Across China: Tibetan herdsmen find justice at doorstep

Shaka, a Tibetan herdsman, has fought with a fellow villager for years over a piece of land, but solving the dispute in the courtroom seemed out of the question.

"I never went to school, I don't speak mandarin and I know nothing about the law," said the 48-year-old, who lives in Gongcha County in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

More than 63.4 percent of the county are Tibetans. During the summer, many, like Shaka, are involved in animal husbandry in the county's remote mountains. For them, going to court is too costly and time consuming.

This summer, however, Shaka had his day in court thanks to the bilingual circuit court service.

JUSTICE ON WHEELS

These mobile courts see judges travel to remote areas to solve disputes, bring the court service to the people.

Qinghai will develop the practice further, said Man Zhifang, vice president of the Higher People's Court in Qinghai.

"We will train more bilingual judges, improve working conditions for the judges and create opportunities for the circuit court service," he said.

Herdsman Shaka's case was heard on Aug. 1 near his yurt on the pasture land where he herds his cattle.

The judge was Lhamo Dorje, from Gongcha County People's Court. He is a native Tibetan born and raised in Gangcha. He arrived in a van carrying the national emblem, court banner, desks and chairs needed for the trial. Four people arrived as jurors.

The defendant Gongbaocha was in hospital, so his wife represented him. The trial lasted four hours, and judge Dorje adjourned the trial for the verdict to be given in a few days.

"It was a good day, no rain or snow, and we had enough time to return to the county," said Song Jizhu, presiding judge of civilian cases in the county court.

A growing number of bilingual judges like Dorje are making sure people's rights are not lost in translation.

Dorje recalled a criminal case where an interpreter translated the verdict "suspended sentence for two years" as "go home and we'll see if you die in two years."

"Many interpreters lacked legal knowledge, so now the focus is on training bilingual magistrates," said Dorje, who joined the county court five years ago.

Over the past five years, the bilingual circuit court has handled 229 cases and its judges have traveled over 100,000 kilometers.

The court also offers villagers the opportunity to learn more about the law.

FOR THE PEOPLE

The travelling court used to be called horseback court, said Song, and now judges travel by vans. Even though the means of transportation has improved, trips can still be arduous and take days.

The vans are loaded with tents, food, cooking utensils and heavy clothes as the team may have to spend many nights in the wilderness.

The journeys are not without danger.

In early spring a few years ago, a jeep carrying three female judges was trapped by a piece of collapsed ice on the river. They had no other choice but to wade into the freezing water and push the jeep out of the river.

"When the rescue team arrived, they found my three colleagues huddled tightly against each other to stay warm, their faces and lips were blue," said Song. Endi