Dawagyizom, right, a Lhasa native and lawyer who has worked at the Legal Assistance Center of the Tibet Autonomous Region for five years, talks with her client Lhadron. [Photo/China Daily]

The Tibet Autonomous Region develops unique ways of administering law, Tang Yue and WangHuazhong reported in Lhasa.

When someone is killed in a traffic accident in China the guilty party usually has to compensate for the victim's family, and might even serve a prison term.

But that's not always the case if the accident happens in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

"Because of their Buddhist beliefs, people in Tibet think there's no need to increase a family'spain when someone's life has already gone. They believe that doing good to others will helptheir lost loved one to reincarnate," said Dawagyizom, a Lhasa native and lawyer who hasworked at the Legal Assistance Center of the Tibet autonomous region for five years.

"That's why you see a lot of fatal traffic accidents resolved more easily here than in other partsof the country."

Compared with people in the more affluent areas of China, many residents of Tibet lack legalawareness, despite the huge progress made in recent decades, said Dawagyizom.

"In Lhasa, it's fine but in a lot of other regions, especially the rural areas, people may resort toother means, rather than seeking a legal solution."

To better help people defend their rights through the process of law, especially those frompoverty-stricken areas, the legal assistance center was established in Lhasa in 2001. It nowemploys more than 120 employees and covers every one of Tibet's 73 counties.

The center not only helps people defend their rights, but has also helped to change traditionalviews.

One of Dawagyizom's clients is Lhadron, a 34-year-old Lhasa housewife. Her father PaldenTsering fought with Lhadron's stepmother last year, inflicting a slight injury to her leg in theprocess.

Although the wound was minor, Lhadron's stepmother went to the hospital to have it checked.While at the hospital, the woman became enraged, grabbed a knife and accidentally severedan artery in her leg. She later died of the injury.

"I don't know much about the law. At first, I thought my father would be tried and given a deathsentence because my stepmother died. I cried everyday," said Lhadron.

Relatives advised her to seek help from the assistance center. She was seen by Dawagyizom,who collected evidence from witnesses at the hospital that proved the fatal injury was inflictedaccidentally and was not a result of the fight between husband and wife.

In addition to consulting a lawyer, Lhadron also spent a long time praying in the hall the familyuses for worshipping Buddha.

"I believe Buddha must have helped my father through this troubled time," said Lhadron, afteroffering incense to a statue of the Buddha.

"But what's different now is that I don't only believe in the blessings of Buddha, but also in thepower of the law. In the past, we thought it shameful to go to court."

Zhou Yun, left, meets Chen Bo, deputy director of the center. Chen helped Zhou win compensation of 230,000 yuan after he lost a kidney in a work-related accident. [Photo/China Daily]

Labor disputes

According to Chen Bo, deputy director of the center, 70 percent of the cases it deals with arelabor disputes.

"There are similar cases all over China - mainly construction workers who haven't been paidfor work they've done. Some are from outside Tibet, while others are local farmers orherdsman," said Chen, 45.

As a Han Chinese, Chen believes the Tibetan he acquired during childhood has helped himwin the trust of the local people.

"But I don't really care if the people who ask our advice are Han or Tibetan. All people areequal before the law. As a lawyer, my responsibility is simply to defend the rights of everyindividual."

Zhou Yun has benefited from the center's work. The 37-year-old moved to Lhasa fromneighboring Sichuan province on March 19, earning 210 yuan ($34) a day installingequipment in a cement plant.

He lost a kidney in a work-related accident on April 5. Although his boss agreed to pay thesurgical fee of 35,000 yuan, he was reluctant to discuss compensation.

Zhou's wife, Gong Yongying, said at the center on May 9: "When I saw all the tubes in myhusband's body, I was really terrified and didn't dare think of the future."

Zhou said, "I have no savings to hire a lawyer, but thanks to lawyer Chen's help, I can hold onand fight for what I deserve." He eventually received compensation of 230,000 yuan.

Mobile courts

Sometimes, it's not just the cost that prevents people from consulting a lawyer, often they aredaunted by distance.

Fewer than 3 million people live in Tibet's 1.2 million square kilometers of area. Settlementsare few and far between, meaning that for many people the nearest judicial center may behundreds of kilometers away.

The problem was resolved by the use of "mobile courts" that traveled across the vast plateaudispensing justice.

In the early years, the court officials traveled on horseback, but in 2009, cars were introducedfor 73 lower-level courts to speed up and simplify the process.

"We help them to access the most convenient judicial services in the shortest period of timeand at the lowest cost," said Phurbu Droma, who has worked as a judge at the mobile court ofDoilungdeqen county in Lhasa for four years.

On a sunny day in April, the 29-year-old drove for two hours to Nanba village to erect a tent atthe foot of the snowcapped mountains.

She and her colleagues were there to try a case in which an employer was accused ofdelaying payment of a worker's salary for half a year.

Tondub Tsering, the plaintiff, said that when village government officials tried, but failed, topersuade his employer to pay up, he decided to call the mobile court.

"The judges came and opened the trial. The verdict of the court is highly prestigious and mustbe adhered to."

According to a work report compiled by the autonomous region's high people's court, themobile courts have traveled 3.62 million km and tried 17,800 cases in the four years sincethey were introduced.

"This is not like working in a solemn courtroom where the judges sit behind high desks. Herewe can communicate with the locals like friends and hear what they think more closely," saidPhurbu Droma.

The mobile courts have also helped to raise locals' awareness of the law, even when a trial isnot required. Locals can call on 46 liaison officers in 34 villages in Doilungdeqen county whenthey need to consult them or file a lawsuit.

Gesang Drolkar, 48, a local official, said people used to turn to seniors and the Living Buddhato resolve conflicts in the past.

But the seniors' judgments were sometimes biased and favored one side, especially if thecases involved their relatives or friends. "The practice was not conducted according to the lawand was often unfair."

As a result, local traditions have changed. For example, it has long been the practice that if acouple divorced the father would be awarded custody of the male children, while the mothergot the girls. That practice has now been phased out.

However, Phurbu Droma said the region faces a shortage of qualified judges, but the numberof cases is rising. Moreover, because the mobile courts reduce and remit most of the costs oflitigation, the courts face economic difficulties.

"Traveling on the plateau is not easy. We came here so that the villagers would not have totake the trouble of traveling repeatedly to the county seat where the court is based," she said.