Asia Foundation, University of Colombo sign MoU to develop courses on mediation and commercial mediation

Signing of the MoU by University of Colombo Vice Chancellor Senior Professor (Chair) H.D. Karunaratne and The Asia Foundation Country Representative Dinesha de Silva Wikramanayake

The Asia Foundation and the University of Colombo signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently.

The Centre for the Study of Human Rights (CSHR) and the Department of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law will partner with The Asia Foundation to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, with a focus on mediation and commercial mediation in Sri Lanka. ADR mechanisms are significant for the expeditious delivery of justice, and they contribute to make justice accessible for all.

The event was attended by University of Colombo Vice Chancellor Senior Professor (Chair) H.D. Karunaratne, Dean Faculty of Law Professor (Dr.) Sampath Punchihewa, Centre for the Study of Human Rights (CSHR) Director Professor (Chair) Wasantha Seneviratne and other senior officials from the Faculty of Law, the Department of Commercial Law and CSHR. Country Representative Dinesha de Silva Wikramanayake and the project team of The Asia Foundation were also present at the occasion.

According to the MoU the CSHR will be developing and delivering several educational programs including a Certificate in mediation, a Diploma in mediation, a Post Graduate Diploma in mediation and a Master’s in Human Rights and mediation. CSHR will also promote awareness on ADR, in particular mediation, among the public.

The Department of Commercial Law of the Faculty of Law will be enhancing the topic of commercial mediation at the undergraduate level and will design a Master of Laws (LL.M) with a focus on Commercial Mediation. The Faculty of Law will also set up a Centre for Mediation that will engage students in a range of activities related to mediation including mooting, debating, and conducting workshops. This work will be carried out as part of the “Strengthening Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Sri Lanka” project implemented by The Asia Foundation which is supported by the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) flagship Support to Justice Sector Project (JURE), jointly implemented with the Ministry of Justice and UNICEF Sri Lanka, funded by the European Union.