The Law and Society Trust (LST) was established in 1982 as a research and advocacy organistion for the promotion of legal reforms for access to justice, human rights, and public accountability. They actively promote rights-based strategies in research, documentation and advocacy. LST sees this approach as highly relevant for building a society in which all citizens are treated justly and equally. This lays the foundation for LSTs’ work towards peacebuilding in Sri Lanka.

LST works under three main programmes:

1. Civil and political rights;
2. Economic, social and cultural rights; and
3. Human rights in conflict

Documentation, activism and advocacy are carried out under all three programmes. Each performs the task of bridging the gap between the grassroots and the policy-making levels through skill-building and awareness-trainings. LST strengthens civil society networks and acts as a resource centre on human rights issues in Sri Lanka. Thus, networking and coalition-building is a key area of LST’s work.

As a research and advocacy body, LST has an extensive “Information and Documentation Centre” and has periodic publications including a monthly journal. LST is a founding member of the Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) and South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR).