The System "Non-governmental Organizations Mediating Under The Official Approval （NOMOA）" In The Qing Dynasty ——Centered On The Huangyan Lawsuit File

In China,mediation has been an important way to resolve disputes since ancient times.Using mediation to resolve disputes can better maintain the interpersonal relationship between the two sides,which is in line with China’s traditional concept of "peace is precious".The mediation system has a long history in China and has been improved in the Qing Dynasty,of which the official approval and public opinion survey system is an important part.The purpose of the official approval poll system is to combine the official forces with the civil forces,and to grant civil disputes and minor criminal cases back to the civil mediation in order to achieve the purpose of litigation.In the Qing Dynasty,the political system of prefectures and counties,the integration of family and country,the social structure of acquaintance society and the social atmosphere of healthy litigation made Dezhou county officials tend to choose the official approval poll system to solve disputes.A total of 78 relatively complete and dated cases were recorded in Huangyan litigation archives,of which 29 cases were approved back to civil mediation,which provided a historical basis for in-depth study of the official approval and public opinion survey system.Through the systematic combing of Huangyan litigation files,it can be found that the official approval poll system is applicable to a wide range of cases,including household marriage cases,farmland and house cases,money and debt cases,fight cases and cases requiring filing.The diversity of applicable cases determines the diversification of mediation subjects.Most household marriage cases are handled by relatives or required to settle by themselves without hurting the friendship of relatives;If there is a Chinese in the Tian Zhai case and the money debt case,the Chinese will be invited to mediate,because the Chinese understand the situation of the case and are familiar with both parties,so as to better solve the dispute;Cases of personal injury are generally handed over to the Bureau gentry or the first-class factoring office,because they have a semi official identity and can better solve the contradiction.The official approval and public opinion poll system includes three stages: official approval,public opinion poll and submission.It has formed a relatively fixed operation process and is a very mature system.The characteristics of the official approval poll system are also reflected in Huangyan litigation archives and other litigation archives of the Qing Dynasty.For example,the subjects of the official approval are all state and county officials,the subjects of the poll are very diverse,and the cases are mostly folk details.The official approval poll system has great advantages,which not only reduces the case litigation cost,improves the litigation efficiency,but also strengthens the governance of the grass-roots society.However,it also has some disadvantages,such as the lack of authority of the mediation subject,the mediation does not respect the wishes of the parties and so on.Taking history as a mirror,studying the official approval poll system in the Qing Dynasty can provide some inspiration for improving the contemporary mediation system.For example,the mediation should respect the wishes of the parties,pay attention to efficiency,reasonably determine the mediation subject and applicable case types,and improve the relevant security mechanisms.