About Us

The Law & Society Trust (LST) is a not-for-profit organisation engaged in legal research, advocacy and human rights documentation.

Our Vision & Mission
Founder
Board of Directors
LST Today

The Law & Society Trust (LST) is a not-for-profit organisation engaged in legal research, advocacy and human rights documentation. LST was founded in 1982 by the late Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam under the Trusts Ordinance. It was subsequently incorporated in 1992 under the Companies Act No. 17 of 1982 and has since re-registered as required by law under the new Companies Act No.07 of 2007. It was subsequently incorporated in 1992 under the Companies Act No. 17 of 1982 and has since re-registered as required by law under the new Companies Act No.07 of 2007 with Registration No. GA 648.

Our Vision

A society free from violent conflict, discrimination and social injustice and based upon human dignity for all.

Our Mission

To utilize rights-based strategies in research, documentation and advocacy, and to promote the full realization of the rule of law, justiciability of rights and public accountability.

The Law and Society Trust was founded by Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam in June of 1982

Dr. Tiruchelvam was a legal visionary and a committed advocate of human rights and the rule of law

The founder of the Law and Society Trust, Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam was a legal visionary and a committed advocate of human rights and the rule of law. He is remembered as a distinguished constitutional expert and as a progressive thinker.

Neelan Tiruchelvam was educated at the University of Ceylon Law School (University of Colombo, Sri Lanka) and Harvard Law School where he completed his doctorate. He was a Fulbright Fellow in 1969-71 and held academic appointments in Sri Lanka and at Harvard University during the 1970s and 1980s.

In Sri Lanka, he was a member of the Presidential Law Commission and the Presidential Commission on Democratic Decentralization and Devolution. Having served in Sri Lanka’s parliament from 1994 to 1999 as a member of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), he played a leading role in many initiatives that included constitutional and legal reform, the resolution of ethnic conflict, improving human rights, social justice and inter-community understanding. He was a Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Reform in Sri Lanka and served in the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Finance, Planning and Ethnic Affairs.

He was committed to creating a better and more just world through constructive engagement in constitutional and legal reform, building democratic institutions and processes, enforcing human rights, fostering inclusive civil society, and investing in conflict resolution to manage the disputes embedded in plural societies. His active engagement in legal, political, and sociological scholarship had wider global relevance and impact beyond the borders of Sri Lanka. This was recognized and commended by various international agencies, earning him the honor of being invited to serve as an international observer, evaluator, and adviser in many conflictual situations. He was elected as the chairperson of the council of Minority Rights Group International, the London-based human rights organisation.

Dr. Tiruchelvam was the founder and director of both the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) Colombo, and the Law and Society Trust (LST): two of Sri Lanka’s leading research and policy organizations. He was also a senior partner at Tiruchelvam Associates, a leading law firm in Sri Lanka.

His thoughts and actions were driven by a personal philosophy of humanism, peace and non-violence. He believed change and reform for resolving deep-rooted problems of the Sri Lankan society was possible through non-violent means, He worked tirelessly to spearhead transformation through dialogue, tolerance and deliberation. He did not consider those with opposing views as enemies or even as adversaries. They were partners-in-waiting.

Dr. Tiruchelvam was assassinated on 29th July 1999. Yet he leaves behind a powerful legacy as a man of ideas, a legislator, a constitutional lawyer, an institution builder and a peacemaker.

The Board of Directors of the Law and Society Trust is comprised of distinguished professionals drawn from the fields of law, commerce and academia. They provide oversight on the work programmes and management of LST.

The Law and Society Trust works with communities advocating for legal reforms and social justice in times of change, conflict and crisis. For LST, struggles for good governance, the rule of law, and economic and social justice must be recognized as integrated and interconnected struggles.

We aim is to use rights-based strategies to promote and protect human rights, enhance public accountability and strengthen respect for the rule of law. LST has built strong networks in different communities by implementing effective programmes, engaging in advocacy based on sound research and operating consistently in democratic spaces wherever they exist to strengthen institutions, promote equal access and uphold good governance through honesty, transparency and persistent inquiry.

The interventions mentioned above have included rights education, advocacy, skills training and engagements with community–based organisations, duty bearers at the district and national levels, judges, lawyers and opinion leaders. The organisation also focuses on awareness raising concerning human rights, dissemination of information on critical aspects of its work, and network and coalition-building at a national and international level. The knowledge gained through these efforts has shaped the strategies and approaches adopted in all of LST’s programmes.

LST was founded in 1982 by the late Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam under the Trusts Ordinance. It was subsequently incorporated in 1992 under the Companies Act No. 17 of 1982 and given Registration No. N(A) 211. LST has since re-registered as required by law under the new Companies Act No.07 of 2007.

About Us

The Law & Society Trust (LST) is a not-for-profit organisation engaged in legal research, advocacy and human rights documentation.

Our Vision

Our Mission

Dr. Shivaji Felix

Mr. G.J.T. Alagaratnam P.C.

Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka

Ms. Anushya Coomaraswamy

Dr. Farzana Haniffa

Prof. Sharya Scharenguivel

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