BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese legislators on Saturday passed the People's Mediation Law on the final day of the bimonthly meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature.
The law establishes the people's mediation committee as the legal organization to resolve everyday disputes, and sets down the procedure for formation of such an organization under community committees.
It stipulates that governments at county level and above shall provide financial support for mediation work, and shall honor and reward outstanding mediation committees and mediators.
The law encourages people to settle disputes at the neighborhood-level, outside of courts and arbitration.
In China, people traditionally regard going to court as a very serious move, so resolving disputes through mediation has become popular.
China has more than 4.9 million mediators, working in more than 800,000 mediation committees, according to the Ministry of Justice.
These organizations handled more than 7.67 million disputes last year, with a 97.2-percent resolution rate, while only 1 percent went on to litigation.