Beijing court opens mediation room in Hebei mining area

A mediation room established by a Beijing court has recently been launched in Hebei province, aiming to provide more convenient judicial services for workers and their families in the mining area of Shougang Group, one of China's largest steelmakers and industrial conglomerates.

The group's mining area in Qian'an, Hebei, is located about 200 kilometers east of Beijing. Many employees and their families live around the mining complex, and for decades they faced difficulties accessing court services because of the long distance from the capital, which has jurisdiction over certain disputes.

The mediation room is based in Qian'an, while the mediation process is fully guided online by judges from the Shijingshan District People's Court. The initiative aims to resolve frequent disputes involving marriage, family, labor and small-sum loans among workers and their families in the mining area at the source.

Before the judicial move, the Shijingshan court had arranged for judges to visit the mining area regularly to offer legal services since 1991. The newly established mediation room is intended not only to give mining workers easier access to court services, but also to improve judicial efficiency by reducing travel time and costs for judges, allowing them to provide professional legal analysis and remote guidance for mediators in Qian'an.