The Application Of Folk Rules In The Forest Property Dispute Mediation

In contemporary China, there are two rule management mechanisms in rural society. One is the legal mechanism established by the country, and the other is the folk rules maintained by villagers. Folk rules are behavior regulations which adjust people's daily life, beyond the laws officially promulgated by the country. Compared with state laws, folk rules are spontaneous, regional in effect, concrete in content, and psychological as well as humane in operation. According to different standards, folk rules can be divided into3types:truth judgment, value judgment and combination of the two.In contemporary legal and social environment, it is of necessity and feasibility to introduce folk rules into the resolution of forest-property dispute case. The implement of new forest-property revolution promotes the mass burst-out of forest-property dispute. The overall shortage of relevant laws and the obstruction against legal value deployment from conventional cultures make the application of folk rules necessary; the basis to make laws, people's recognition and acceptance of folk rules, the good interaction between state laws and folk rules and cost-cutting in case dealing make the application of folk rules feasible.The application of folk rules in forest-property dispute can restrict the swelling administrative power, offset the defects of state laws and create abundant and harmonious cultures. But folk rules have limitations because of their abilities and disabilities. The feudal dross of some folk rules is not in line with modern legal system idea. Folk rules have application limitation due to their regional features. Therefore, we have to make greater efforts to collect and discriminate folk rules in order to confirm detailed applicable folk rules.There are3ways to introduce folk rules into forest-property dispute:the first is direct quotation at lacuna and vagueness; the second is using folk rules as the explanation and demonstration of detailed clauses; the third is absorbing some folk rules into forest-property law system, make them laws.In actual forest-property cases, folk rules can be used to expand the conciliation subjects. Some conciliation by local authority figures and professionals can be adapted. Some changes in conciliation process can be made according to folk rules. Some local features can be added into conciliation process according to local habits. Since dispute conciliation is satisfaction-oriented dealing mechanism, we can set up "choose the suitable" regulation when referring to folk rules and give the involved person(s) the freedom to select actual rules to obey, which is the autonomy characteristic of folk rules. Last but not least, legal obligation should be attached to folk rules to make sure conciliation results to be carried out.