International Law

Chinese-educated foreign dispute resolution mediators now sitting in Chinese courts

By Andy Scott

Jan, 14 - In a demonstration that the Chinese Ministry of Justice is actively engaging with Western concepts of judicial management and dispute resolution, and as a result of on-going educational and instructional support from the American and British governments in particular, we can report that a 27-year-old British-South African woman, Katie Kinahan, has been appointed as a mediator to the Hailing Road branch of the Golou District in Nanjing, where she has been involved in dispute resolution involving domestic housing issues.

Kinahan has been studying dispute resolution law at the Nanjing University law school since 2003, and additionally speaks, reads and writes fluent Mandarin. The appointment, which is still to be made permanent, does however demonstrate a unique softening of attitudes towards Western involvement in the development of transparency in China’s judicial system. This development indicates that such appointments, though still on a trial basis, are set to continue to provide both the international business community a better understanding of the unique cultural issues that China faces with disputes on its soil, as well a cross-fertilization of the introduction of concepts of transparency and judicial management practice in Chinese courts. (more…)

Full post as published by China Briefing Blog on January 13, 2008 (boomark / email).