关键词: 司法调解, 非线性规划, 利益分配, 财产纠纷

Abstract: Judicial mediation in China has undergone three developmental stages, evolving from an initial focus on mediation to a later emphasis on adjudication, and now, in response to a sharp increase in pending cases and the frequent escalation of social conflicts, China has adopted a “combination of mediation and adjudication.” The positive value of judicial mediation in “reducing disharmony and promoting social harmony” is particularly prominent at present. At its core, the institutional value of judicial mediation lies in achieving a Pareto improvement in social welfare through innovative models of interest distribution. Its core value is to transcend the zero-sum game of litigation and establish a positive-sum game framework to promote social harmony. However, the current judicial mediation model in China still exhibits strong rigid characteristics, meaning that it resolves disputes strictly in accordance with the law, thereby excluding the possibility of seeking appropriate solutions from a holistic perspective of the dispute. This is inconsistent with the aforementioned institutional value. To address this dilemma, this paper identifies the characteristics of cases suitable for judicial mediation and explores how to construct a corresponding judicial mediation model to enable parties to achieve a positive-sum game and increase factors contributing to social harmony.
This paper is based on Lindblom’s three-element theory of authority, exchange, and persuasion, combined with nonlinear programming to construct a value creation model. Specifically, it quantifies the distribution status of property resources (divisible/indivisible assets) and non-property benefits (apology level, visit frequency, etc.), and under the constraints of total resource quantity and pre-set acceptance thresholds, establishes a total benefit maximization objective function through optimization algorithms. A simplified Shapley value algorithm is employed to calculate the cooperation surplus by comparing the net benefit difference between cooperative alliances and non-cooperative states, and allocate value-added based on marginal contribution weights.
The article analyzes successful mediation cases involving statutory inheritance and defamation disputes from the Peking University Law Database, extracting two dimensions of value creation. Based on the analysis of successful mediation cases, by deconstructing the dual dimensions of property income appreciation and non-property income optimization, the paper proposes three criteria for case selection: cases must possess dual-dimensional interest appreciation potential, feature a composite interest appreciation exchange structure, and meet the equilibrium conditions of dynamic game theory. This identifies four common types of cases suitable for mediation: family relationship restoration cases, property rights restructuring cases, cooperative surplus development cases, and social capital regeneration cases. Using cases involving statutory inheritance and support disputes as examples, the study demonstrates the implementation process of judicial mediation based on quantifying value-added distribution using a nonlinear programming model. The research indicates that such a judicial mediation can achieve a dual optimization of legal outcomes and social governance efficiency, providing theoretical support and operational pathways for the paradigm shift of judicial mediation from “resolving disputes” to “creating value.”
Future research could further explore quantification methods for non-property gains, such as developing assessment tools based on dimensions like emotional accounts and reputational capital, combined with intelligent technologies like natural language processing and big data analysis to extract non-material gain indicators. Additionally, interdisciplinary collaboration should be deepened, incorporating assessment methods from psychology and sociology to establish a more comprehensive quantification system for non-material gains.

Key words: judicial mediation, nonlinear programming, interest distribution, property disputes