Hardy judges travel tortuous trails to mete out justice in Yunnan
What's the job like?
There are four judges in our court, where three of us go together to hear a case and the other stays behind. We send three judges each time not only to constitute a tribunal but to take care of each other during the tough trip. We often travel on foot for a day and a night to hear a case because of Sayingpan's rugged terrain. The highest mountain is more than 3,300 metres. There are still no roads to many remote villages and most of the time a car cannot fit along the narrow paths and trails. We usually set out at 8am and arrive at 3pm.
We choose vacant land at the entrance of the village and borrow tables and benches for the public hearing. No matter how far the village is, we have to take a 10kg emblem of the People's Republic of China, the court's symbol of authority. We display it at every hearing. To save money, we always return as soon as a hearing is concluded no matter what time it is. Each of us has experienced walking along dangerous mountain paths in the darkness.
Why do you have to hear cases in villages?
About 160,000 people from 16 ethic minorities live in 700 villages in Sayingpan. Most villagers have little exposure to the law and live according to their customs. It's very hard to summon them for trial, especially the older people. For example, many villagers marry according to local custom without legal procedures. They prefer judges to settle problems in their communities when they get a divorce.
Why do you take the national emblem?
We have taken the emblem with us since 2000.
In the past, some villagers rejected the court's authority when the emblem was not displayed. Others who had worked in cities said that on television each court had a national emblem in the room. Although the emblem is very heavy when we're climbing mountains, it's good for making rural people respect the law.
What kind of cases do you face most often?
We handle civil and criminal cases, but mostly they are minor and domestic disputes such as the division of property, determining who would act as a child's guardian and conflicts between neighbours. We once walked for hours to hear a case involving not many yuan.
Courts in big cities would not even accept such small lawsuits, but I still believe our job is very important to locals.
What are some of the experiences that have stayed with you?
In 2002, a woman in Malutang village came to our court to sue her husband for alimony. We arrived at 4pm and left that night. But we went the wrong way on the mountain in the middle of the night and almost fell into a river. We were freezing.
Luckily we were back in the office safely the next morning. I walked around 50km during that journey.
What would make your job better?
More roads, so we can reach the remote villages in vehicles. The mountainous paths are too difficult to walk on. It would be so good to have special funds so we could pay villagers and stay the night.
