Publish time: Fri Sep 30 00:00:00 CST 2011 Contributor:Wang Ze
On Sept. 28, 2011, the “ Current Situation and Trends in the Development of Mediation” seminar was held at the BAC. Delegates from courts, administrative authorities, arbitration agencies, industrial associations, enterprises, high schools, as well as lawyers and media gathered in one hall to discuss the operational experience of the mediation centre and the practice and theory of mediation.
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| Secretary General Wang Hongsong | Director Chen Fuyong presides over the seminar |
The Seminar was chaired by Chen Fuyong, Director of the BAC; Secretary General Wang Hongsong made a welcoming address at the beginning. In her address, Wang Hongsong noted that it exemplifies the BAC’s emphasis-on-performance work culture to celebrate the founding of BAC Mediation Centre by holding a seminar. The purpose of founding the BAC Mediation Centre is to create a platform; to make those people engaging in mediation practice, teaching, and theoretical study and those who care about mediation work gather together regularly for theoretical study, practice, skill exchange, experience exchange, and training; to raise mediators’ professional ability to manage complicated, difficult, and sophisticated commercial disputes; with their profession and capability; to display the positive role that mediation can play in promoting economic development and in advancing social harmony; and to make China’s dispute resolution logos, system, theoretical knowledge, and professional skills catch up with international development trends and achieve a world-leading level.
The first unit of discussion of the Seminar centered on and unfolded from “Operational experience and mediation practice of the Mediation Centre”. Some attendants made speeches: including Guo Yuzhong, director of the Mediation Centre of the Internet Society of China, Kong Jie, Executive Vice Secretary-General of the Beijing Non-Governmental Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Association, head of the Zhongguancun Entrepreneurs Commercial Mediation Centre, and Fang Ping, the vice president and secretary general of Beijing Insurance Association and vice director of Beijing Insurance Contract Dispute Mediation Commission, and Feng Hairong, mediator of Medical Disputes Peoples Mediation Committee.
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| Guo Yuzhong makes a speech | Vice Secretary General Kong Jie makes a speech |
In his speech, director Guo Yuzhong proposed a bold tentative plan to build up mediation associations in China and stated the necessity and practicability of doing so. Director Guo stressed that currently social contradictions not only involve a wide range fields but also tend to be extremely complicated and involve many sectors; and that traditional mediation is not efficient as a whole due to lack of information exchange. Therefore, in order to settle disputes through comprehensive methods, we need to integrate various resources for dispute settlement and mobilize all resources available. On the other hand, with enactment of relevant laws and policies, it is becoming more practicable to build up mediation associations in China. Mr. Guo hoped that all attendants can make concerted efforts at the organizational and the institutional level for the purpose of building up China’s mediation associations.
In a speech on “commercial disputes to be settled in commercial ways”, Vice Secretary General Kong Jie introduced in detail “the system of specially invited mediators for commercial disputes” and “the mediation practice of Zhongguancun Entrepreneurs Commercial Mediation Centre”. Kong Jie said that the Commercial Mediation Centre of Zhongguancun Entrepreneurs Association has an efficient mediators team that is able to take into account the development characteristics of private enterprises, to settle the legal disputes between litigants in the most proper way, and to help enterprises rapidly develop.
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| Vice president Fang Ping | Mediator Feng Hairong makes a speech |
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| Dr. Zhang Shu introduces the mediation system of Australia | Deputy Executive Director Li Jihong introduces facilitative mediation |
In her speech on the “application of mediation mechanisms and innovations in insurance service”, vice president Fang Ping introduced her experience in industrial mediation, taking the insurance industry as an example. In her speech, Mrs. Fang Ping pointed out that the innovative mediation method facilitates the settlement of disputes, which can be seen in the implementation of the primary responsibility system, the system of mediation by sole mediator, and the collegiate mediation system. According to the primary responsibility system, the mediator on duty with professional knowledge may answer litigants’ question in a quick and timely manner, take initiative to communicate with the relevant insurance company, and supervise and prompt the settlement of disputes. Under the system of mediation by sole mediator and the collegiate mediation system, mediation is conducted by one to three mediators to facilitate the litigants in reaching a mediation agreement.
