The Training workshop on Legal and Administrative Aspects Relating to Law and Property in Sri Lanka for Mediation Training Officers was conducted on October 23rd and 24th by Marimuthu Thirunavukarasu, Senior Mediation Expert with the participation of 19 Mediator Training Officers at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, Colombo. This two-day training workshop was aimed at providing a general overview and building awareness and capacity of Mediator Training Officers on Legal and Procedural Aspects relating to State and Private Land and Management of Special Mediation Boards (Land).

The main topics that were taken into discussion were as follows:

• Introduction to Land and Property in Sri Lanka and the Legal Instruments and the Laws Relating to Registration of Private Lands and Property
• Succession and Inheritance: Roman Dutch Law, Kandyan Law, Thesawalamai Law and Muslim Law
• Introduction to State Lands and the Role of the Ministry of Land, Provincial Land Administration Department and Other Institutions Dealing with State Lands
• Key Laws Relating to State Lands: Land Development Ordinance, State Lands Ordinance, Land Grants (Special Provisions) Act, Land Acquisition Act
• Management of Special Mediation Board (Land) – Strategies and Best Administrative Practices

The Acting Secretary and the Additional Secretary of the Mediation Boards Commission were also in attendance during the workshop, signifying the Mediation Boards Commission’s continuous acknowledgement of the training and capacity building efforts carried out by The Asia Foundation for the betterment of mediation efforts in Sri Lanka.

Presentations on the Rapid Assessment on Community-level Land Disputes in the Uva Province and on Community-level Financial Disputes in Kandy, Polonnaruwa, Monaragala, Gampaha, Colombo, and Anuradhapura districts was held on October 18th, 2023, at the Ministry of Justice Auditorium. The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Mediation Boards Commission, International Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, Centre for Poverty Analysis and The Asia Foundation. Justice Hector Yapa, Chairman of the Mediation Boards Commission opened the event with welcome remarks followed by Dr. Ramani Jayasundere, Director, Gender and Justice, The Asia Foundation who provided a brief overview on the context in which the two rapid assessments were conducted. The research team from the Centre for Poverty Analysis comprising Dr. Gayathri Lokuge, Mr. Mohamed Munas, and Ms. Nadiya Azmy presented the key findings of the rapid assessments covering key aspects: , identifying and understanding the nature and types of disputes/issues, identifying the parties to such disputes, identifying current ways and mechanisms used by parties to settle such disputes, and providing recommendations to introduce mediation as a mode of alternative dispute resolution in resolving land and financial disputes. The Ministry of Justice and the Mediation Boards Commission were appreciative of the findings of these studies which will directly contribute towards the establishments of Financial Special Mediation Boards in Kandy, Polonnaruwa, Monaragala, Gampaha, Colombo, and Anuradhapura districts and Land Special Mediation Boards in Badulla and Monaragala districts.

Jonathan Bartsch delivered a seminar on Global Trends in Mediation at the BMICH on 22nd May 2023 which saw the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Mediation Boards Commission, Donors, INGOs, NGOs, Legal Education Providers, Alternative Dispute Resolution stakeholders as well as individual consultants. The seminar encouraged the gathering to reflect on the future of conflict engagement and mediation, building a community of practice around mediation, and on the potential social impact that could be achieved through collective efforts to improve mediation.

The workshop on Advanced Mediation Skills and Techniques for Mediator Training Officers (MTOs) was conducted from 15th to 19th May 2023 at the Movenpick Hotel by Jonathan Bartsch, Principal of Collaborative Decision Resources Associates, USA. 20 MTOs took part in the workshop where existing knowledge was revisited, new concepts were introduced such as restorative justice and multi-party Mediation along with simulations and activities were done to enhance the skills of the MTOs. Over the course of 5 days, the trainer took the participants through the topics of The Mediation Process: Theory & Practice, The Mediation Process (contd.) & Financial Disputes, Housing, Land, and Property Disputes, Restorative Justice and Multi-Party Mediation, Community Engagement & MTO Work Plans. The training workshop revisited existing knowledge and encouraged MTOs to discuss and reflect on developments, updates and changes that have occurred in the discourse and ways of including them in future trainings. The training also brought in concepts that were not familiar to the MTOs which opened new areas of thinking which also alerted to the gathering on the necessity of being alert and aware to the changing trends in mediation in the world.

The Asia Foundation held a workshop on Gender Mainstreaming in Mediation in Sri Lanka on 18th and 19th November 2022, held at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo. It consisted of 9 lectures on the topic of Gender and women's equality, delivered by Dr. Ramani Jayasundere, Director of Justice and Gender Programs at The Asia Foundation, along with Mr. M. Thirunavukarasu, Attorney-at-Law and Senior Mediation Expert and Ms. Udeni Thewarupperuma, Attorney-at-Law and Manager of Women's Voice and Leadership Project/Asia Foundation. The lectures covered topics such as concepts of gender mainstreaming and identifying results, identifying gender issues in disputes, women’s voice and creating space in the mediation process, women’s participation and decision making in the mediation process, women as disputants in mediation – protection vs. empowerment, diversity and inclusion, justice sector responses to women’s rights in Sri Lanka. 20 Mediator Training Officers (13 male and 7 female) representing all 25 districts attended the training program.

An induction training program for Development Officers attached to the Mediation Board Commission was held from January to November 2022 across nine (9) 3-day consecutive residential training courses with the participation of 360 Development Officers which was implemented with the collaborative effort of the British Council and The Asia Foundation. The aim of this training program series was to build the capacity of the new cadre of Development Officers (Mediation) enabling them to assume and commence their duties in support of the National Mediation Programme, in an effective and competent manner. The training program focused on various topics such as International and Local perspectives on Access to Justice, Democracy, Rule of Law and Citizen engagement, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Mediation: Concepts & Practice, Mediation and Mediation Process in Sri Lanka –Legal and Administrative Framework, The Public Administration context, DO’s Duty List: Public Ethics & Professionalism, Leadership, Communication and Teamwork, Core Administrative Skills.