Success Factors and Limitations of Village Dispute Mediation Committee The Case Study of Nong Bua Daeng Sub-district, Nong Bua Daeng District, Chaiyaphum Province

Abstract

This research aimed 1. to study the factors influencing the effectiveness of the Village Dispute Mediation Committee in Nong Bua Daeng Sub-district, Nong Bua Daeng District, Chaiyaphum Province, and 2. to address obstacles and restrictions occurred in mediation by the Village Dispute Mediation Committee in order to suggest guidelines for efficiency improvement as the Village Dispute Mediation Committee is an important form of community-based justice. This research was a qualitative study and adopted the in-depth interview and focus group as the research tools to gather information from 20 members of the Village Dispute Mediation Committee, the Deputy District Chief as the Head of the Damrongtham District Justice Provision Center, and the District Chief.

The research findings showed that the important factors facilitating success of the Village Dispute Mediation Committee in Nong Bua Daeng Sub-district, Nong Bua Daeng District, Chaiyaphum Province included 1. respect of which people had on the village headmen and the committees, particularly those who had legal knowledge and experiences, and 2. proximity also helped the committees to deeply understand the dispute, and people could easily access to the Committees. However, the study found several constraints of the Village Dispute Mediation Committee such as some dispute mediation procedures inconsistent
with regulations, insufficient fund, unclear duty structure, and a lack of legal knowledge.