The Reform of Grass Roots Tribunals and the Application of the Law in Rural China

This article studies the role of the “special mediators” of the people's court in the district of Weicheng, in the city of Xianyang, in the province of Shaanxi. It focuses on the application of the law to the countryside. These special mediators help the grassroots tribunals carry out their political and legal functions, and their involvement in the judicial process contributes to increasing the awareness among the villagers of their rights