Community mediation is a popular form of alternative dispute resolution Its moniker is derived from the fact that the process espoused by this form of mediation, is endemic to a community or to a group of people living in a specific locality.

Community mediation is premised on the primary aim of resolving disputes in relation to the community, which includes (and is not limited to) disputes between neighbours; disputes between landlords and tenants; disputes between community members and the local government. The most common civil disputes are in relation to family matters as well as land and property - of which disputes over boundaries of land, right of way and the illegal use of land are most prominent.

Mediation is carried out through the set-up and establishment of Community Mediation Boards. This mediation process is entrenched in the very fabric of the community and in community practice, and this entrenchment can be attributed to the fact that access to a particular mediation board is limited to the citizens in that particular Divisional Secretary Division. It is further fortified by the fact that the mediation board in and of itself is comprised of volunteers from that community. Currently, there are 330 Divisional Secretary Divisions in Sri Lanka with a varied population count – with some Divisional Secretary Divisions being more populated than others.

The Community Mediation Boards have been actively contributing towards amicable resolutions for inter-personal and community-level disputes and offenses. This wide network of Mediation Boards is a testament to the success of the program in providing a quick, efficient, and cost-effective alternative to traditional court proceedings, and to the success of the program in helping to build stronger, more cohesive communities.

The Mediation Boards Act No. 72 of 1988 provides the legal premise for the Community Mediation Programme in Sri Lanka. This Act legislates the framework for the institutionalization of mediation boards. The Boards come under the supervisory ambit of the Mediation Boards Commission. The Commission retains the power to appoint, supervise and control mediators, but the training of mediators is handled, not by virtue of the Act but through administrative procedures, by the Ministry of Justice.

The jurisdiction of the mediation boards is clearly set out in section 6 of the Mediation Boards Act. It establishes that an application to the Mediation Board for settlement of disputes via mediation can be made by any person as long as such disputes come within the purview of that Mediation Board Area. The Act specifies that it is compulsory for any dispute against property, where the value of the disputed property is less than one million rupees (Rs. 1,000,000) to be referred to mediation. Offences set out in the Second Schedule to the Act must also compulsorily be referred to mediation, and they include a series of offences against the body of a person (hurt, wrongful restraint, use of criminal force), criminal acts against property, defamation, and criminal intimidation. Mediation Boards lack jurisdiction in disputes where one party is the State or a State officer who was acting in his/her official capacity. Schedule 3 of the Act also includes a list of disputes that cannot be mediated, and these include: matrimonial disputes, testamentary actions, and partition actions, breach of parliamentary privilege and fundamental rights actions.

In three (3) decades, Sri Lanka has equipped the nation with 329 Community Mediation Boards, fortified with over 8600 active volunteer Mediators and 325 chairpersons (282 chairmen and 43 chairwomen), dispersed across the country.

The Boards are distributed across all districts in the country, and 260 Mediation Boards provide services in Sinhala, while 63 Mediation Boards provide services in Tamil. This wide distribution of Mediation Boards and availability of services in different languages ensures that the program is accessible and inclusive to all members of the community, regardless of their language or location.