Civil Society Initiatives to Promote the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka, Quarterly Report

The program aims to promote the rule of law and access to justice in Sri Lanka through support to targeted government institutions and civil society organizations (CSOs). Since September 2013, CSI.ROL has been delivering responsive and collaborative assistance to Sri Lankan institutions, helping them develop sustainable solutions that improve the delivery, accessibility, and quality of justice. The program has focused on promoting the rule of law and access to justice in Sri Lanka through support to targeted government institutions and CSOs. In its first two years, CSI.ROL built the human and institutional capacity of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the Legal Aid Commission (LAC), supporting dedicated program support units, training BASL members and LAC legal officers, and implementing internal systems reforms, including the BASL's Strategic Plan. The program has also increased access to justice by expanding legal awareness and legal services through grants to local NGOs and support to provincial LAC offices across Sri Lanka. In Year 3, CSI.ROL has focused on facilitating the implementation of the BASL Strategic Plan, strengthening the research and evidence-based advocacy activities of the BASL, increasing the capacity of the LAC to design and sustainably implement legal awareness and outreach projects, improving the knowledge and skills of LAC legal officers, and supporting the expansion and sustainability of legal assistance programs throughout Sri Lanka. CSI.ROL has also expanded its focus in Year 3 by incorporating support to justice sector institutions through a revised project SOW (approved by USAID in December 2015). Under this new stream of activities, CSI.ROL has built important relationships with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Sri Lanka Judges' Institute (SLJI), the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the Attorney General's Department, and other key institutional justice sector actors. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) expressing the mutual commitment and collaboration between USAID and the MOJ was signed in May 2016, and another was signed between the CSI.ROL project and the SLJI in October 2016. Establishing these new relationships has fostered a climate of technical, apolitical support for the good governance objectives of the new Sri Lanka government and set the foundation for future USAID technical assistance in the justice sector. CSI.ROL has also supported the expansion and sustainability of legal assistance programs throughout Sri Lanka by providing support to NGOs and CSOs that provide legal counseling and representation and conduct public outreach. The program has also increased access to justice by expanding legal awareness and legal services through grants to local NGOs and support to provincial LAC offices across Sri Lanka. In Year 3, CSI.ROL has made significant achievements, including the signing of MOUs with the MOJ and the SLJI, establishing new relationships with key institutional justice sector actors, and reconfiguring the project's scope of work to support the new Sri Lanka government's good governance objectives. The program has also continued to build the human and institutional capacity of the BASL and the LAC, supporting dedicated program support units, training BASL members and LAC legal officers, and implementing internal systems reforms. Overall, CSI.ROL has made significant progress in promoting the rule of law and access to justice in Sri Lanka, and its continued support to targeted government institutions and CSOs is expected to have a lasting impact on the country's justice sector.