Grass-roots Court Assize System Research In China

The connotation of assizes in China is different from that in western countries, it mainly refers to a form of trial, in which primary courts (grass-roots courts) depending on the local conditions, go to specific or general locations to hold hearings and resolve disputes of simple cases. Assizes came into being and developed in the period of the new democratic revolution, then went up and down after the establishment of new China. In recent years, this form of trial has been implemented in many areas of our country, showing a trend of revival.Of course, changing times has brought a lot of changes to assizes. Therefore, in order to highlight the impact of changing times on assizes, it is imperative to make a comprehensive study on the operation mode of assizes, especially to conclude the characteristics of times on the basis of assizes mode. On the halo of the characteristics of times, assizes have made a great achievement, such as the construction of the system, the more abundant connotation of "justice for the people", the greatly expansion of court’s function, meeting the cognition need of the public in specific field, etc. However, things are double-sided, in the process of system design and implementation, the high-level always ignore the interests of all participants, which not only hinders the system’s further improvement, but also has brought some distortions to the system, even may make it be mere formal and then constrain the exploitation of its value.Even so, whether it is based on the match of details in microscopic aspect or caused by the judicial reform in macroscopic aspect, aassizes will make a great accomplishment in the transitional period of China. However, the realization of this vision depends on the further construction and improvement of assizes system, and its fundamental starting point and goal is to coordinate the interests of relevant participants. On one hand, decision-makers should have a more clear understanding of the system, so as to recognize the adaptability of assizes in different places. On the other hand, it is needed to optimize the behaviors and skills of the judges, to guide the parties and other people to participate actively, and to ensure the enthusiasm of legal service providers. At the same time, we can make corresponding improvements in the norm-setting of assizes system, in the protection of resources and in the coordination with non-complaint mechanism. Only in these ways, the value of assizes can be functional.