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"Even a wise judge has trouble settling family disputes." This Chinese adage perfectly embodies the trickiness of resolving domestic court cases.
For decades, courts have been the go-to solution. From 2013 to October 2015, China's court system handled more than 4 million domestic cases, 1.6 million in 2014 alone, according to the Supreme People's Court.
Courts handling domestic cases are severely overburdened. Luckily, they are also testing programs to address the issue.
On Wednesday, Beijing's Second Intermediate People's Court initiated their new civil mediation pilot program to increase efficiency and credibility. The program is called the "3 Shi 1 Tuan Family Dispute Resolution Project".
"3 Shi" means psychologists, social workers and lawyers are working together to solve family conflicts without necessarily resorting to the court, said Wang Jinshan, the intermediate court's vice-president.
For large and complicated cases, the court will establish "1 Tuan", a 7-to-9-member hearing group randomly selected from all sectors of society. "This will create a more open and transparent court environment," he said.
"The purpose of this program is to utilize resources from both the court and society, creating an interdependent system in which the judge's ruling authority and public's consensus are in unity."
The program is yet to hear any cases, but most of the core procedures are in place. "Before the trail, if we noticed litigants have emotional discords, we would offer psychological counseling to calm them," said Zuo Feng, 46, the deputy presiding judge for the sixth tribunal in the intermediate court, which specializes in domestic cases.
"During the trail, the hearing group will hear the cases and give their constructive opinions to the judge for reference. Having a neutral perspective can reduce judge's biases and ease litigants' anxiety."
After the trial, social workers in the program will provide additional support for those in need. Throughout the entire process, lawyers will focus their assistance in legal areas wherever necessary, Zuo said.
Lawyers and judges have welcomed the pilot program. "It really hit the nail on the head, and that is resolving the family emotional conflict within domestic cases before taking it to court," said Zhu Chuntao, a member of the judicial committee of the Beijing Higher People's court.
"Some might argue that taking this extra step will increase cost and waste time. But in reality, bringing support from society and having professionals to quell emotional turmoil can actually save time and make trails more efficient."
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the national crude divorce rate has tripled since 2002 (from 0.90 percent to 2.8 percent), with 3.84 million couples ending their marriages in 2015. This inevitably leads to more court cases on divorce, child custody and property inheritance.
"Some couples took their marriage dispute to the court when they don't necessarily need to," Zhu said. "There is a big difference between marriage crisis and marriage death, the latter definitely needs legal remedy, but the former actually needs a more human touch, like counseling or interventions."
Sometimes judges have trouble resolving disputes because the evidence is unquantifiable. "A young man once argued that he should get more inheritance because he contributed more to the family by working harder. It sounds morally right, but in fact it has no legal basis," Zuo said. "If the court decided to split the property evenly, then someone is bound to be dissatisfied."
In partnership with the Beijing YueQun Yi Zhong Social Work and Services Center, the intermediate court will fill positions in the pilot program from the center's talent pool. Over the next five months, the court will trial eight to 10 cases and publish its comprehensive findings by the end of the year, Zuo said.
