ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to provide a theoretical account for investigating the new form of justice within the context of Chinese legal philosophies, social conditions and political arrangements in the 2000s. It focuses particularly on this new form of justice in China's urban areas. To better explore the cultural particulars and social significances of China's community justice initiatives, the chapter undertakes a preliminary comparison on the model of community justice between the US and China. The chapter distinguishes itself from those that pronounce the legal and institutional superiority of the West over China, which, as suggested by criminologists and jurists, is a misperceived ideal of some cross-cultural comparative research. It suggests that the Chinese community is less favourable than the US community to the practice of community justice. Despite the rehabilitative and reparative elements, community justice in China has shown a strong mark of managerialism, aiming to serve the end of risk control and prevention.