The project aims to enhance the capacity of legal and judicial institutions throughout the country
The Max Plank Foundation launched a new project entitled “Advancing Institutional Capacity in the Sri Lankan Justice System.” The project builds on previous projects and engagements with partners in Sri Lanka. The project seeks to enhance the technical legal capacity of various legal institutions in Sri Lanka in the area of public international law in support of strengthening the domestic rule of law. The project consists of nine components, including capacity building seminars with members of the judiciary; trainer-of-trainer workshops with lawyers; and a conference for lawyers, prosecutors, and law enforcement practitioners.
The first activity is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2020. The team will conduct the first of two trainer-of-trainer workshops with six senior lawyers from across Sri Lanka which will seek to provide them with an in-depth knowledge on a specific human rights-related topic, which the senior lawyers will then use to teach alongside Foundation researchers in six capacity building seminars for practicing lawyers during 2021. The Foundation will additionally continue its cooperation with the judiciary and deliver six capacity building seminars for members of the lower judiciary in Sri Lanka on innovative approaches to judicial analysis, interpretation and reasoning with the aim to promote a human rights-based and victim-centred approach that is gender-sensitive and supports their independence.
The Foundation also plans to work with additional actors in the justice system throughout the project. Each engagement will additionally seek to build capacity in the areas of international law and will culminate in bringing all relevant legal actors together to discuss cutting-edge issues in relation to upholding the rule of law in Sri Lanka. The project spans two years and is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.