Feng Hairong, mediator of Beijing Medical Disputes People’s Mediation Committee, shared her first-hand experience in medical disputes mediation. She pointed out that the reason why medical disputes mediation is troublesome is that medical disputes themselves tend to draw social concern; involving complicated matters, medical disputes mediation requires professional knowledge. Therefore, this requires more of mediators; the wording of a mediator should be acceptable to patients, and at the same time, mediators should propose many settlement schemes for the choice of patients.
Later, professor Fan Yu stated in his comment on Feng Hairong’s speech, that Mrs. Feng’s statement indicates a modern commercial mediation mechanism is taking shape; among others, there are industrial mediation agencies and those established by chambers of commerce or private entrepreneurs. He especially agreed with the concept that the BAC is not only a mediation agency but also an exchange centre, training centre, publicity centre as well as a mediation centre.
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| Lawyer Wang Qingyou introduces the mediation practice of Chaoyang District | Professor Wang Yaxin |
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| Professor Xiao Jianhua | Professor Qiu Xingmei |
In the second round of discussion of the Seminar, which was on “foreign experience and development of mediation and mediation teaching and training”, Zhang Shu, doctor of the University of Melbourne Law School, Li Jihong, Deputy Executive Director of the Dispute Mediation Centre of the Chinese Arbitration Association, and Wang Qingyou, the director of Anli Partners and mediator of the BAC Mediation Centre respectively made a speech. Dr. Zhang Shu introduced the types of mediation, mediator training and certification system in Australia. Deputy Executive Director Li Jihong explained evaluative mediation and facilitative mediation; facilitative mediation is to make the mediation a chance for litigants to communicate with each other, express respective claims and on this basis propose the settlement scheme. Also, Li Jihong introduced the three training stages adopted by Northwestern University Law School, which are communication training, mediation training, and practice. Later, lawyer Wang Qingyou especially introduced the development of mediation in Chaoyang District. He pointed out several problems in mediation practice, which are: less action despite more emphasis on organization and publicity; shortage of funds; high mobility of professionals; insufficient professional training; and a shortage of the market mechanism. To end his speech, Wang Qingyou stressed that paid mediation service should be advocated, and suggested that in disputes settlements we should rely much more on social resources.
During the discussion session, professors actively expressed their opinions, including Wang Yaxin, professor of Tsinghua University School of Law, Xiao Jianhua, professor of the Law School of Beijing Aerospace University, Qiu Xingmei, professor of School of Civil, Commercial and Economic Law, China University of Political Science and Law, and Xu Xin, professor of Beijing Institute of Technology, School of Law. Professor Wan Yaxin said the process of dispute settlement is actually the process of urging an industry to progressively bring about operational order; the diversified mediation platform of the BAC Mediation Centre thus functions as an influential network for exchange among mediators. Professor Xiao Jianhua thinks that the development of mediation needs judicial guarantee, and proposed adding legislation on confirming the legal effect of mediation agreements during the course of revision of the civil procedure law. Professor Qiu Xingmei explained the effect of dispute settlement terms under standard contracts on mediation development. She proposed that mediation be treated as a dispute settlement method parallel to arbitration and legal proceedings. In the opinion of Professor Xu Xin, mediation should turn toward profession-based mediation by non-governmental agency and away from authority-based mediation by governmental authority; toward independent mediation that relies on the authority of the mediation agency and away from mediation protruding from state power.
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| Professor Xu Xin | Professor Fan Yu |
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| Yang Zaixue, arbitrator of the BAC, introduces his experience | Deputy Director Jiang Huiling makes a summarizing speech |
During the open-floor session, lawyer Du Jifeng from Beijing Deheng Law Offices proposed that mediation terms agreed under a contract should be supported by law. In the opinion of Professor Fan Yu, private mediation and high-level commercial dispute mediation should be mutually complementary. Vice Secretary General Kong Jie advocated that those who are keen on mediation may gather for exchange and resource sharing under the leadership of the BAC.
To end the meeting, Deputy Director Jiang Huiling from the Jurisdiction Reform Office of the Supreme Court made a summary speech. He firstly introduced the historical evolution of ADR reform. In the summary speech, he said industrial mediation and private mediation are rapidly developing and are demonstrating the vitality of mediation. As to the founding of China’s mediation association, he stressed that action is the key to establishing non-governmental organizations. At the same time, he stressed judicial organizations should make bold attempts at mediation reform, and spoke in support of alternative dispute resolution.
The seminar was closed with active discussion.
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| The scene at the Seminar |