The Legal Dilemma Of Resolving Grassroots Conflicts And Disputes

The resolution of conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level is of paramount importance for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved,as well as their personal welfare.Achieving social stability,fairness,and justice at the grassroots level hinges upon effective conflict resolution.Failure to address these issues in a timely manner may result in the accumulation and fermentation of disputes,potentially escalating into large-scale social incidents.Employing legal measures to resolve conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level contributes to the establishment of a more efficient and harmonious social environment.Overall,the resolution of conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level necessitates not only the reliance on rigorous legal systems but also the formation of a diversified conflict resolution mechanism,guided by legal means and supplemented by self-governance and moral governance within the framework of the rule of law.Therefore,this thesis examines the legal requirements,challenges,and approaches for conflict resolution at the grassroots level from the following three perspectives:Part Ⅰ of this thesis analyzes the limitations of relying solely on moral governance in resolving grassroots conflicts and disputes,including the lack of enforceability and the contradiction with the spirit of the rule of law in modern society.Additionally,it examines the issues of irregularity,unprofessionalism,and instability in the singular use of self-governance.Through comparative analysis,the study establishes that employing the rule of law as a means of resolving grassroots conflicts and disputes is an integral component of a people-centered development concept,offering numerous advantages such as standardizing the operation of conflict resolution mechanisms,enhancing the predictability of dispute relief,and bolstering the authority of conflict mediation outcomes.Furthermore,the thesis delves into the legal basis of using the rule of law in addressing grassroots conflicts and disputes,answering the question,"Why should legal means be employed to resolve grassroots conflicts and disputes?"In Part Ⅱ,empirical analysis reveals the current legal challenges in resolving grassroots conflicts and disputes in China,including the scarcity of judicial resources to meet the immense demand for dispute resolution,the proliferation of conflicts and abuse of rights at the grassroots level,and the existence of both hard and soft law governance gaps.Based on an accurate understanding of the challenges and their causes,Part III offers targeted and precise policy recommendations.Initially,it proposes the adoption of diversified governance to address the vast dispute resolution demands,including the promotion of diverse resolution mechanisms and the full exploitation of judicial resources’ potential.Next,it calls for the strengthening of identification and regulation of rights abuse behaviors.Finally,the thesis suggests achieving a coordinated co-governance of hard and soft laws through a combination of both approaches,filling the hard law gaps in grassroots conflict resolution while utilizing the value of soft law governance.By focusing on the rule of law as the entry point,this study provides support for addressing the legal challenges of resolving grassroots conflicts and disputes in China.