Community Based Mediation
Supporting community-level dispute resolution as a genuine pathway to justice, rooted in local realities and designed to meet accepted international standards.
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Closing the gap between communities and formal justice
CLTC’s Community Based Mediation project addresses one of the most persistent gaps in access to justice: the disconnection between formal legal systems and the communities they are meant to serve.
In many contexts, particularly in post-conflict, fragile, and under-resourced settings, formal courts are geographically distant, financially inaccessible, and distrusted.
Community-based mediation, when well-designed and locally owned, offers a fast and cost-effective way to resolve disputes that is sensitive to local cultural realities while meeting accepted international standards.
CLTC supports community-level dispute resolution as a genuine pathway to justice and not as a second best alternative.
Start with what communities already know
Every community already has ways of resolving disputes. We start there. Listening and learning from what works rather than importing new models is the foundation of everything we do.
Working in partnership with local organisations, community leaders, paralegals, bar associations, and civil society, we train and support community-based mediators to resolve disputes in ways that are fast, affordable, and rooted in local realities while meeting rigorous international standards.
Local capacity that communities own and sustain is the goal, not dependence on outside expertise.
A particular focus is placed on those most excluded from formal justice: women, marginalised communities, and people in fragile or conflict-affected settings.
Where it adds value, we also support community representatives and paralegals as essential bridge actors between communities and the legal system.
Building locally owned pathways to justice
Training and accreditation
Training and accreditation of community-based mediators.
National mediation frameworks
Implementation of national mediation laws and frameworks.
Paralegals and community representatives
Support for paralegals and community representatives as bridge actors between communities and the legal system.
Culturally responsive frameworks
Design of culturally responsive mediation frameworks.
Policy advocacy
Policy advocacy for formal recognition of community mediation within national justice systems.
Community voice
Amplifying community voices to shape mediation policy and practice.
Piloting and documenting models
Piloting and documenting models that can be adapted and scaled.
Evidence-based service delivery
Evidence-based service delivery in fragile and post-conflict contexts.
Local capacity that communities own and sustain
The project focuses on building mediation capacity that is rooted in local realities and sustained beyond outside involvement, while strengthening links between communities and formal justice systems.
Explore CLTC’s approach to access to justice
Learn more about the Centre for Law & Transformative Change’s wider areas of expertise.
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