励讼:当代中国诉讼文化的变迁

Encouraging Litigation:the Transition of Litigation Culture in Contemporary China

改革开放以来,随着"法治"成为基本治国理念,诉讼文化逐渐向"励讼"转型。国家精英鼓励民众将纠纷交由司法机关解决,不仅努力树立"诉讼"在纠纷解决机制中至高无上的排他性权威,还将"诉讼"与"权利意识"相联系,参与诉讼是权利意识高的表现。在"法治"的治理理念和"励讼"的价值取向作用下,社会舆论和诉讼制度也发生转变。在普法运动中,国家精英一方面将法律武器交给民众,另一方面努力使民众懂得并敢于运用法律武器维权。王海现象和一元钱官司在媒体上被赋予崇高的社会意义,法制栏目也结合日常生活中的纠纷来指导民众该如何打官司,破除民众的传统诉讼观念。诉讼制度方面,在"司法为民""诉讼便民"观念的引导下,中国的诉讼制度不断便民化、便利化,努力使诉讼成为民众可便利接触的权利救济途径。"励讼"的诉讼文化以及"励讼"强度的变迁为人们提供了理解诉讼率变迁的新思路,"励讼"所造成的社会影响尚待进一步研究。

Since the reform and opening-up of China, the governance ideolo- gy has basically turned to ＂rule of law＂, and the litigation culture has also trans- fered to ＂Encouraging Litigation＂. National elites encourage people to solve dis- putes by judicial organs. They not only strive to establish the exclusive authority of ＂litigation＂ in dealing with disputes, but also connect ＂the participation in liti- gation＂ with ＂the awareness of rights＂. Participating in the litigation is the per- formance of high awareness of rights. Under the influence of the ideology of ＂rule of law＂ and the value orientation of ＂Encouraging Litigation＂, public opimon and litigation system also underwent some changes. In the ＂law popularizing move- ment＂, national elites hand over weapons of law to the public, and at the same time try to teach people how to safeguard their rights with such weapons. The ＂ Wang Hal case＂ and ＂One RMB case＂ are endowed with high social significance by the media; and legal programs on TV also instruct people how to deal with lawsuits and help them get rid of the traditional litigation cognition through the disputes in daily life. As for litigation system, under the guidance of ＂justice for the people＂. Chinese litigation system has become more public-friendly and con- venient. The lawyers and staffs in legal divisions try to make sure that litigation is an easily accessible channel for people to protect their rights. Eventually, the contemporary Chinese litigation culture features with ＂Encouraging Litigation＂, as well as the intensified strength of litigation, sheds new light on understanding the change of litigation rate. However, further study is yet to be done on the so- cial impact caused by ＂Encouraging Litigation＂.