The Elevation of Law and the Weakening of Morality: Law-oriented Mediation and its Mechanism in Urban China

Abstract: Unlike mediation practices in rural China, law-oriented mediation has developed in urban China. Existing studies however generally focus on the role of morality in mediation, often neglecting the role of law in the mediation process. Findings from field investigations and an analysis of files related to mediation from the subdistrict mediation committees in the megacity of S have shown that people’s mediation in China has transformed and taken an approach towards law-oriented mediation in which morality fulfils an ancillary role. Law-oriented mediation materialises the embeddedness of law in the mediation process to influence the parties’ consensus through four mechanisms related to the legal process: determination, intervention, spillover and enhancement. In the first two mechanisms, law effectively “replaces” morality, while in the latter two, law “blends” with morality. The application of law rather than of morality has proven to be more effective in mediating and hence resolving disputes in urban China.