Flexibility and Authority: Resolving Labor Disputes in a County Government in Western China

60 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2020 Last revised: 17 Jul 2020

See all articles by Xin He

Xin He

The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law

Date Written: June 27, 2018

Abstract

Existing literature regards flexibility and authority as key characteristics of informal justice. We further contend that the combination of the two is crucial for informal justice to be effective. We investigate the process of dispute resolution by a Chinese labor agency. Following the life cycles of a sample of 810 labor disputes, we find that this informal justice forum was efficient and effective, made possible by the combination of flexibility and authority. Flexibility means that the agency attracts certain types of cases that are usually screened out of the formal legal system and that agency officials use "informal," hence flexible, techniques. Authority means that the administrative agency possesses additional powers over the disputants, hence the disputants are under pressure to follow its suggestions and decisions. A comparative analysis of various cases of informal justice reinforces the importance of combining flexibility and authority. We further demonstrate that flexibility without authority is insufficient, and that some informal justice forums are effective because they enjoy both.

Keywords: mediation, China, effectiveness, labor disputes

Suggested Citation

He, Xin, Flexibility and Authority: Resolving Labor Disputes in a County Government in Western China (June 27, 2018). University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2020/031, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3204071 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3204071

Xin He (Contact Author)

The University of Hong Kong - Faculty of Law ( email )

Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
China

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
38
Abstract Views
338
PlumX Metrics