The Development of Community Justice System for Support a Sustainable Way of Life of Ethnic Groups: Case Study of Mae Na Subdistrict Community Justice Center, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

The community justice system is an informal judicial process through a strategic approach to reducing and preventing crime by creating and supporting community cooperation. The community justice system is concept that the govern-ment recognizes the potential of the community to deal with their own problems, provide opportunities for communities to participate in the judicial process together with the government sector by allowing the justice process to extend the responsibility to people and communities to create prevention, control, reduce problems and remedy the damage that affects the reduction of unequal commu-nities in accessing justice system and to reduce the number of cases enter the court. However, the application of the justice system in the community remains a problem in order to achieve objectives of the Ministry of Justice.

This research article aims to study the community justice system in dispute resolution of Mae Na Subdistrict Community Justice Center, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province. As well as  traditional rules of ethnic groups in Mae Na Subdistrict in dispute resolution and to find an appropriate way to develop a community justice model. The results of the study showed that the Mae Na Community Justice Center is unable to operate with full efficiency due to problems in the community justice system in a structured, unclear and existence of the Community Justice Center under the provisions of the law. Ethnic groups are not able to access and cooperate with Community Justice Center. They have own customary rules for resolving disputes that arise in their communities. This leads to the development of a community justice model to be community justice in the village to allow ethnic groups apply their internal dispute resolution rules and regulations to justice community. Therefore, the community justice system can operate and ethnic groups participate in the justice system to reduce the inequality.