The Application Of Zhuang Customary Laws In Rural Civil Disputes

China is a multinational country. Each nationality, influenced by historical cultural factors, confined by geographical boundaries and impacted by the unbalanced development of regional economy, has gradually, in their social practices, formed local customary laws which differ from the state ones. Recently, there emerge greater emphasis and richer fruits in the study of customary laws of the minorities. The application of these laws to civil disputes in rural areas, however, still needs further investigations. Investigations in this field are much concerned with such issues as the application of customary laws in solving rural civil disputes, the specific influences and roles of these laws in solving the disputes, the relationship between customary laws and state laws and the attitudes toward the customary laws. These issues wait for further studies which not only can improve the social stability of the minorities and the modernization of legal system but also benefit the realization of China as socialist country under rule of law.Zhuang Nationality, as the second large minority in China, has its unique customary law which is an important part of the overall customary law system. Therefore, the thesis intends to have a study of the application of Zhuang customary laws in rural civil disputes.The thesis is a case study of the Zhuang customary laws of Tianyang County, Guangxi Province. We firstly investigates the main content, types of disputes, ways of solutions and the application of customary laws in solving the civil disputes. Based on the analysis of the investigation, we find that customary laws have both positive and negative roles in solving disputes and meanwhile they both conflict and complement the state laws. Finally, the thesis gives some suggestions’ for having proper attitudes toward customary laws.