Mediating Judges in China and the Netherlands: An Empirical Comparison

This article compares the judicial mediation practices in the Netherlands and in China. It analyzes original and rich data obtained through in-depth fieldwork in courts in both China and in the Netherlands. Through comparison, we find Dutch and Chinese judges share similar mediation skills and techniques in judicial mediation. However, the interviewed litigants give contrasting evaluative opinions to the judicial mediation and to the on-going litigation procedure: the Dutch litigants are generally satisfied while the Chinese litigants are less so. This paper seeks to explain what caused the opposite outcomes. We attribute the cause to different judicial environment, judges’ motivation promoting mediation, and how mediation is conducted. The article concludes by challenging the ideas of promoting the “settlement judge” in a developing legal context.