Hehe-Based Mediation
As a kind of alternative mode of dispute resolution, people's mediation adheres to the people-centered philosophy of development and aims to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the people. With the deepening of reform, the people have ever-growing needs regarding democracy, law-based governance, fairness, justice, security and environment. Diverse needs have led to more contradictions and disputes in different fields, and it is difficult for judicial resources to keep up with the growing demands of dispute resolution. People's mediation, underpinned by the Chinese people's love of harmony and idea of settling a case without going to the court, has thus won wide support and played a remarkable role as the "first line of defense" for maintaining social stability.
Tiantai County has endeavored to integrate elements of traditional Chinese culture with people's mediation in recent years. The approach aiming to reduce contradictions at the source, discover disputes in the early stage, address minor matters within the village, and resolve major matters within the town has not only satisfied the diverse needs of the people, but also ensured that contradictions and disputes are smoothly resolved. At present, Tiantai County has developed distinctive local characteristics in its people's mediation system:
Firstly, guided by the Tiantai County People's Mediation Board, with a joint mediation center as the pivot and the village and town people's mediation boards as the basis, a thorough mediation system is established, concentrating the strength of mediation centers, towns, villages and enterprises. With the support of the joint mediation center, mediation teams are dispatched to courts, public security departments, procuratorates, departments for letters and calls and other administrative organs and industrial associations and work in a coordinated manner.
Secondly, efforts are made to explore professional and industry-specific approaches to mediation. In 2010, Tiantai County began to establish professional mediation committees for resolving medical, transportation, labor and various other disputes. There are now 27 mediation organizations across various industries, which have further expanded the coverage of such professional mediation committees.
Thirdly, the local government is proactive in its exploration of new dispute resolution mechanisms. Under the guidance of the new idea that the government purchases public services from the people, the government invited mediators from among the people to engage in mediation work, and founded Hehe mediation studios, building a mediation brand with Tiantai's characteristics.
和合调解
人民调解作为一种非诉讼纠纷解决机制，体现了坚持以人民为中心，维护群众合法权益的价值追求。随着改革的深入，人民群众在民主、法治、公平、正义、安全、环境等方面的要求日益增长。诉求的多样化导致矛盾纠纷在数量、范围、领域等方面的扩大化，有限的司法资源难以充分满足群众纠纷解决的需求。中国人奉行“和为贵”和“无讼”理念使得人民调解在中国大地上具有深厚的文化支持，受到了人们的高度重视，并取得很大的成就，被称为维护社会稳定的“第一道防线”。
近年来，天台县积极探寻传统文化与调解文化融合之道。矛盾减少在源头、纠纷发现在苗头、小事化解在村头、大事控制在镇头的“四头工作法”的推行，在满足老百姓各方面社会诉求的同时，将矛盾化解在无形之中。目前，天台县人民调解工作形成了鲜明的地方特色：一是“纵向五级，横向五联”的大调解工作体系。在县人民调解委员会主导下，以联调中心为枢纽，以乡镇人民调解委员会为依托，以乡镇调解中心、乡镇、村居、企业调解组织为主力，建立了纵向五级调解组织。依托联调中心，通过在法院、公安、检察、信访及其他行政机关、行业协会派驻调解室的方式，全面建立了“诉调、警调、检调、访调、政调”横向五调联动机制。二是探索专业化、行业化调解之路。从2010年开始，天台县在医疗、交通、劳动纠纷等行业建立专业性行业调委会，目前已建立各类行业调解组织27个，进一步拓宽专业性行业调委会的覆盖面。三是探索新的矛盾纠纷调解机制，以“政府向民间购买公共服务”的新理念，由政府来“搭台”，请“民间老娘舅”来“唱戏”，建立以“和合”冠名的专职调解工作室，打造具有天台特色的调解品牌。
