Sad and happy stories of reconciliation

Stories of reconciliation

Since December 2019, Mr. Tran Huy Loi has been working at the Mediation and Dialogue Center at the People's Court of Nghe An province. Mr. Loi was formerly the Chief Economic Judge of the Provincial People's Court. Since then, he has successfully participated in mediation and dialogue in hundreds of cases. Each case is associated with different circumstances and people, and many cases have left him with deep feelings, especially the meaning of the work he is doing and affirmed the advantages of the Mediation and Dialogue Centers.

One of the cases that Mr. Loi will always remember is the lawsuit to divide the inheritance between Mr. HTX and his stepmother, Mrs. Đ.TH in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city. After Mr. HTX's parents divorced, Mr. X's father married Mrs. Đ.TH and had a child together. During their time together, Mr. HTX and Mrs. Đ.TH had conflicts, Mr. X did not accept Mrs. H as his stepmother. In 2016, Mr. X's father died, the property formed during the marriage between Mr. X's father and Mrs. H included a 2-storey house located on a 109 m2 plot of land.

Staff of the Mediation and Dialogue Center at the Provincial People's Court advise people. Photo: Duc Cuong

In February 2018, Mr. X filed a petition with the Vinh City People's Court requesting to divide the inheritance left by his father equal to 1/2 of the value of the above property. The Vinh City People's Court sent the file to the Mediation Center for settlement. During the mediation process, Ms. H said that the property was formed by her and Mr. X's father during the marriage, so she did not accept to divide it for Mr. X. The two sides maintained their views and did not agree on the value of the property division. The mediator went to the Land Management Center and the Finance Department to consult the prices; met with the local authorities to learn more about the market price value at the time of mediation. At the same time, she also went to each party's home to explain the provisions of the law and related factors.

After that, after 3 times inviting the parties to the Mediation Center to work, mediator Tran Huy Loi convinced both sides to reach an agreement, Ms. H agreed to return the value of the inheritance to Mr. X in cash, to be carried out within 2 months. The mediation cost was 300 thousand VND. Thanks to the successful mediation, the two sides did not have to go to court but still had a court decision, helping to reduce costs and time to resolve (if going to court, each side would have to pay a court fee of 5% of the value of the disputed property). After the successful mediation, the beneficiaries of the inheritance not only received their material benefits but also had their "knot" of spiritual conflict resolved.

From a place where the two sides did not share with each other and had long-standing deep disunity, they have become closer and more friendly.

Internet illustration

In another case, in early 2019, Mr. Mai Le Danh in Quynh Hau commune, Quynh Luu district sued the district leaders regarding compensation for land clearance related to the National Highway 1A expansion project. Mr. Danh had a 180m2 plot of land along National Highway 1A that was partially compensated, but because the State had not yet provided funds, the government had not been able to disburse the money. Mr. Danh believed that the district government had made mistakes in the process of resolving his family's rights, so he filed a lawsuit with all levels, sectors and the court.

However, the Provincial People's Court's Mediation and Dialogue Center has twice connected and invited the parties, including Mr. Danh and representatives of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district, relevant departments and branches, to sit together at a roundtable dialogue, creating opportunities for both sides to discuss, explain and clarify the problems. As a result, the parties have reached an understanding, Mr. Danh agreed to withdraw the petition and not continue to file a prolonged lawsuit.

Mediator Nguyen Thi Huong, also the former Chief of the Economic Court of the Provincial People's Court, is concerned with stories of conciliating family conflicts, mainly cases related to divorce. Once, she mediated a case where a wife asked for a divorce from her husband when both were separated, the daughter lived with her grandmother, the husband went back to his hometown in Nam Dan, and the wife went with another man. However, when she filed for divorce, the wife declared that she had no children. It took a lot of effort to invite the two parties to sit down together to talk and reconcile. After a period of dialogue, the two sides decided to divorce and admitted to having children together. The divorce file was sent by the Center to the court for recognition and legal effect, without the need to open a trial.

When asked, “If your parents divorce, do you want to live with your father or your mother?”, the child of the couple burst into tears because she was afraid of being away from her grandmother. Mrs. Huong said that the little girl’s tears made her remember forever, tormented because there are parents who give birth to children but let their children lack affection, and also burden their parents... As parents, if the child has to fear living with the mother, that is truly an unnecessary tragedy.

Reduce the pressure of increasing cases in court

Chart of performance results of mediation and dialogue centers at two-level courts in the province. Technique: Hoai Thu

Mediator Nguyen Thi Huong said that for cases related to marriage and family as well as cases in other fields, after successful mediation, the mediation center will complete the legal procedures, send the court to recognize the mediation results according to the provisions of law without having to open a trial. In addition, many cases have filed for divorce in court, but through the mediator connecting, meeting, and dialogue, the couples have resolved the conflict and agreed to withdraw the application.

Mr. Ho Dinh Trung - Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Court said that from December 2018 to now, the mediation centers of Nghe An province have received 2,022 petitions, including many complicated property disputes and inheritance disputes; many divorce cases have been successfully mediated, restoring the happiness of many couples. The results of mediation and dialogue have had positive social effects, resolving disputes quickly and sustainably, saving a lot of time, costs for conducting and participating in litigation for both state agencies and the parties.

The Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Court said that, in addition to its social significance, the results of the conciliation also have a positive and effective impact in reducing the pressure of increasing sentences at court agencies, reducing the number of cases accepted for trial that take a long time to resolve according to procedural regulations.

Statistics on the number of civil and administrative cases under the jurisdiction of the courts with pilot centers from December 2018 to May 2019 were 2,941 cases, an increase of 916 cases compared to the same period in 2018, equivalent to 45%. However, of these, 1,097 cases were successfully mediated at the mediation center. The court accepted these cases but did not have to carry out the procedural steps, but only recognized the results of out-of-court mediation and issued a recognition decision.