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Flexibility and Authority: Resolving Labor Disputes in A County Government in Western China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Xin He  and
Yang Su
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Abstract

Existing literature regards flexibility and authority as key characteristics of informal justice. We further contend that the combination of the two is crucial for informal justice to be effective. We investigate the process of dispute resolution by a Chinese labor agency. Following the life cycles of a sample of 810 labor disputes, we find that this informal justice forum was efficient and effective, made possible by the combination of flexibility and authority. Flexibility means that the agency attracts certain types of cases that are usually screened out of the formal legal system and that agency officials use “informal,” hence flexible, techniques. Authority means that the administrative agency possesses additional powers over the disputants; hence, the disputants are under pressure to follow its suggestions and decisions. A comparative analysis of various cases of informal justice reinforces the importance of combining flexibility and authority. We further demonstrate that flexibility without authority is insufficient and that some informal justice forums are effective because they enjoy both.

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Articles
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Law & Society Review , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 1341 - 1376
Copyright
© 2019 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

An earlier version of this paper was presented by Xin He at "Labor Rights in China Conference" Organized by NYU Law School and the Ford Foundation in Beijing, May 2015. We benefited from the comments of the audience. The editors and anonymous reviewers of the Review provided invaluable suggestions for improvement. Jing Wang provided indispensable research assistance. Lastly, we are grateful for the officials and migrant workers who kindly accepted our interviews.

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