A Study Of The Tibetan Dispute Resolutions In Xiahe County

’Dtherness" in a study of dispute resolution has always caught anthropologists’ and especially legal anthropologists’attention. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, under the minorities’ autonomous political system, "the other" and "the I" has become one synchronous person for anthropological study. For this reason, Xiahe County is chosen as a representative for analyzing the method of dispute resolution in Tibetan areas at this current age. In so doing, the values of different knowledge systems in the process of settling disputes can be correctly understood; moreover, the balance between the protection of the diversity of ethnic culture and the unity of obeying national law can be kept. This is important for maintaining national harmony and social stability among different peoples. In order to present a holistic picture of the Tibetan dispute resolutions in Xiahe County, this research is guided by the Marxist methodology with various research methods integrated, such as fieldwork, literature study, functional analysis, case studies and questionnaires.The research shows that the Xiahe Tibetan disputes are resolved by both the "customary law" system and the "state law" system. The "customary law" system includes "group fights", "pluralistic civil mediation", "eat Curse", etc. while the "state law" system represents itself mainly as litigation. However, the types of dispute resolution are formed because of the difference in cause, cultural background, scope of usage, mode of operation, the actual results, prospects in development and etc. Hence, in the process of the Tibetan dispute resolution, conflict and collision in Xiahe County never stop though the types of dispute resolution are so called "competitive coexistence", which is actually the root cause of the chaos in terms of dispute resolution.In today’s social conditions, it is imperative to focus on both the legitimacy of dispute resolution methods in the "customary law" system and the effectiveness of dispute resolution in the "state law " system. Due attention, of course, should be given to not only traditional cultural heritage in dispute resolution, but also the application of the state law in all ethnic areas. To achieve this end, under the premise of the minorities’autonomy, it is necessary to reinforce judicial unity, uniformity, equality, and the basic principles of "weak form" in legal pluralism. Specifically, it is necessary to take concrete measures to implement "coordination and interaction" in dispute resolution.In addition to the introduction and the conclusion, the entire research is divided into three parts:The first part (Chapters 1 and 2) describes the current situation and puts forward the research problems/research questions. It presents the diverse facts of the Xiahe Tibetan dispute resolutions and their causes, interprets culturally the Xiahe Tibetan dispute resolution process, including important and typical Xiahe Tibetan dispute cases such as "group fights", "pluralistic civil mediation", "eat curse" and "litigation", etc.The second part (Chapter 3) is about the analysis of the problems. It is examined from two perspectives, the "customary law" system and the "state law" system. The problems existing in the Xiahe Tibetan dispute resolution process such as "group fights", "pluralistic civil mediation", and "Eat curse"in the "customary law" system are carefully analyzed. So also are the problems and the litigation in the "state law" system.The third part (Chapter4, chapter 5) is about countermeasures and suggestions. It considers both the self-improvement and the development of different types of dispute resolution and how "coordination and interaction" can be carried out between different knowledge systems of dispute resolution. On the one hand, at this current historical era, different types of dispute resolution have its prospects and destinies. Some dispute resolution methods are explicitly prohibited by the state law such as revenge; and "group fights" will gradually disappear from the stage of history. Some dispute resolutions, such as "pluralistic civil mediation" and "eat curse ", can survive our state’s history and culture. These dispute resolutions can be continued within a certain range and can be adopted as a new social governance rule. Further, the litigation constructed by the state law should be respected. Once Xiahe Tibetan traditional culture is taken into account in the process of applying the state law, "cultural conflict" can be reduced in the practice of dispute resolution. On the other hand, with the development of the rule of law, the combination of positive interaction between the "customary law knowledge" and the "state law knowledge" will be the best way to solve the problem in the Tibetan dispute resolutions in Xiahe County. In order to achieve "coordination and interaction" in the process of dispute resolution in different knowledge systems, compatibility of differences can be taken as a departure point to explore the feasibility, principles and specific ways of using the "customary law knowledge" and the "state law knowledge ".It is worthy to notice that the issues in the Xiahe Tibetan dispute resolution process are commonly witnessed throughout Gansu and Qinghai Tibetan regions, and even all Tibetan areas in China, though they may vary in form. That is why, the research of proper methods for settling Xiahe Tibetan dispute resolution bears reference to how to correctly handle the relationship between the "customary law knowledge" and the "state law knowledge " for the whole Tibetans in the current historical era.