Shahla F. Ali

The jurisprudence of responsive mediation: an empirical examination of Chinese people's mediation in action

Community mediation in China has a long history and finds its roots in both cultural (traditional Confucian ideologies) and functional (the avoidance of social conflicts) aims. Recently, however, owing to changes in societal values occurring alongside Chinas economic open-door policy, traditional values are losing their prominent role in the mediation process. Meanwhile, reforms are being carried out to provide greater structure to community mediation in China. The combination of these changes has resulted in struggles to redefine the place and role of mediation in China. While the flexibility and responsiveness of mediation allows a contextualized and ‘learning mode of legal intervention’, it is at risk of being a ‘precarious ideal’ that lacks precision. Nevertheless, empirical research shows that a new version of mediation which is embedded in the ‘rule of law’ is emerging and that responses from mediators in relation to this new mode of mediation are positive, reporting enhancement in both objectivity and legitimacy. This paper seeks to explore the unique challenges and opportunities of achieving responsive mediation in action in China. Drawing on a set of interviews and a case study conducted in three cities in China, the paper aims to contribute to the legal pluralism discourse by examining how mediation in China, traditionally an ‘unofficial’ form of legal practice is now becoming ‘official’ through state sanction and how mediators interact with traditional Confucian normative orders in the context of changing social priorities and values. This paper is divided into three parts: Part I discusses briefly the jurisprudence of responsive law; Part II examines contemporary mediation policy in China which echoes in many respects the goals and challenges of responsive law and Part III provides an empirical exploration of the challenges of applying responsive law ideals in practice.

Non-State Actors and the Evolution of Humanitarian Norms: Implications of the Sphere Charter in Health and Nutrition Relief

The Sphere Humanitarian Charter, a self-regulation instrument of humanitarian non-State actors, establishes principles and minimum standards in the provision of humanitarian assistance in select vital life-saving relief activities, especially in nutrition and health. The Charter articulates principles and minimum standards for facilitating the achievement of rights and obligations enshrined in various international legal “soft law” instruments. Due to the multiplicity of international legal instruments, the Sphere Charter provides a tool for a coherent understanding and application of relevant obligations, and therefore increases accountability and efficiency. The Sphere Charters bold human rights based approach to humanitarian assistance, including its articulation of a right to receive humanitarian assistance, may contribute to the evolution of the international legal regime into a more “victim centered” system. The central argument postulated in this article is that although the Sphere Charter is not a binding legal instrument, it has significant normative value that may contribute to progressive developments in the legal regime governing humanitarian assistance, and is particularly helpful in improving accountability and quality in the provision of nutrition and health relief. The Sphere Charter framework for local participation is particularly viewed as significant in engendering accountability in relief activities.

Lessons learned from a comparative examination of global civil justice reforms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of recent civil justice reforms in five jurisdictions including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the UK and Canada on the resolution of civil and commercial disputes.Design/methodology/approach – The study, drawing on a comparative cross‐jurisdictional methodology, reviews the scope and nature of such reforms and examines lessons learned regarding implementation.Findings – The findings of the research indicate that such reforms are most effective where regular evaluation to fine‐tune mediation rules occurs concurrently and in conjunction with the implementation of such reforms.Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this research is that it is confined to already existing court case statistics, judicial commentaries and reviews of the five selected jurisdictions.Practical implications – The practical implications of the study find that in general, civil justice reforms have made some progress in achieving the aims of encouraging cos...