In view of the increase in the number of civil cases heard in_ the Shanghai Special District Court} resulting from the greater number} of business transactions among! local merchants, the author of the Court under Mr. Z. H. Yang, the president, have considered advisable to organize a civil eases mediation bureau, the duties of which will be to endeavour to settle disputes which arise between the merchants before the latter resort to the law courts. In view of creation of this bureau, it is expected that the number of civil actions will show a decided decrease, The new bureau will begin to] function as soon as the Court reopens after the holidays, namely, next Monday and, in future, before hearing civil cases, the Judges will advise all litigants to take their matters before the mediation bureau, which will conduct media-do everything possible to]
the parties to settle their disputes by peaceful means instead of resorting to the law, Such mediation will not take the form of legal proceedings and the bureau will function ax a distinctly separate institution from the Judiciary, The mediators will in-Guire asto the troubles between the various parties, ete. and, after obtaining both versions of all matters, they will try to get the parties to settle their troubles out, of court. Should the litigants agree to the mediators' suggestions, legal proceedings will naturally be dropped but, if they remain adamant, and decline to accept the advice of the mediators, or if "their cases involve legal problems and _principles with which the mediation bureau is unable to deal, such eases! will-be referred to the civil courts. After all, the mediators do not have the right to force the conflicting, parties to settle their differences out of court, 'A room next to the civil division has been eet aside for the new bureau and a notice to this effect has been issued by the Court, authorities,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.