, as it said he had left the premises without permission and had been riding the motorcycle without a license.

With no prospect of receiving compensation from his son's employer, Chu turned his attention to the labor bureau. But it too refused to pay him anything.

As a last resort he took the bureau to court.

Despite stating that Chu had no legal right to compensation, the judges presiding over the case sought to mediate between the bereaved father, the bureau and the restaurant.

Chu later withdrew his case after the bureau and the restaurant each agreed to pay him 10,000 yuan ($1,300) in compensation. Although the sum was less than he had first sought, Chu told the court that he believed his rights had been upheld.

Zhang said that this was a prime example of the type of administrative case - in which a citizen or an NGO seeks to sue an official or government office - Shanghai courts have to deal with. It also showed how they might be resolved.

In 2006, the city handled 1,990 such litigations, up 1.8 percent on the year before. However, courts found for the plaintiff in just 8.8 percent of them.

"Sometimes a simple ruling does not solve the problem," Zhang said.

"Even if the plaintiff wins, he or she might still have a problem actually getting the monies he or she was awarded. We have therefore been trying to reconcile more cases and better settle the conflicts."

In 2006, 30 percent of administrative cases were reconciled and the plaintiffs withdrew their suits. In some districts, the figure was as high as 50 percent.

"We are hoping to settle even more," Zhang said. "And the courts will mobilize all possible resources to do so."

Source: China Daily